Over the years I have done bits of wiring on my various homes and have some idea of the general principles.
Current home has some pretty poor bodges from previous owner(s) including the kitchen wiring. Also needs a new consumer unit.
I have taken early retirement and do not anticipate working full time in future.
How complicated is it to get to a standard where I could do it myself? What would I need to spend on tools and testgear?
TIA for any advice.
It's not practical to undertake the training and get the kit which will enable you to 'self certify' under Part P if you're just doing a few jobs for yourself, and not doing it for a living.
However, you can still do it yourself - but you'll need to submit a Building Notice and get your local authority to test and certify it. You'll need to become au fait with the latest (17th Edition) wiring regs, of course.
That way, you'll only need the usual DIY tools - drills, screwdriver, pliers, etc. - and a multimeter would be handy.
Some local authorities may try to wriggle out of their responsibility to test and certify your work - and may try to insist that you use a qualified electrician - but they can't legally do that, so you may need to be persistent. But go and talk to them to find out how they operate. With mine, you have to give them a full spec up front, saying exactly what you are going to do. They will send a normal Building Inspector to do a visual inspection after first fix, and then they will send a qualified electrician - at *their* expense, paid for out of the Building Notice fee [1] - to do the final test and certification.
It often pays, if you can manage it, to combine electrical work with some other notifiable work - however trivial - because some authorities have higher inspection fees for 'electrics only' work. For example, the notes issued by my LA (Warwick District Council) say: "If electrical works are part of a larger project, no further fee is payable. The fee for a application purely for electrical work should be calculated on the basis of Table C. However a BS7671 completion certificate will need to be issued by an electrician registered with an approved 'competent person' scheme. The electrician should be appointed by the applicant. If Building Control are asked to inspect, test and certify the electrical works, further fees will be required, based on an hourly rate."
[1] As long as it's part of a larger project - see the bit in quotes.
Thanks for this. Had multimeters etc since I got physics A level and did not do quite so well doing electronic engineering at uni. A bid of earth bonding, a new consumer unit and new rings in the kitchen look necessary here. The rest doesn't look too bad. The kitchen had various spotlights wired to the cooker point with no additional protection!
There are three questions here really:
1) What does it take to get to a state of competence to do the actual work, 2) what tools are required, 3) and what does one do to self certify.(1) A few books[1], and some reading on this group and its various FAQs and Wiki articles will give you a good insight into the "how" aspects.
For starters you can have a read through some of the basics articles here:
Sorry, you're over qualified for this type of work.
stuart noble coughed up some electrons that declared:
If you want an eye opener, try the IET forums. 97% of folk there are extremely knowledgeable and helpful, provided you've done your homework and made an effort.
The other 3% seem to have the attitude:
prior to Part P:
"You're not an electrician unless you're qualified"
after Part P:
"5 day wonder NICEIC approved Domestic Installer - Bah! You're not an electrician unless you're time served for 20 years, spent 3 years at college and have 8 C&Gs" (most of which no longer exist).
Doesn't matter what degree(s) or other relevant background you have.
About the only other place to find such bitterness is on a gas fitters forum.
Unsurprisingly, the people who are in a more righteous position to slap down the unitiated, because they are MIET, CEng, degree and C&G'd in one or more aspects of electrical work or testing are the most helpful and never get upset.
Bit like our favourite CORGI fellows here :)
Cheers
Tim
I suggest if you want to wallow in bigotry and ignorance you have a (brief) look at any amateur radio forum, which will way exceed the bitterness of gas fitters.
The arguments are so vicious because the stakes are so small.
AIUI, even training, competency and equipment isn't sufficient, but being a junior PFY spod working for a NICEIC contractor is. Remember that Part P is about income tax, not electrics!
What's the timescale for work requiring to be to the 17th rather than
16th, and does Part P still have that infamous clause in it where it literally states 16th ed. (and by implication, not 17th)?Andy Dingley coughed up some electrons that declared:
All new work started now should be to the 17th. I don't know about the wording, but the BCO here said 16th and I told him it would be done to the
17th. He didn't argue (well bigger numbers are always better, aren't they ;->Cheers
Tim
Then there's Raynet ... my hivis is brighter than your hivis.
Owain
LOL, One could have a tee shirt printed with that ;-)
What's going on here?
membership of part P organizations authorizes that person [ONLY] to instal domestic electrical work which would otherwise require Building Regs approval or notification. It does NOT qualify anyone to inspect thrid party work for Part P purposes.
The simplest procedure is to submit a building notice with the fee and get on with the work. It is up to the local authority Building Control dept to approve the work as and when. NOT your job.
The electrician should be appointed by the
No it is all part of the notification fee. No further charge may be made after work has started.
As to whether different fees may be charged for electrical work as opposed to other building work, that is another bone of contention.
In the end even if you decide you have to kowtow instead of arguing, fire off a complaint to your MP about the unlawful charges being made by your District Council. It might be grape shot, but in the end complaints register.
Indeed. If the BC department want an inspection carried out then they should pay for it if they are incapable of doing it inhouse.
That's the theory (as described in para 1.26 of the Part P approved document). However the practice varies. A few will let you work that way. Many don't however and insist either you pay for an inspection or pay an enhanced BN fee to allow them to fund one.
See:
Can't see there being enough of them to count, but worth a try I suppose.
But it's your job - just with normal building work - to tell them when a particular stage is *ready* for inspection. Just as foundation trenches cannot be inspected when you've filled them with concrete, cables can't be inspected once you've plastered over thm.
Well, there lies the rub! As far as I know, fees are not set nationally, and each LA is free to impose its own fees - including higher ones for electrics-only jobs if it wishes.
In some ways I feel sorry for Building Control departments - having all this rubbish imposed on them by central government without being given any resources to gear up for it. Employing external inspectors costs them real money, and they're not allowed to make a loss - so they've got to try to recover it somehow.
The goverment assumed that everyone would employ a Part-P qualified electrician - but still allowed DIY-ing, without considering the consequences. Prescott has got a lot to answer for!
Indeed - they have my sympathy as well, after all it was not their idea I am sure. The tricky thing is working out how to cause pain in the system where it is most deserved!
John Rumm coughed up some electrons that declared:
36 barrels of black powder?We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Huge saying something like:
Christ yes, they're even worse than you.
Glad to see the season of goodwill passed you by. Hopefully you got a nice tumour for Xmas.
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Huge saying something like:
Fuck, I was hoping for some wit from you. Too much to expect from a redneck tosser.
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