Outdoor & Garden Electricsin Great Houghton
Light your garden, power your shed or workshop, and add outdoor sockets safely, with weatherproofed installations built to cope with the British climate.
100% recommend on Facebook (15 reviews) · 15 years' experience · We guarantee our work
- Fully qualified Gold Card electricians
- £10m public liability insurance
- 15 years' experience
- We guarantee our work
The service
Safe, Reliable Powerfor Outside Spaces
Gardens, driveways, sheds and outbuildings often get added to a property's electrics as an afterthought, sometimes with a trailing extension lead doing a job it was never designed for. Doe Electrical, run by Tyler Doe with 15 years' experience, installs proper outdoor electrical circuits, from garden lighting and outdoor sockets to full power runs to sheds, garages and summer houses.
Outdoor electrics need to cope with rain, frost, damp soil and general exposure, which means different cable types, enclosures and protective devices compared with what's used indoors. Our team, which includes two Gold Card electricians and a Level 2 apprentice, installs outdoor circuits to the correct standards for the environment they're going into.
Whether you want low-level path lighting for an evening barbecue, a socket by the patio for power tools, or a dedicated supply out to a home office or gym in the garden, we assess the run from your consumer unit to the destination and install accordingly, including any armoured cable needed underground.
We cover Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, Milton Keynes, Cambridgeshire and Oxfordshire, with particularly strong coverage around Northampton, Daventry and Rushden, working on both domestic gardens and commercial outdoor spaces.
Who it's for
- Homeowners wanting proper garden lighting instead of solar stake lights
- Anyone relying on extension leads to power a shed, garage or summer house
- Property owners adding a hot tub, pond pump or water feature
- Businesses wanting outdoor lighting or power for a yard, car park or outdoor seating area
When you need it
- You're extending power out to a shed, garage or outbuilding
- You want garden lighting installed around paths, patios or planting
- You need an outdoor socket for tools, a hot tub or an electric mower charger
- An existing outdoor socket or light has stopped working or looks damaged
- You're landscaping and want electrics planned in before the groundwork finishes
If it's left
Why Outdoor ElectricsNeed Special Care
Water and electricity are a dangerous combination, and outdoor installations face conditions that indoor wiring simply doesn't. Cutting corners outside is one of the quickest ways to create a genuine safety hazard.
Water ingress into fittings
Outdoor fittings need appropriate IP ratings to keep moisture out. A light or socket with the wrong rating for its location can let water in, leading to faults or shock risk.
Damaged or unsuitable cable
Standard indoor cable isn't designed for direct burial or outdoor exposure. Armoured cable, correctly buried at depth, protects against both moisture and accidental damage from digging.
Missing or faulty RCD protection
Outdoor circuits carry a higher risk of contact with earth, through wet grass or damp soil, so RCD protection is essential to cut power quickly if a fault occurs.
Common mistakes we see
- ×Running an extension lead permanently to a shed instead of installing a proper circuit
- ×Fitting indoor-rated light fittings or sockets outside
- ×Burying cable at an incorrect depth or without a protective cover
- ×Connecting too many outdoor fittings to a single circuit beyond its capacity
- ×Ignoring a cracked or discoloured outdoor socket housing
- ×Adding garden electrics without protective devices suited to an outdoor environment
How it works
Our process
01
Inspection
We visit to look at your garden layout, existing outdoor electrics if any, and where you want new lighting, sockets or power runs, noting ground conditions and distances involved.
02
Diagnosis
We work out the best route from your consumer unit, whether cable needs to be run underground or along a wall, what IP-rated fittings suit each location, and whether your consumer unit has capacity for the new circuit.
03
Execution
We install the circuit, including any armoured cable for underground runs, correctly rated enclosures and fittings, and appropriate RCD protection suited to an outdoor environment.
04
Testing & Verification
We test the new circuit thoroughly, checking protective devices operate correctly and fittings are properly earthed and weatherproofed before considering the job finished.
05
Completion & Guarantee
We show you how everything works, from lighting controls to outdoor socket locations, and we guarantee our work, with the scope depending on what's been installed.
What you get
The benefits
No more trailing extension leads
A proper outdoor circuit means power where you need it, without a cable running across a lawn or through a doorway as a permanent fixture.
Built for the weather
Correctly IP-rated fittings and protected cable mean your outdoor electrics are designed to cope with rain, frost and general exposure, not just survive a dry summer.
Years of reliable use
Properly installed armoured cable and weatherproof fittings last far longer than makeshift solutions, saving you from repeat repairs.
