Answer library
Yes. An external socket should be a weatherproof type — commonly IP66 — with RCD protection, mounted clear of splashing and ideally under some shelter. It is normally fed as a spur from an internal circuit or from its own circuit if the load warrants it.
6 questions in this topic. General UK guidance, not advice about a specific property.
Yes. An external socket should be a weatherproof type — commonly IP66 — with RCD protection, mounted clear of splashing and ideally under some shelter. It is normally fed as a spur from an internal circuit or from its own circuit if the load warrants it.
It removes the very common habit of trailing a lead through a window, which is both a shock risk and a security one.
Options range from mains fittings on the house wall, through buried low-voltage systems for beds and paths, to festoon lighting over a terrace. All outdoor circuits need RCD protection and weather-rated fittings, and buried cable needs suitable protection and depth.
Low-voltage garden systems are popular because the cabling is far less onerous. Tell us the area, what you want lit and whether you want it on a sensor, a timer or an app.
Steel wire armoured cable is the usual choice, buried at sufficient depth to avoid damage from digging — commonly around 450mm under a lawn or bed, deeper under a drive — with marker tape above it, or run in a suitable duct.
Routing matters as much as depth: record where it runs, keep it clear of tree roots and planned structures, and avoid routes you will later want to dig.
Water ingress into a fitting, a junction box, a socket or a damaged cable is the classic cause, and it typically appears in autumn and after storms. The symptom is consistent: dry weather is fine, rain trips the RCD.
The fix is to find the point of ingress rather than to keep resetting it — and in the meantime, leave the affected circuit off.
Most permanent hot tubs need a dedicated, RCD-protected outdoor supply with a rotary isolator sited within reach of the tub but not adjacent to it. Ratings vary widely — a plug-in 13A model and a hard-wired 32A model are very different jobs.
Send the manufacturer's electrical specification with your enquiry, plus the distance from the consumer unit and the cable route, since that usually drives the work.
Yes — they are a special location and need particular attention to RCD protection, equipment selection and the position of connections relative to the water. Low-voltage pumps are common for that reason.
Connections should never be made in an improvised enclosure at ground level; a properly rated outdoor connection point is the right approach.