house changes - moving stairs, moving stud partitions to create bedrooms, creating a showeroom (no electric shower planned), a cloakroom, new CH boiler (oil), smoke alarm.
Bregs full plans approved - about to start work. Current conusmer unit is old wylex but with MCBs - no RCDs....
Checked with Council Building Ctrl - it seems I am OK to do all electrics concerned with above inckuding cloakroom (as they are "extensions to existing circuits") excep showeroom extractor fan and light fall under PartP.
Q1) Pre PartP I was confident in my ability to undertake straightforward wiring jobs - new lights, sockets etc. Even though these new jobs are non-notifiable what other regs and "standards" of installation should/do I have to work to nowadays?
Q2) Sparky #1 has been to look at the spaces where the showeroom and smoke alarm will be and sucked a lot of teeth about lack of RCDs on CU, lack of bonding for existing bathroom, (and muttered about me wanting to do the rest myself) - what should I be looking to do/get done for this aspect to get it signed off by BCO, and what should it cost?
Q3) can the new oil boiler operate off one of "my" circuit extensions (given that I do any!) or is there more red tape there too?
snip............ Someone will be along with the detail but.. All work must comply with the latest regulations in terms of specification, installation and testing - whether falling under Part P or not. This means the new 17th edition which has some significant differences to the 16th. Part P particularly covers special locations, so kitchens, bathrooms, shower rooms etc will need to be inspected where other elements may not. So if your boiler is in a kitchen it will be caught anyway. Don't think Part P covers replacement heating circuit components, only a total re-fit. Pay attention to the RCD situation in 17th edition - this is significantly different to previous practice and 16th.
From what you have said, if you read up on new regs and can test all work in accordance, then the Part P bit is just the shower room. BCO should test this for you if you DIY
thanks Phil, as regards testing I've had a quick look at the TLC web guide:-
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I think is based on the 16th edition.... does the 17th add anything in the "testing" area? this is the only bit that I'd need to consider having never tested things to that degree - is extra special kit required to do that? moreover is it worth me purporting to be a "competent person" and doing it?
for e.g.- Is it feasible to get the lot tested after I've done my bits? or before and after? or will I run into sparkys' "vested interest" cans of worms?
The BCO said verbally "just get on with it - except notifiable part P bits" - this i take to mean he won't be looking at anything except the bit of paper I get for the PartP bits.. so... where's the impetus to change other things to the 17th regs? how can it "get me"? or put another way - why should I pay inflated sparky rates for stuff I could do myself? (if not absolutely to the letter of the 17th regs)....
thanks Phil, as regards testing I've had a quick look at the TLC web guide:-
formatting link
I think is based on the 16th edition.... does the 17th add anything in the "testing" area? this is the only bit that I'd need to consider having never tested things to that degree - is extra special kit required to do that? moreover is it worth me purporting to be a "competent person" and doing it?
for e.g.- Is it feasible to get the lot tested after I've done my bits? or before and after? or will I run into sparkys' "vested interest" cans of worms?
The BCO said verbally "just get on with it - except notifiable part P bits" - this i take to mean he won't be looking at anything except the bit of paper I get for the PartP bits.. so... where's the impetus to change other things to the 17th regs? how can it "get me"? or put another way - why should I pay inflated sparky rates for stuff I could do myself? (if not absolutely to the letter of the 17th regs)....
I'm currently in a similar situation with a bedroom/shower room extension. I've also opted to add another ring main, which is notifiable as a new circuit, so most of my new wiring falls under Part P. I'm doing all this under a Full Plans Application.
Our local authority (Waverley in Surrey) has a standard "first fix" electrical inspection on their list, which they sub out to an electrical firm, although our usual BCO came along too. They don't mention final testing on their standard list, and I was initially told that either I should do the full tests myself, or get it done and provide a certificate from an electrical contractors. I would be happy to do it myself, and have a modern loop tester (see EBay, well worth getting for your own safety testing), but not an insulation tester or RCD tester, so could not complete the relevant test form completely.
Given the above, I've just had the discussion re Part P page 11 "doesn't the LA do the testing in these circumstances" and have now got an agreement that they will do the final test (subbed out as before), with a weeks notice (not a problem to me). Part P also states that in this case the LA bears the cost of testing - and to date no charges to me have been mentioned over and above the normal inspection fees.
I should add that our BCO has been helpful, friendly, and a pleasure to deal with throughout the project so far.
I would suggest that you download Part P from the government planning portal, print, read, and if necessary quote pages 11 and 12, which cover DIY installations and testing. Unusually, this section is written in clear English, and to me is unambiguous in its meaning. Having said that, it would seem that different LA's are taking a different view on how they deal with this - I suspect that Waverley stick to the "you have to provide your own certificate" line, unless Part P is directly quoted.
I would also recommend buying John Whitfield's guide to the 17th edition of the wiring regulations to give you a view on what you need to do to stay legal and current in your installation.
You are probably going to have to either change or radically alter your consumer unit to comply with the new RCD rules for all of your new circuits. It might be possible to do this as part of a full plans application (as above) if you want to do this yourself, as a CU change is notifiable. The new 17th ed rules re RCD protection look initially like a pain in the neck, but they will make your house safer.
Best of luck with this - it's all do-able if you read the regs and take take. Charles F
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