Hi all
3 years ago some refurb works were finished at my property, with the
exception of electrical re-work.
Am I right in thinking that the Building Control Department should still do
the inspection of the electrics for Part P under that same buiilding regs
application - I intend to start work on the wiring early next year. Or is
there a time limit on this stuff?
TIA
Phil
My local authority has a standard get you out of jail letter..
it basically says "the stuff was done more than 12 months ago, we have no
interest in the matter",
so I guess there is a time limit, but it may vary.
On Thu, 1 Oct 2009 17:00:12 +0100, a certain chimpanzee,
produced:
If the electrical works were (will be?) part of the work you carried
out (i.e., as part of a bathroom or kitchen extension), then they are
included in the original B/Regs application. If they were not a direct
result of the work you did, but you included them on your original
application (i.e., "internal alterations _and_ re-wire"), then they
too are covered. If neither apply, then any notifiable electrical work
not carried out under a Competent Person's Scheme requires a new
Building Regulations application.
If this work has been carried out and already signed off by Building
Control as complete, then you've missed the boat as far as getting any
new work signed off by them. Either that, or they may come back to you
and want the electrical work exposed. If you've not yet had a
completion certificate from Building Control, you may find they will
be asking you for the electrical installation certificate before they
do, or asking for it all to be exposed.
Once an application has started, there's no time limit on how long it
can take to complete, but the Council have up to a year from
discovering a contravention to issuing a notice to put it right.
--
Hugo Nebula
"If no-one on the internet wants a piece of this,
Thanks Hugo
The situation is that the work was carried out to a point where structural
changes were complete and the outstanding stuff includes re-fitting the
kitchen and bringing the electrics up to compliance level. Effectively we
have been living with the original electrical install and old kitchen units
since the structural stuff was carried out.
My last communication with Building Control prompted this response:
Following a site inspection on the 20th March (2006) I am satisfied that
the works carried out to date are acceptable. Electrical works should be
made available for inspection at first fix and completion unless the work is
being carried out by a contractor who is registered on the domestic
installer scheme.
The above paragraph would suggest that the testing work is within their
scope, so it's just the time scale that is against me. When I get started
early next year, it will be around four years since the structural stuff was
completed.
Do you think that they are duty bound to test/inspect? Are their
responsibilities for this documented anywhere?
Thanks
Phil
On Fri, 2 Oct 2009 08:51:31 +0100, a certain chimpanzee,
produced:
It's clear from that your application covers the electrical
installation. As it's started, there's no time limit for completion.
However I would check that your authority will sign off the work
without a BS 7671 installation certificate from the person who
installed it (yourself?) or someone who inspected it. Not all
authorities do.
An inspection at first fix is basically to check the blindingly
obvious faults, such as cables diagonally across walls or in bell
wire. Likewise, on completion, all one can see is that the sockets are
on and connected to the CU. We have plug-in testers to show whether a
circuit works, but beyond that, we have no way of knowing if the
cables are correctly clipped, in junction boxes, or anything else
below the surface.
Approved Document P gives guidance, but the caveat in the Use Of
Guidance section, "there is no obligation to adopt any particular
solution contained in an Approved Document", works both ways. The
Building Control body don't universally accept the guidance in
sections 1.24-1.27, but require a BS 7671 certificate from an
installer who is a member of a recognised body (NICEIC, ECA, etc.,).
This is a shorthand way of assessing whether the person is
'qualified', otherwise Building Control gets into the whole checking
of certificates & references, which they _really_ don't have time to
do.
What you have to understand is, Building Control surveyors _hate_ Part
P, and wish the whole bloody mess would just go away! If it _must_ be
within our remit, it should be made entirely self-certifying, like
work on gas appliances[*].
[*]Yes, I know.
--
Hugo Nebula
"If no-one on the internet wants a piece of this,
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