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How hard is it to get plug sockets installed?

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  1. #1

    Post How hard is it to get plug sockets installed?

    Hi all,

    Ok so I know near to nothing about electricity.

    I am just about to move into a new place, price is perfect, loads of natural light, its the right size for me. BUT there's a good portion of the main living area that just has 0 plug sockets.

    I would love to avoid routing extension cables around the whole apartment.

    How hard is it to get new plug sockets installed in HK? Can I just get an electrician to give it a whirl? is it a major job and would it cost a lot?

    I would obviously get permission from my landlord, but so far they seem super nice.

    Thanks for any advice!


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Jan 2010
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    6,452

    Walls in HK are concrete and brick. You'd need someone to cut a channel into it, put a plastic pipe in to run the wires through, patch it back up with some cement and paint it. That's a major job and I doubt your landlord would agree to that.

    https://youtu.be/fvkc79jTHRA?t=226

    emx and flameproof like this.

  3. #3

    Thats a shame


  4. #4

    Join Date
    Jan 2021
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    492

    Happy with both the price and the place?? When does your lease end? I wanna move in there

    But yeah, it's more than just a handyman's job. Cost will depend on socket location/complexity. E.g. few years ago, I paid HK$600 to open a new twin socket on a wall. Also moved the position of an existing switch socket upwards by ~30cm separately on two other walls for HK$450 and HK$900.

    In case your landlord agrees to you installing sockets at your own cost, do not forget to also ask (via sms/email for record) if he is okay with you leaving them as they are when you move out or he expects you to reinstate to original condition before you leave because they are tenant's alterations (i.e. remove sockets, repaint wall). Socket being a useful addition for next tenant irrelevant. Permission given to alter something ≠ waiving the tenant's requirement to deliver the place in same repair and condition at their expense upon lease expiry.

    Don't do it. Or at least don't do it right away - just move in and stay in there for a while on an extension cable. Beg/borrow one if you don't want to buy it. If it is relative nice and quiet and you don't seem to hear your neighbours much (a good portion no holes!), adding a wall socket will change that dramatically - full effects of which you will only suffer on hindsight. An extension cable is your new best friend. Don't do it.

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  5. #5

    Join Date
    Jul 2006
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    3,886

    As someone who regularly installs new electric sockets I'll give you the experts view:

    1) It's difficult to have too many sockets in an apartment and too few is a constant nightmare.

    2) It's not common for people renting to have new sockets installed as the cost is quite high and a lot of people don't want to spend their money on a rental palace (despite the fact they spend a lot of their money on a rental place)

    3) The cost is proportional to the length of the chase (the distance from the socket that the new socket (s) are situtated, but the cost per meter falls as the number of chases (and meters grows).

    4) Most of the cost is the length of the chase, a good sparky shouldn't charge you double for a double socket over a single.

    5) The reason why you need multiple sockets in a flat is not just convenience, it's primarily safety. If you're running all your appliances in your living room of a single socket with a power bar, you're almost certainly going to overload that power bar, which is bad idea. Overloaded extensions are a common cause of electrical fires and fires in tall buildings are really not good news.

    6) If you do decide to go ahead and get sockets installed, your landlord would be insane if they were to require you to remove them when you left (though it is prudent to get this in writing, just in case they forget to take their meds for a few weeks). Insane landlords are not uncommon in HK - But THAT insane - nah. Even the utter twats realise that more sockets in a place lacking them is a very good upgrade and not something subject to the 'taste' of the next tenant.

    7) Cutting chases is very dusty, noisy and time consuming, but the dusty/noisy bit can likely be completed in a single day. After that, concreting/plastering/painting is not too intrusive.

    8) If you go the extension route, get high quality extensions with cables long enough to reach your locations (don't plug an extension into an extension to add cable length) and carefully spread the load of your appliances across several sockets (which means cables running from more than one socket)|

    9) What bars and restaurants often do is go the external conduit route. This means routing the conduit outside the wall rather than inside the wall.:
    Pros:
    Cheaper
    Quicker
    Less noise and mess
    Reasonably easy to install means easy to remove - See cons.


    Cons:
    You have plastic conduit running around your walls which doesn't look great indoor
    Your landlord would likely require it to be removed when you left


    Ultimately, if you'd like a quote to have sockets installed (routed either inside or outside the wall), then send me a PM.

    Cheers.

    Conduit: Don't have any restaurant shots to hand, but here's conduit in external applications:

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    Last edited by Sage; 26-03-2022 at 12:37 AM.
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  6. #6

    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by mrgoodkat:
    Walls in HK are concrete and brick. You'd need someone to cut a channel into it, put a plastic pipe in to run the wires through, patch it back up with some cement and paint it. That's a major job and I doubt your landlord would agree to that.

    https://youtu.be/fvkc79jTHRA?t=226
    For the record, nobody in HK uses a bolster chisel and hammer for chasing - Angle grinder and pneumatic chisel!

    And if your landlord is confident that the work will be done well, many of them will agree to tenants doing this at their expense, as it's a definite free upgrade to their property and address a specific problem with the flat - nobody adds electrical sockets just on a whim...
    Last edited by Sage; 26-03-2022 at 01:03 AM.

  7. #7

    Join Date
    May 2009
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    6,180
    Quote Originally Posted by Sage:
    For the record, nobody in HK uses a bolster chisel and hammer for chasing - Angle grinder and pneumatic chisel!

    And if your landlord is confident that the work will be done well, many of them will agree to tenants doing this at their expense, as it's a definite free upgrade to their property and address a specific problem with the flat - nobody adds electrical sockets just on a whim...
    And since it's an upgrade the rent will rise accordingly...

    In a rented place I would get good quality extensions. Just don't put heavy loads on them (like heaters)
    Last edited by flameproof; 26-03-2022 at 09:51 AM.

  8. #8

    Join Date
    May 2005
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    Hong Kong, from UK
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    3,838

    Something we noticed when we moved into our current place last year was an abundance of outlets - something like 14 in the living room! Was a good sign...


  9. #9

    Join Date
    Feb 2021
    Posts
    240

    What’s the power consumption of the appliance you intend to plug in? A microwave/oven is way more than a fridge/tv


  10. #10

    Ask the landlord to add more sockets, they might be ok with it, especially in this climate.


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