Installing Conduit During Garden Makeover for Future Lighting Ask questions and find answers to many subjects relating to electrics and electrical work

[etts]

We are having the garden landscaped at the moment and I've asked them to install some conduit under pathways, patios and beds to future proof the garden for if/when we want to add lighting. They are not actually installing any electrics, so there is no part P sign off required, but naturally I want to make sure that the conduit they use will not be rejected when we do get any electrics installed by an electrician who will need to do a part P sign-off. What is the requirement/specification for the conduit? I don't have access to BS7671/IET 17th Ed. There is some plastic waste pipe (20mm diameter) amongst their material that I suspect they might be planning to use as conduit, but I can't check with them until Monday at the earliest. I assumed it would have to be tougher than plastic "waste" pipe to withstand impact from garden forks/spades etc. I've googled the pipe brand and nowhere does it state that it can be used as conduit. Should I be concerned?

[ericmark]

In the main electricians will use SWA cable which would not easy damage even if a spade hit it. But as far as what is required you need tape or tiles which says electric cable below as long as the pipe remains open you could use anything centre of a kitchen role centre will do if it will not close up by time you want to use it. Clearly a kitchen role centre would fail but idea is to avoid digging a trench not to protect the cable. The tape above the tube is to alert diggers and protect the cable. In the main under pathways we put pipes else where dig when laying. And under a concrete pathway it could be just 6 inches down the path protects it.

In areas of agricultural premises where vehicles and mobile agricultural machines are operated, the following methods of installation shall be applied:
(i) Cables shall be buried in the ground at a depth of at least 0.6 m with added mechanical protection
(ii) Cables in arable or cultivated ground shall be buried at a depth of at least 1 m

Your not really agricultural premises so you don't need to follow but the 0.6 m seems a good idea. But my shed cable is 9" below lawn only and that to me is enough.

Using the Blagdon system it really needs to be surface. Although it says designed for gardens it was an attempt to get around the Welsh Part P rules in England they have changed.

So role of tape with electric cables below and your sorted.

[etts]

Thanks for the response. I was incorrectly thinking of the conduit as part of the cable protection; as you say all it is doing is avoiding the need to dig later. The white "waste" pipe that I saw was not intended for the job. They have now installed black corrugated conduit, appearing much more suitable for the application.