ToughButterCup Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 I'm trying not to laugh, but to ensure a temporary connection, I've been told I need a brick built cubicle. These are screenshots from the quote I have just received..... and here's the object of desire.... All for the knock-down price of £4000 I've missed something haven't I? Tell me it's not true, give it me straight men, I can take it. I'm ugly enough. It's the brick-built sh1t house that gets me...... Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 I take it this is for electricity? and is it permanent or temporary? For temporary I have seen an old kitchen cabinet with a bit of roofing felt tacked on. It lasted the year that was required without falling apart. And for permanent, I just set two standard flush mount meter boxes into a substantial short bit of "fence" along my boundary. I would ask them to quote what regulation says it has to be brick built. you can buy floor mounting fibreglass electricity kiosk's that just need a concrete base to stand on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 Get your gate posts / piggery / shed built and get the permanent supply done - that number is mad !! Is that including a road dig and connection..?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triassic Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 (edited) You need to challenge that, I've just been quoted £875 to move the overhead supply. The new supply will come down the pole, onto a 6m long duct (I'm installing) then into an exterior meter cupboard fixed to the block work shed I'm building. Inside the shed is another panel for the supply to the garage, the caravan and the new house. I wouldn't pay for a temporary supply as you'll only have to pay again to move it to the perminant location. Edited February 28, 2017 by Triassic Typo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 As above, you need to challenge this. Mine's like Dave's, but all in one meter box in a similar timber structure. One meter box is not ideal, as space was a bit tight, but neither the DNO (same as Dave's, SSE) or the supplier had any problem with my electrician fitting a DP fused isolator, Henley and a small "two way" CU box tucked over to the far right side of the cabinet. Given the small size of the newer incomer fuse and head and meters, there is really quite a bit of spare space over to the right in a standard meter box now, as the dimensions of the things were standardised to accept bigger bits of kit. I think I was lucky not to have a stroppy meter guy, though............... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted February 28, 2017 Author Share Posted February 28, 2017 Thanks for the support. I think the operator I talked to let the cat out of the bag when she said 'Most developers round here use generators....' And yes @Triassic, I will have to pay all over again if I get a temporary connection, but wait for it, -even if the temporary connection is in exactly the same place as the temporary one. So, it's a diesel genny for me... say 6Kv? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 I'd seriously consider building something to put the permanent connection in to and be done with it. From memory they cannot refuse to connect into a BS meter box that is ducted correctly - as @JSHarris says there is plenty of room in a box for connections and you can get an IP65 caravan connector now with an RCD in it so even if your box only has the DNO fuse, meter and a single CU or switch feeding something directly below the box then it must be cheaper to only do it once. How much of the £4K is contestible works ..?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 We added a big waterproof caravan connector, which has 4 DP RCBOs in it, one for the site supply Commando and the others for three additional external circuits. The Commando socket is now redundant, but was very useful during the build, as I made up a long, 2.5mm² extension lead, with a waterproof double gang socket on the end, using HO7RN-F cable, with a decent strain relief and a mounting board that doubled up as a cable reel. That proved invaluable during the early stages of the build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triassic Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 Intrestingly I applied to move my supply just over 12 months ago and was quotes £1400. That quote was valid for six months, so I reapplied earlier this month and the new quote, for exactly the same move, came in at £875. I think the price is often down to who you talk to at the DNO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney12 Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 Just to echo some of the comments above. We on advice from the good folks on this forum decided to site the supplies in the permanent location. We've also added a caravan supply which has already proved useful. In our case it was in a perimeter wall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted March 1, 2017 Author Share Posted March 1, 2017 10 hours ago, PeterW said: I'd seriously consider building something to put the permanent connection in to and be done with it. [...] How much of the £4K is contestible works ..?? Got it in one. Build a bit of our front wall, and be done with it. Like this... (lime green dot below) Is there any reason why I can't ask for the boxes to go on the back of the wall, out of sight? Contestable? All of it except the bit where they wet their fingers, twist the wire and make the joint 1 hour ago, Triassic said: [...] the new quote, for exactly the same move, came in at £875. I think the price is often down to who you talk to at the DNO. @Triassic, my fingertips are telling me the same story: the discussion with the Electricity Northwest rep was markedly casual, uninformed even: she constantly had to ask for advice from colleagues on what I assume are standard questions. Maybe she was in training. Adding a caravan connector is almost a no brainer. 10 hours ago, JSHarris said: [...] as I made up a long, 2.5mm² extension lead, with a waterproof double gang socket on the end, using HO7RN-F cable, with a decent strain relief and a mounting board that doubled up as a cable reel. That proved invaluable during the early stages of the build. Jeremy, what's 'decent strain-relief'? (ExLax?) Thanks for the tip about HO7RN-F cable - didn't know what you call that nice heavy floppy cable. Thanks. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 Our connection came down to just a shade over £1000 for them to pull a cable through the duct I had installed, connect into the meter cabinet I had installed and make the connection in the connection pit I had dug. Believe it or not £750 of that was for "wayleaves" A figure I think they just pluck from the air. Sure it would have needed some form of wayleave to cross 12" of grass verge and pass under the road, but £750? