Shower Advice - electrical

At one time plumber/electricians were common. Not sure about now. Wonder if he had the appropriate qualifications?

cable sizes & current ratings:

I disagree. Part P is the law, it specifies BS7671, although BS7671 is not mandatory an equivalent standard of safety is.

The customer is entitled to the work to be carried out to a reasonable standard of care and professionalism. As Part P is a legal requirement that would be the minimum standard expected. If the work doesn't comply with Building Regs then it's illegal.

The electrician would still have to provide the appropriate certificate including identifying any areas of non-compliance with BS7671, and the customer would still be entitled to complain if he hadn't been told the work would be non-compliant.

Very good point especially as showers are increasing in load so it is quite likely the cable should be replaced anyway.

Owain

Why would electrical work be illegal when other work is not? Building regs are the easy way to show the work is to an acceptable standard but you can do it in other ways if you show that it is safe and does what is required.

Therein is the rub - "an equivalent standard of safety".

The legal requirement P1... Reasonable provision shall be made in the design and installation of electrical installations in order to protect persons operating, maintaining or altering the installations from fire or injury.

The practical reality... The first thing any court will do is compare to BS7671. In particular use (say) ESC PIR coding re Code 4-3-2-1.

With wall lights I do the following...

- Sink a PVC 20mm round conduit (besa) box into the wall

- Run oval/conduit to it

- Wago lever-clip 222-412 222-413 the terminals

- Fit the box lid with 20mm hole & 20mm grommet

- Crimp earth to any wall light mounting screw in box

-

For showers leave out the terminals, use PVC 25mm besa box, easier to loop cables out re L-E-N arrangement & bend radius, easier to replace cables should the need arise re damage terminals or undersized cable.