Part P, informing Building Control vs notifying?

[Fredxx]

I'm a little confused. If I'm competent and only infrequently carry out work in domestic premises, doe this mean I only need to notify Building Control before carrying out work? Where my work doesn't need inspection and testing?

Will electrical contractors be forced to join a Competent Person Scheme?

1. To join a competent person self-certification scheme, which is recommended for those who regularly undertake notifiable work in domestic premises.

1. Competent persons who only infrequently carry out work in domestic premises need not register with a competent persons self-certification scheme. However if they are not registered they must notify building control before carrying out the work and should meet all of the requirements of BS

7671 regarding design, installation, inspection and testing, and certification.

1. DIY electrical work is not to be encouraged, however where a householder wishes to carry out electrical work they must notify building control before commencing work. Building control will arrange for the work to be, inspected and tested at various stages and will charge a fee to cover any costs incurred.

[js.b1]

There are 2 types of work.

A) Notifiable works:

- NEW circuit across a garden

- NEW circuit in a kitchen or bathroom

- Consumer Unit change

B) NON-Notifiable:

- REPLACEMENT circuit across a garden

- REPLACEMENT circuit in a kitchen or bathroom

- REPLACEMENT CU enclosure-only due to damage (cracked)

Visit ODPM and download SI2006 for the full information (and further details on what you can and can not do).

DIY = C&G qualified but not a member of competent-scheme. DIY = Degree qualified but not a member of a competent-scheme. Professional = Employee does not even have O-level physics but the business is a member of a competent-scheme.

If you are doing electrical work as a tradesmen, you can do everything a DIYer can - but indemnity insurance is probably a good idea.

[John Rumm]

Worry not - that's partly the intention! ;-)

If you are not a member of a self certification scheme, then you will need to notify BC prior to carrying out any *notifiable* works. Minor works you can do without notification at all.

[Andy Dingley]

I wouldn't go overboard for a "degree" these days. I'm not even sure how a contemporary degree compares to an O level

I'm just amused by this being the IET's own website: where one of their own CEng isn't included in the Part P rubbish.

[NoSpam]

Andy Dingley wrote: ... snipped

Yes, maybe we should start adding the year of graduation to the BSc tag ;-)

It's actually the Engineering Council that's responsible for the Chartered Engineer tag.

Dave [BSc(1976) CEng FIET]

[Dave Liquorice]

Agreed I can't see how one in Zombie Films Study will be much use for electrical installation work.

[Fredxx]

But the IET article differentiates between just notifying, and where a householder carries out work which must be then inspected under building control. Para 2 suggests that the notifying bit is a cursory action.

Surely if anyone should know, shouldn't the IET know?

[Andy Dingley]

Nowt wrong with Zombies!

c'est moi)

[js.b1]

Oops, that should have said EE degree - or perhaps more usefully (!) Physics degree, or physics at older A-level.

The psychometric & assessment centre crowd got their way in dumbing down the educational system, the financial services & government got their way in charging for the educational system (re once in debt the culture is they never get out of it), the country meanwhile will eventually collapse under debt or more likely inflation. Inflation being the key strategy going forward, except the end result will be the pension liability compounds ever higher.

[Martin Bonner]

I'd rather have my electrics done by somebody with C&G than with any of those. They all teach the theory; C&G teaches the practice. In theory there's no difference between theory and practice; in practice ...

Of course, I'd rather have my electrics done by any of the above than by a "Professional" (as previously defined)

[David Robinson]

Also, see my recent thread "BCO / Part P problem" - you can't assume that your local building control, much less the individual building control officer on your case, will know the rules.

The impression I get is that it must be _very_ rare for them to come across DIY'ers following Part P.

Cheers, David.

[David Robinson]

Cheeky ******s!

It's like saying "people driving their own cars is not to be encouraged - it's much better for everyone to hire a taxi"!

Cheers, David.

[Tim Watts]

That is rather more apt, considering the number of people who kill or maim people whilst using a car!

[ARWadsworth]

I am waiting for the driverless car

[S Viemeister]

The wife of a family friend was seriously injured by a driverless car - it had rolled off the back of a transporter, and slammed right into her

[js.b1]

Soldering stranded conductors before inserting into a screw terminal...

- Physics tells you why you should not.

- Engineering tells you why you should not more cheaply.

- DIYer finds out why you should not from learning, because they go back to fix it.

- C&G finds out only that you should not from reading BS7671 enough times, but may not know why you should not.

:-)

Professional will say all the wiring, plus consumer unit, plus supply cable, plus the boiler (!) needs replacing and will go around visually inspecting your cornices, but will leave the MEB untouched and proceed to solder the stranded conductors as "that is what have always done and have been doing this for 8 years". They will also proceed mangle every single b@st@rd RCBO terminal "just to make sure they are tight" with a screwdriver which is as far from Modulo as is possible short of it being a chisel, Modulo having been specifically created to incite such destruction.

[John Rumm]

There are two sorts of notification if you like. There is the notification that a member of a self certification scheme can give[1] - this does not then precipitate any further action from building control. Then there is the notification that a non member can give. This latter type is via a building notice submitted to building notice, and will cost the price of a building notice[2] plus whatever additional charge (if any) the particular local authority have decided to charge. Submission of this will start whatever process the building control department have decided to carry out for part P notifications (e.g. anything from "we will subcontract an electrical contractor to carry out a PIR", to "we will have a quick look at first fix ourselves and plug in a socket tester at the end").

So a professional sparks who routinely does domestic work will probably join a scheme to self certify. A professional sparks who does not do DIY work often and hence has not joined a self certification scheme, or a DIYer would need to go the building notice route (unless they decide to ignore it altogether!)

[1] Note that they may actually give notification indirectly via their trade organisation/scheme operator. [2] Building notices vary in price based on various factors and schedules. One common one being the commercial value of the work being undertaken. In our area that means anything from £120 ish for work up to a value of £2K, to £350 for work $20K and over.

Surely if anyone should know, shouldn't the IET know?

Probably not - since the various local authorities make up their own rules based on their own differing interpretations of the requirements.

[Dave Osborne]

Difference between training and education innit?

"Rules are made for the guidance of wise men and the blind obedience of fools". Anon.

Except that the last few governments we have had have assumed, legislated and formulated education policy on the basis that we're all fools...

[The Natural Philosopher]

Labour voters *are* all fools. Fools and losers.

The legislation was framed for them, and to create more of them.

[John Rumm]

I actually asked one of our local BCOs about a year ago, how many part P only building notices they got (i.e. those just for electrical work, rather than some other building activity that also included electrical work)... After some thought he said he could not remember ever having seen one!