Why is there no power to my shed or garage?

On the main switchboard, look for a breaker labelled shed, garage, workshop or sub-board, and for a safety switch that has tripped. Then check the shed's own board if it has one; it usually has a main switch, a few breakers and its own safety switch. A fault in the shed can trip the device in the shed, the one on the main board, or both, depending on how they were set up.

An attached garage is often wired on the same circuits as the house, so dead garage points there usually share a fault with a room inside. Reset one device at a time, once, after unplugging tools, fridges and heaters in the shed or garage.

Underground cable to a shed can be cut or nicked by a spade, a new fence post, garden edging or tree roots, and water gets into damaged insulation after rain. Overhead cable strung between the house and shed can be pulled or rubbed by branches and storms. Outdoor points and lights on the shed take in water when covers are left open or seals perish. Any of these can trip a safety switch, often after rain, or leave the shed dead with nothing tripped at all.

If anyone has been digging along the cable route recently, mention it when you book. It saves a lot of searching.

We test the cable to the shed and the circuits inside it, find the fault and repair or replace the damaged section. If the shed now runs more than it was set up for, such as a welder, compressor or second fridge, we'll talk about whether the supply and protection still suit what you use it for.