Home DIY and electricity

[BrendanS]

Was anyone else unaware, that new government regulations mean you have to get an electrician in to do anything other than minor repairs, or if you do it yourself, have to pay an electrician to come and certify it.

When the time comes to sell your property, your purchaser's solicitors will ask for evidence that any electrical installation carried out after 1 January 2005 complies with the new Building Regulations. So if you have done it yourself, and not brought an electrician in to issue a certificate, it will be difficult to sell your house.

More info here

 

[adrianm]

How are they going to know (for the next year or so anyway) whether it was done before Jan 1st anyway?

It's not that tricky to get a certificate to enable you to certify domestic wiring. Any reasonably competent DIY'er should be able to get one with a couple of nights revision and a test.

This sort of legislation is never well thought out as the only people who will pay attention to it are the sort of people who wouldn't mess it up in the first place.

 

[mikewilkes]

This has been around for a while in Scotland. The last house I built for myself I finished in 1996. The wiring had to be certified by an electrician before the Hydro Board would connect.
The first one I built in 1978 had only the earth tested by the Hydro Board before they connected.

 

[jfm]

Yup I was aware of this rule, as I'm involved in a new house project at the mo. When we sell our old house, it will be the case that no new electrical stuff has been added since 1.1.05

Interesting to compare this sort of stuff with the number (is it a million?) of new public sector jobs created since Labour were elected, and this week's promises of massive public sector job cuts by the 3 main parties. Jobs such as writing rules like this and similar red tape will hopefully be among those axed

 

[Talbot]

If you believe a party that promises public sector job cuts and reduction in quangoes as its means of reducing expenditure, when they are the ones responsible for creating the need in the first place, then you probably still believe in santa claus /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[David_J]

Not sure about a couple of nights revision and a test. What cercifcate yoo got in mind??

 

[gjgm]

surely Gordo has missed a trick here..shouldnt these certificates then be subject to a new tax?
Bout as dumb as new combi boilers form April having to be condensing-never mind how long its going to take to recoup the cost. All that global warming avoided by your boiler will now be lost by vast numbers of pointless electrician visits in his brand new 5.0l Merc.
What can you do these days? gas..er no..rules,guvnr,.. electricity,, er,no,fraid not, water then,,well depends what...building..no way,my son.
Nanny state....

 

[Anthony]

Its worth having a look at the regulation (which I dont have to hand but no doubt a google will find it), from what i recall you are not allowed to put in new ring mains etc, but are allowed to replace exsiting ones. Who is to say that there wasnt one there before (unless you are building an extension of course!).

I agree that its all nonsense, but I wonder how much it will really impact in reality.

On a similer thread, I underdtand that wiring colour codes are being changed, esp in 3 phase systems, now each phase will be the same colour? DUH....


Anthopny

 

[Wiggo]

Oh, God help us all! Adrian, there was something on the radio about this a while ago - the certification course is anything but simple, AFAIK, and qualified sparkies will now need annual certification, and that's likely to cost in excess of £5 grand a year each. To further add to the confusion, there are 5 separate certification bodies...

 

[David_J]

Thats my understanding as well. You have to be a fully trained and qualified sparkie and be able to prove it before you can even apply for the certification. Interview I heard last year suggested that there were a lot of sparkies out there doing a good job. Decent and honest, not cowboys, but simply didn't have the full qualifications so couldnt even apply for the cercification.
I think its bin like this in Euroland for ages. A friend in Finland has all the qualies to do all this stuff and we were discussing this last year. Like a mug I says "well how long did it take you to get the qualifications" several years, gulp!!

 

[BrendanS]

So there won't be enough electricians to do the work, or examine diy work and provide certificates. So those that are qualified will have more work than they can handle, and will raise their hourly rates, and cherry pick the best jobs.
Simple supply and demand

 

[goochie]

Generally agree with the gloomy tone here, as I've done lots of re-wiring work in my place, and then got an electrician friend to give me the nod before I covered everything up. Generally agree, too much red tape, but, a cautionary note!

Some friends bought a house a few years back, had survey done etc. but only when they moved in did they realise that some DIY disaster had re-wired a lot of the mains ring with 1mm cable. Worked OK for him cos he only plugged in TV's etc. Friend gets out of shower, plugs in hair dryer - BANG!

HMM!!

 

[robind]

The UK had the best colour coded fire extinguishers until Europe made us have red ones??? what is the sense of that. and you all forgot to mention that any new window installations also have to be done by certified people??
AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I want to leave mud island!!!!

 

[burgundyben]

details can be found on the website of the odpm

 

[tcm]

erm is this quite so crap an idea? I mean, i would be okay changing fuses, fitting a new socket or whatever. But i wd like the main electrickery in a house I buy to be approved in some way, really. So, if somebody has rewired an old house then they oughta get it checked and not too expensive, or get someone else to do the job. Otherwsie possible bang and ooer ouch? Of cousre, since the solictors check the wiring is ok, then not doing it and it being checked means a few (thousand) quid off the price. No red tape needed really, is there? obv, i spect there will be lots of red tape any way. Or pick tape if lawyers get involved. Or, with updated colour coding, it should be brown tape, easily remeber cos it is the colour of dogshit, which is also v dangerous to touch.

 

[BrendanS]

Wiring a complete new ring main in, yep OK, get a electrician in at least to check, but if you want to put a pump in a garden water feature? or a light into the roof space. Quite simple jobs, but are now outside remit of competent diy'ers

You won't be able to, cos there won't be enough of them to meet demand - bit like me trying to get a plumber round here - take day off work, he doesn't turn up, promises another date,take another day off work, doesn't turn up, promises another date ad infinitum

 

[Wiggo]

[ QUOTE ]
erm is this quite so crap an idea?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yup, think so. So I can put in another socket on an existing ring main in the dining room, but not the other side of the breakfast bar, because that's the kitchen, Kitchens Are Dangerous Places! I can put a light in the landing ceiling, but not a foot away on the other side of a stud wall, because that's The Bathroom.

In fact, I could rewire my entire house with bellwire with no earth, as long as I didn't do the kitchen or bathroom. But to plug the extension lead in to mow the lawn, I need to get a qualified sparkie out?

Oh, and now they have to requalify annually, so we'll need 46,000 civil servants to administer the accreditation schemes, and another 38,000 performing random building inspections, and we'll need 7 new prisons to accomodate all those people foolish enough to try mowing their lawns this year without adequate supervision.

Makes you proud to be British, doesn't it?

 

[tcm]

well, i bet

it's hardly gonna be needed i suppose. Cos all those who really are crap at lecky will uh-oh get a lectrician, and all those ace at it will have done it themselves and twill all be fine with a nit of fibbing. BUT the people in the middle who are crap AND say soddit have already killedemselves thereby rendering the rule not applicable. Unless i buy the house and kill me self i spose. That'll learn me for using a cheap lawyer.

 

[petem]

This being a boating forum, (OK so I still don't actually have a boat) does this also apply to boats? I ask this because I've seen loads of pics of boats that have caught fire, the cause usually being electrical.

 

[BrendanS]

This particular set of laws only applies to households not boats.