Running power to a kitchen island

[MJNewton]

I am in the middle of designing a new kitchen and am toying with the idea of running power to an island for a socket (and, possible, in-cupboard lighting).

 

The floor is, I believe, suspended beam and block with a (100mm?) screed over the top. Does that sound typical of a 2007-built estate build?

 

I expect I would have surface mount junctions under the island and the nearest run of wall cupboards and will require a buried cable length of around 1.5m. What are my options for running this cable e.g. how to cut the channel (ease, minimum dust etc), what to put in it (armoured cable? unprotected cable inside conduit etc?) and whatever else I might not have thought of?

 

For what it's worth, our intended floor covering will be engineered wood.

 

Any help/suggestions would be welcome!

[ProDave]

Yo will have to cut a channel in the screed.  I would (I did) run a 10mm cable to the island.  It might only be feeding a socket just now, but it might one day run an induction hob.

 

Run that cable as a new circuit from your consumer unit.

[MJNewton]

What did you cut the channel with? A chaser? I thought about hiring one, or even buying a cheap one for a one-off job then selling it on, but wondered how good the dust extraction was on them vs stitch drilling with a shop vac held adjacent (this'd obviously take longer but I don't mind that for a one-off). 

 

Also, what type of cable did you use? Re sizing, 2.5mm will definitely be sufficient here as the island size and location does not lend itself to siting of a hob. 

[PeterW]

I did an island and used a Stihl saw after making sure all the Inside doors were sealed and the windows were wide open ..!! Three parallel cuts about 2” apart and 4” deep then used a bolster to crack the sections out. Also used 32mm waste pipe as duct and hot water to the island too. 

[Mulberry View]

I used 40mm waste pipe (I have a ring main, induction hob and low-level lighting). Be sure to leave a draw cord in there too for future use.

 

Regarding the cut, for speed it's an angle grinder but of course thats messy. Having an 'assistant' be there with a hoover right where the grinder spews the dust out helps a surprising amount (Just don't use your 'good' hoover as @Pete will concur).

 

An oscillating saw, such as a multi-tool with a diamond-tipped blade might work and would certainly be a low-dust option, but it'll take a lot longer. It's only a short'ish run by the sounds of it.

[MJNewton]

I finally got round to this job at the weekend and borrowed a wall casher which made light work of it, and hardly any dust at all with the Henry attached. The chiselling out afterwards with the SDS caused the majority of the dust and doing it with hand tools was taking too long as it was quite a tough floor. Given the size of the aggregate I think it was concrete with a self-levelling compound on top to smooth it out. The conduit is now in and mortared back over.

 

Edited November 11, 2019 by MJNewton