Kitchen wiring questions

[alchemist]

Hi guys,

I've got some questions about wiring kitchens.

Extractor hood for a cooker, how do we do that? Have the cable coming out of the wall behind the hood? Does someone have to hold the hood up while you connect it then fix it to the wall?

Under counter lights. Do you run the cable on the underside of the counter, just flex clipped direct? Same question for lighting under wall units.

I'm not quite sure what gets done first fix before the kitchen units, and what gets done after.

Lastly, on a kitchen job, who normally physically fits in the appliances, especially built in ones. Is that the sparks job, or the kitchen fitters. And if they put the appliances in, how do you get access to wire them up, or do they normally have plug tops and the fitters plug them in?

Right, now that's all typed in... Guinness

Thanks

 

[NozSpark]

There are normally 2 types of extractor hood,,, bridging unit types and the chinmey type.

for the bridging unit types I'd fit a socket a couple of inches above the wall cabinet,, for chimney types you could fit a switched fused spur in line with the sockets and a socket behind the chimney (3A fuse in the fused spur and a 13A in the plugtop)

I've never heard of under counter lights, but run the cable where you need to so long as it can't be seen (clipped direct or in mini trunking) as for under cabinet lights - the same no ones going to see them, especially behind a pelmet.

For appliances... you do the supplies, kitchen fitter fits - they may want you to fit hard wired appliances though,, you will definately not fit integrated appliances and for these install the sockets in adjacent cabinets..

HTH

 

[alchemist]

There are normally 2 types of extractor hood,,, bridging unit types and the chinmey type.for the bridging unit types I'd fit a socket a couple of inches above the wall cabinet,, for chimney types you could fit a switched fused spur in line with the sockets and a socket behind the chimney (3A fuse in the fused spur and a 13A in the plugtop)

I've never heard of under counter lights, but run the cable where you need to so long as it can't be seen (clipped direct or in mini trunking) as for under cabinet lights - the same no ones going to see them, especially behind a pelmet.

For appliances... you do the supplies, kitchen fitter fits - they may want you to fit hard wired appliances though,, you will definately not fit integrated appliances and for these install the sockets in adjacent cabinets..

HTH

Great thanks, that helps.

 

[sellers]

for undercabinet lights i used the small sticky pads with tie wraps. you'll struggle to clip it and not damage the units.

do you mean kick board lighting? The kickboard lighting I've installed was pre-wired to a plugin transformer, so I supplied a single socket under the units.

 

[alchemist]

Sorry i'm being a muppet, it's not under the counter I did just mean under the wall units. The wife was confusing me with her requests LOL

Lights everywhere ! bad day explode

---------- Post Auto-Merged at 20:56 ---------- Previous post was made at 20:53 ----------

for undercabinet lights i used the small sticky pads with tie wraps. you'll struggle to clip it and not damage the units.do you mean kick board lighting? The kickboard lighting I've installed was pre-wired to a plugin transformer, so I supplied a single socket under the units.

So would you normally have a lighting circuit feed an FCU (i'll prob use an mkgrid switch), then have the switch wire from that to the wall switch, then have flex coming out of the FCU itself to under the wall units. Or have the flex chased into the wall up to the bottom of the wall unit then have a grommet where it emerges?

 

[sellers]

2 options, wire lights from light switch on wall, simples. or put a switched fused spur from the counter sockets and use this to switch the lights, even more simples. make sure the cable comes out of the wall behind the cabinet or exactly at the bottom

 

[alchemist]

Suppose behind the cabinet is easiest, but then i'll have to drill a hole in the cabinet to find it again, unless the kitchen fitters will think of that for me.

 

[NozSpark]

I've just 1st fixed a kitchen that's going to have wall cabinets!!

I have wired them from the main switch (you are less likely to use them if switched by a FS behind the microwave!) then brought the cable down the wall about 6" in from the edge of the wall cabinet(behind) to a position that is going to be lower than the lowest edge.. when I 2nd fix I will chase this cable back up to the bottom of the cabinet so it'll be nice and neat (the tiles will go over this chase!)

 

[northernspark]

When we wire for under unit lights we usually switch them from the kitchen light switch then take the sw live and neutral to a joint box above the units and wire from there with cables fed down the back of the units neatly (ask the kitchen fitters nicely to do this as they hang the wall units) makes for a nice neat job

Appliances depend really, have you or the kitchen fitters included it in your quotes? alot of kitchen fitters up our way wont touch the electrics but never tell you untill the last minute so best to ask them, as for hard wired appliances (cookers, ceramic hobs) we've always wired those

 

[tom1]

for the extractors i do what noz said, for the hud extractors you could have the fcu in a wall unit or in line with the worktop sockets then take the cable to celing level and chop across or rod above the celling, drop the cable to were the extractor is going. i crimp or use connector strip in a chock box behined the extractor chimney. if you fit a flex outlet plate it might get in the way of the fixing brackets.

underlights if selv i put tranny on top of unit and drop cable behined,