Electrician in Sandgate: outside lights and power by the sea

Sandgate sits on the coast between Folkestone, where we are based, and Hythe. We take on the bigger jobs there, rewires, consumer unit changes and EV chargers, as well as smaller work from a dead socket to a new light. A rewire is priced after a free look, and the rewire cost guide explains what moves the figure. The rest of this page is about one thing that matters more on the seafront than it does inland: the electrics that live outside, including a charger on an outside wall, which faces the same salt and rain as any other outdoor fitting.

Why the sea changes the shopping list

Salt carried on the wind settles on anything outdoors and holds moisture against it. On a cheap fitting that shows up as rust round the screws, a seal that gives up, and in the end water inside the fitting. A light that would have been fine inland can start tripping the circuit it is on once water gets in.

None of that is a reason to go without outdoor lights or sockets. It is a reason to choose the fitting with the weather in mind rather than the price tag.

What to look for in an outdoor fitting

• The IP rating. The two digits after IP are protection against dust and against water. For a wall light out in the weather, look for IP65 or higher. For anything set into the ground, where water can pool round it, IP67 or higher.
• The metal. Stainless steel is not all alike: grade 316, often sold as marine grade, copes with salt far better than the cheaper 304. Solid brass and copper weather to a dull finish without rusting through. A fitting described as bronze is often a coloured coating over something else, so check what is underneath.
• Fixings and seals. Stainless screws, a proper gasket, and the cable coming in from below rather than above, so water runs off it instead of into it.
• Plastic is not cheating. A good polycarbonate fitting does not corrode at all, and for a side passage or a bin store it is often the sensible pick.

Already bought your fittings? That is fine. Send a photo or a link and we will tell you straight whether they suit an outside wall here before we put them up. There is more on lighting in general on our lighting page.

Outdoor sockets and garden power

An outdoor socket wants a weatherproof cover that still closes with a plug in it, not only when it is empty, and it wants RCD protection, so the power cuts out fast if something goes wrong in the wet. If your board is older and has no RCD at all, that is worth knowing before anything is added outside, and a photo of the board shows it straight away. The consumer unit page explains what a newer board gives you.

Power to a shed, a studio or the bottom of the garden is a bigger job. The cable has to go underground or along a wall, and the route decides the price, so that one needs a look. The garden and outdoor power page goes through it.

If you can smell burning, see smoke or sparks, or anyone has had a shock, ring 999 first. Short of that, if an outdoor light or socket has filled with water, looks scorched, or trips the board every time it rains, switch that circuit off at the board, leave it off, and call us. A light that trips only in wet weather is a fault finding job, and water in an outside fitting is a common cause.

What it costs

Most outdoor work goes on the hourly rate: a first hour from £80, then £48 an hour, with no VAT on domestic work. Repairing an outdoor security light usually takes one to two hours, so from £80, or from £128 if it runs to two, plus a replacement fitting if the old one is beyond saving. You know the cost of the fitting before we buy it.

A new outdoor light, or a run of garden lighting, needs a look first, and the quote visit is free. Quote visits are usually Friday evenings and Saturday mornings. The rest of our figures are on the price guide.