Detached garage wiring

Question

I have a large detached garage which is supplied from the house via a "garage" ditribution box, underground armoured cable then into a "garage" box containing main rccd / 6a lighting breaker and 26A breaker all installed by an approved / certified electrician. 
 Can I, as a non professional electrician, considering the new regulations, wire the garage for 3 lighting units , and 4 x 13a doulble power power sockets, and connect them into the supplied distrbution box without having the instalation certified? 
 Many thanks for your replies and guidance on this post.

mapj1 · Accepted Answer

Are you in England or Wales? (they have different rules.) 
 If England and you are extending or altering existing circuits, there is no need to notify. In Wales you probably do, unless the wiring is all indoors. 
 If you are creating brand new circuits, then in any case they are notifiable. 
 If you are competent to do so, you can create your own certificates, but it will be in the gift of your local authority building inspectors to decide if they will accept that. The only folk who can inspect and certify your work, officially at least, are the local authority, or an electrician who is part of a 3rd party verification scheme such as NAPIT. 
 NICIEC do not do 3rd party verifications (though some members may 'adopt' the work of others it is not the approved route.). 
 But what you propose raises more questions than mere paper trail. Is the existing supply up to it, and why do you need 3 lights circuits at all, and what is currently connected ? 
 Mike.

Chris Pearson · Answer

I think that we need more details please. Did the electrician's work stop at the CU? If so, you will be creating new circuits, which are notifiable. However, if you already have at least one light and one socket, you will be simply extending the circuits, which does not require notification in England.

Simon Barker · Answer

On a 16A breaker, there's no need for a ring. A simple radial will do. 
 When you find out the cost of having the local Building Control inspect the work, you'll probably want to find a tame electrician instead.

mapj1 · Answer

You may find if you look closely and wish hard, that the original installer left a short cable stub in each MCB, so you can competently modify and extend an existing circuit, ('minor works' if you like) rather than create a brand new circuit, thus sidestepping the whole process. Ahem. (*) 
 Who would know if he had or not, and unless you hand yourself into the authorities who would care... Do work safely and verify your work as you go along though. 
 Mike. 
 PS * yes, this is a real dodge, and of course it is not how the rules are intended to work, but then they are supposed to improve safety and they don't really do that either, rather they keep up the membership figures of some trade bodies and routinely confuse folk at the building control dept who never really wanted that added to their workload either.

Detached garage wiring

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