Chromecast in your workshop

Chromecast in your workshop

Once you have your shed network established you can worry about the important business of watching youtube videos of cats on a big screen TV. You can either: * install an aerial * pay your cable company to add another connection (and dig up your lawn) * use t’internet I have gone for the later, since all...

Once you have your shed network established you can worry about the important business of watching youtube videos of cats...

Networking your shed with powerline adapters

Networking your shed with powerline adapters

The wifi signal from the house does not quite reach the shed, a common problem for people with sheds/workshops/offices at the end of the garden. The best solution is to run ethernet cable from the house but this can be a major hassle, particularly if, like me, your router is at the front...

The wifi signal from the house does not quite reach the shed, a common problem for people with sheds/workshops/...

Electrics - done!

Electrics - done!

all wired up and live, the sequence of events was: 1. mark where the fittings will go (me) 2. First fit wiring (electrician) 3. Plaster-boarding (me) 4. cut holes for fixtures, fit back-boxes and pull cables through (me) 5. lay SWA cable from shed to house (me) 6. feed SWA cable from garden through side...

all wired up and live, the sequence of events was: 1. mark where the fittings will go (me) 2. First...

First-fit Electircs

First-fit Electircs

A bit of progress this past week. Simon the electrician came and did the first fix of electrics. I think this has a different name in the US, but it involves laying out the cables before any plasterboard(drywall) goes up. Before this happens you need to have thought through the quantity/rough location of:...

A bit of progress this past week. Simon the electrician came and did the first fix of electrics. I think...

Electric cable sizing - voltage drop

Electric cable sizing - voltage drop

calculating cable size – Voltage drop The copper wire in a cable acts as a resistor and the amount of resistance varies according to the its size and length.  As current runs through the conductor a voltage drop occurs: the voltage at the end of the conductor is lower than at the source.   Smaller wires and...

calculating cable size – Voltage drop The copper wire in a cable acts as a resistor and the amount of resistance...

Electrical Connection

Electrical Connection

I mentioned before that I have an electrician doing all the connections, but to keep costs down I am doing the labouring and my main job is to lay a cable between the shed and the house. When running electrical cables outside you need to use steel wire armoured (SWA) cable for safety reasons – sometimes...

I mentioned before that I have an electrician doing all the connections, but to keep costs down I am doing...

More Electrical Bits You Will Need

More Electrical Bits You Will Need

I bought the following sockets from screwfix: not an exact match with the lightwaverf switch, but a bit closer than appears in the pic, where the light has caught them at different angles. Also pretty good value for £4 each. I also got a cheap but functional exterior light – will be replaced with something nicer...

I bought the following sockets from screwfix: not an exact match with the lightwaverf switch, but a bit closer than...

Home Automation

Home Automation

obviously a critical feature in any decent shed is the ability to turn on and off the lights from the comfort of your armchair (inside the house). enter… lightwaverf launched by a British firm (JSTS) in 2011 they produce a range of remote controlled devices (including switches and sockets) that can be controlled with a...

obviously a critical feature in any decent shed is the ability to turn on and off the lights from the...

Electricity - rules and regulations

Electricity - rules and regulations

Is DIY electrical work illegal in the UK? I had a vague idea that work done to the mains or to equipment directly attached to it had to be done by a qualified electrician, or at least signed off by one, and that to do otherwise was against the law. It turns out that this...

Is DIY electrical work illegal in the UK? I had a vague idea that work done to the mains or...

LED lighting

LED lighting

After a lot of hunting around I have decided to go for these – ecoled zep2. Made in the UK and definitely not cheap (60 quid each) but top quality so far as I have read. details: 1. 800 lumens1, which is about the same as a 60 watt incandescent bulb 2. Coloring Rendering Index (CRI2)...

After a lot of hunting around I have decided to go for these – ecoled zep2. Made in the UK and...

Preparing for First-fit Electrics

Preparing for First-fit Electrics

Battens attached – a very tedious job that took pretty much the whole day. They are spaced at 400mm centres and I used counter battens on the ceiling to make room for the light fitting (the recess will be 75mm which is just about deep enough for the led lights I have picked). Anyhow, it is...

Battens attached – a very tedious job that took pretty much the whole day. They are spaced at 400mm centres and...

Heating and Ventilation

Heating and Ventilation

I toyed briefly with the idea of electric underfloor heating, but soon concluded that being too hot was likely to be as much of a problem as being too cold (large windows that don’t open and in the sun all day). So… mini-split air-con …or as I think they are more properly known ‘air...

I toyed briefly with the idea of electric underfloor heating, but soon concluded that being too hot was likely to...