A complete electrical installation for a timber-frame garage in Belin-Béliet, with a sub-distribution board, two LED battens and three sockets, all distributed in surface-mounted rigid conduit.
A full electrical fit-out for a timber-frame garage in Belin-Béliet: sub-distribution board, two LED battens and three sockets. Timber construction rules out chasing, so the whole distribution was run in surface-mounted rigid conduit, fixed to the frame.
A supply already existed, but it was no longer accessible along its route. We excavated to install an inspection chamber, brought the existing ducting into it, then pulled a new cable in ducting between the chamber and the garage sub-board. The junction box in the chamber is gel-filled: the insulating gel fills the box and keeps damp away from the connection for good, which is essential on a buried joint.
What we did
- Excavation and installation of an inspection chamber on the route of the existing supply
- Existing ducting brought through to the chamber
- Connection made in a gel-filled junction box, suited to buried joints
- New cable pulled in ducting between the chamber and the garage
- Sub-distribution board fitted and connected, with a 30 mA RCD and a dedicated protective device per circuit
- Distribution run entirely in surface-mounted rigid conduit, fixed to the timber frame
- Two LED battens fitted at ceiling level
- Three sockets fitted
- A junction box fitted to pick up the gate supply from a duct left ready nearby
- Circuits labelled, installation energised and tested (earth continuity, RCD trip test)
Why rigid conduit in a timber building
In a timber frame you do not chase the studs: they are structural. Rigid PVC conduit — a smooth, rigid insulating tube — is fixed on the surface and does two jobs. It protects the conductors mechanically, which counts in a garage where tools get swung about and walls get knocked. And it stays demountable: pulling an extra circuit later takes no breaking out at all.
The chamber, for its part, turns a buried, unreachable connection into one you can inspect. If there is ever any doubt about the supply, you lift the chamber lid instead of reopening a trench.
The same thinking guided the gate supply: a duct had been left ready nearby, so we fitted a junction box to take the feed from it rather than run a new line all the way back from the board.
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