Avoiding expensive water damage repairs
Getting outdoor electrics right the first time avoids the cost of fixing water-damaged fittings, cable, or worse, a damaged consumer unit from a fault tracking back indoors.
Circuits that cope with real use
We size circuits for what you'll actually plug in, whether that's a hot tub, power tools or a run of garden lighting, so you're not overloading a single socket.
Peace of mind outdoors
With RCD protection, correct earthing and £10 million public liability insurance behind the work, you can use your outdoor space without worrying about what's underfoot.
In detail
Garden Lighting, Socketsand Outbuilding Power
Outdoor electrical work covers a wide range of jobs, from a single socket by the shed to a fully lit garden with multiple circuits. Here's what's usually involved.
Garden and path lighting
Garden lighting ranges from low-voltage LED systems run off a transformer to mains-powered fittings wired directly into a circuit. Low-voltage systems are often simpler to retrofit, while mains lighting suits more permanent, higher-output installations.
Fitting placement matters as much as the electrics, since lights need to be positioned to avoid water pooling and to stay clear of areas that get regularly disturbed by digging or mowing.
Outdoor sockets
Outdoor sockets need a weatherproof enclosure with an appropriate IP rating and RCD protection as standard. They're commonly used for power tools, pressure washers, hot tubs and electric mower chargers.
We size the circuit according to what the socket will realistically power, as a hot tub or high-draw tool needs more capacity than a socket purely used for the occasional hedge trimmer.
Shed, garage and outbuilding power
Running power out to a shed or garage usually means an armoured SWA cable buried at the correct depth between the consumer unit and the outbuilding, terminating in its own small consumer unit or socket arrangement inside.
This is worth doing properly if the outbuilding is used as a workshop, home gym or office, where several appliances or tools might be running at once, rather than relying on a single extension lead stretched from the house.
Ponds, water features and hot tubs
Electrics near water need particular care, with correct IP-rated equipment, dedicated RCD protection, and careful cable routing to avoid any risk of water tracking into a connection point.
Hot tubs in particular often need their own dedicated circuit sized for the unit's specific electrical demand, which we assess based on the manufacturer's requirements for your model.
Domestic gardens vs commercial outdoor spaces
Domestic garden electrics are usually a single circuit or a small number of circuits covering lighting and sockets. Commercial outdoor spaces, such as car parks, yards or outdoor seating areas, often need multiple circuits and higher-capacity lighting designed for safety and visibility as much as atmosphere.
For commercial customers, we also consider how outdoor electrics interact with existing site lighting and security systems, so new work fits sensibly alongside what's already there.
Outdoor & Garden Electrics: your questions
How much does garden electrical work cost?
+
It depends entirely on the job, from a single outdoor socket to a full lighting scheme or a power run to an outbuilding. Our call-out is £120, including the first hour of work or diagnosis, then £45 per hour for properties within 10 miles of Great Houghton, NN4.
How long does an outdoor electrics job take?
+
It varies with the scope of work, particularly if cable needs to be buried underground. We'll give you a clearer idea once we've seen the garden and discussed what you want.
Can you run power to my shed or garage?
+
Yes, this is one of our most common outdoor jobs. We typically run armoured SWA cable underground from the consumer unit to the outbuilding, fitted with appropriate protection at both ends.
Is outdoor electrical work guaranteed?
+
We guarantee our work, with the length and scope depending on the job. We'll explain what that covers for your specific installation.
How long should outdoor lighting and sockets last?
+
With correctly rated fittings and protected cable, outdoor electrics are built to cope with years of exposure to the weather, provided they're installed to suit the location.
Can you fix an existing outdoor socket or light that's stopped working?
+
Yes, we carry out fault finding on existing outdoor electrics as well as new installations, and we're available for this within our working hours of Monday to Sunday, 6am to 10pm.
Do you cover Daventry and Rushden for garden electrics?
+
Yes, alongside Northampton, we're well established in Daventry and Rushden, and we also cover Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, Milton Keynes, Cambridgeshire and Oxfordshire more widely.
Can you add electrics for a hot tub or water feature?
+
Yes, we assess the specific power requirements of the unit and install a dedicated, correctly protected circuit suited to electrics near water.
Related services
Where we work
Based in Great Houghton, we cover Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, Milton Keynes, Cambridgeshire and Oxfordshire, and we're best known in Northampton, Daventry and Rushden.
Ready to Light Upor Power Your Garden?
Call 07904 890325 and we'll talk through what you've got in mind for your outdoor space.
Local call-out £120 including your first hour · £45/hour after · Open 7 days, 6am–10pm