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 What I 5 minutes ago, recoveringacademic said: Jeremy, what's 'decent strain-relief'? (ExLax?) Thanks for the tip about HO7RN-F cable - didn't know what you call that nice heavy floppy cable. Thanks. Ian What I did was get a bit of plank around 150mm wide and a 600mm or so long and cut deep, smooth semi-circular cut-outs at each end, to allow it to be used to wind the cable up when not in use. I fitted a double gang socket like this: http://www.screwfix.com/p/bg-13a-2g-dp-switched-socket/67928 to it, with a waterproof (IP68) cable gland like this: http://www.screwfix.com/p/tower-male-comp-gland-black-20mm-pack-of-2/80851 . The cable was secured to the plank using a couple of saddle clamps, with rubber inserts, to cope with the inevitable stresses it would be exposed to on site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted March 1, 2017 Author Share Posted March 1, 2017 45 minutes ago, JSHarris said: What I did was get a bit of plank around 150mm wide and a 600mm or so long and cut deep, smooth semi-circular cut-outs at each end, to allow it to be used to wind the cable up when not in use. I fitted a double gang socket like this: http://www.screwfix.com/p/bg-13a-2g-dp-switched-socket/67928 to it, with a waterproof (IP68) cable gland like this: http://www.screwfix.com/p/tower-male-comp-gland-black-20mm-pack-of-2/80851 . The cable was secured to the plank using a couple of saddle clamps, with rubber inserts, to cope with the inevitable stresses it would be exposed to on site. Thanks very much indeed. I'll copy that recipe. 47 minutes ago, ProDave said: [...] Believe it or not £750 of that was for "wayleaves" A figure I think they just pluck from the air. Sure it would have needed some form of wayleave to cross 12" of grass verge and pass under the road, but £750? We own the land immediately to the west (left, looking north) under which the line will pass, so there's no need for a wayleave - although the lass I was dealing with tried insisting that they would need to investigate whether one was needed. Good luck with that.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 Our temp connection was a standard built in box screwed to two fence posts, I put it close to where it was eventually being built onto the rear of the garage wall and had enough underground cable to reach this position. We paid nothing but this was because they cocked up removing redundant overhead cables and frankly I told them they could sue me for the costs ( bluff) and it worked. When the garage was built I dug up the cable, swung the cable and box into a hole left in the garage wall and connected it up. Job done. I must admit in my location everyone seems lax with regulations. because of an earlier similar thread, when the meter was fitted into the temp box I asked if they could fit an isolation switch ( can't remember the proper name) so I didn't have to involve the meter seal fairy ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 3 hours ago, recoveringacademic said: Is there any reason why I can't ask for the boxes to go on the back of the wall, out of sight? You mean like this..??? Left one has DNO connection, Meter and Henleys with 80A Switched fuse to the house. Right has control for power to gates/lights etc and has a key lock rather than a simple plastic lever. All in the back of the wall where the gates are now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 Our box is on the back of a thick fence that is the screen for the wheelie bin storage area. The front of this fence is clad with larch, the same as the house, to hide the back of the meter box from view. Like Dave's, it has a single pitch "roof" over the top to keep the weather out. The meter box is completely out of sight now, and only visible from the rear, but still easy to access by the meter reader just by walking up the path by the side of the house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triassic Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 Our meter reader will have a bit of a hike, our meter box is in the back garden, a walk of about 100 metres from the front gate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Temp Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 A meter man knocked on our door a few weeks ago to ask where our meter was. We showed him and he went away with a reading. Then just recently we get a letter saying the meter man was unable to find our house! I felt like sending them clips from our CCTV system of his visit. The letter also asked us to I log in and check and update my address details. The address appeared to be missing the road name but their stupid system wouldn't let me add it. You can only select addresses by entering a postcode and selecting your address from their database. Our address is correct in the post office data base so it's their IT system that's broken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted March 1, 2017 Author Share Posted March 1, 2017 49 minutes ago, Temp said: [...] Our address is correct in the post office database so it's their IT system that's broken. For at least five years I have tried to get our DNO to update our details for our current address (1 Potters Brook): each time they say they will. Every time they don't. "Where's Salamander Cottage, then?" they ask. "Its not listed" "So how does Amazon know where to deliver stuff to Salamander Cottage?" "Errrrmmmm...." It's been on the Post Office database since the LPA put the address, two years ago. I wouldn't mind but I'm not sure if the Fire and Ambulance Service know our new house address. I blame the teachers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 I mentioned in the other thread about address registration the delay some companies have in updating their address records from the PAF database. I can say that our electricity supplier (also our DNO) is far and away the worst, and is still wrongly addressing correspondence, after at least 4 calls from me to correct the address. Each time they promise they've updated their database whilst I'm on the phone; three months later it is always still wrong.............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted March 1, 2017 Author Share Posted March 1, 2017 15 minutes ago, JSHarris said: [...] I can say that our electricity supplier (also our DNO) is far and away the worst, and is still wrongly addressing correspondence, after at least 4 calls from me to correct the address. Each time they promise they've updated their database whilst I'm on the phone; three months later it is always still wrong.............. I would dearly like to know the root cause of this chronic error. I slaved for many years to teach good database hygiene, and to promote the enjoyment to be had in a beautifully normalised relational database. Table 'creep' and sloppy normalisation might well lead to this kind of error. I wonder though if the answer isn't more prosaic: simple managerial paralysis, coupled with laziness and no incentive to 'get it right' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 And cost... No-one wants to pay for the update files - it used to be big business for the Royal Mail but not as much now - so basically you have diverging data sources. Ive cheated and got the meter installer to add us to the database with the correct address of "Lime Tree House" knowing full well that will become the Meter Point address and is now in every suppliers database...... Just the council to convince now ...! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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