electrical regulations

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electrical regulations
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Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Wed Nov 30, 05 12:30 pm Post subject:

dpack wrote:

a nicee test certificate is what is required

For reasonable price but if you are expected to fork out several hundred pounds then it starts being a little daft.

Any idea what it *should* cost to certify all the wiring in an average 3 bed house?

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45460
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Nov 30, 05 12:32 pm Post subject:
usually about 80 quid .

Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Wed Nov 30, 05 12:34 pm Post subject:

dpack wrote:

usually about 80 quid .

That'll only cover an hours work round here? (If that)

What is entailed in certifying? I would expect all covers to be taken off the fittings and the wiring checked, then all circuits tested for correct earthing and correct wiring.

Leonie

Joined: 13 Sep 2005
Posts: 731
Location: West Sussex

Posted: Wed Nov 30, 05 12:35 pm Post subject:
Our building regs charge around £100 for the certificate but they want it to have been installed by a qualified electrician not an unqualified homeowner which is where the expense will come in.

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Wed Nov 30, 05 12:40 pm Post subject:

Treacodactyl wrote:

Do you know how you go about doing the wiring yourself and getting the buildings regs people to certify? I always intended to re-wire our house and get it all certified for insurance purposes and thought the new law would make it easier. However, not sure if it's just scare stories but there seemed to be a shortage of people who could do such a job.

Will the building regs dept of the council be able to certify, or will the provide a list of people you can use or do you need to find your own contractor? Any help gratefully received.

As GardenerJ says, your local building inspector probably won't be qualified himself so if you ask him to certify your work, he will just call in an electrical contractor to do the job - it will probably end up costing you more that way.

Any electrical contractor above a certain size will have several non-Part P sparkies who do most of the work and one or two Competent Persons who go around the sites to check and certify. There is no reason why you shouldn't do the wiring, and then hire a qualified electrician to come and certify it - which should satisfy the Building Inspector.
You would probably be best off talking to a company that is bigger than a one-man band - tell them what you want to do, and perhaps even arrange for them to come out a couple of times in the course of the work just to cast an eye over what you are doing.

Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Wed Nov 30, 05 12:40 pm Post subject:
For us the Building Regs cert depends on the cost of the work, well it did when I last did work (what a joke the final inspection was ). As far as I can tell you are legally allowed to do the work and then get it inspected by the council but I feared what you say GardenerJ, i.e. the council just try and force people to get the work done by an electritian.

Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Wed Nov 30, 05 12:43 pm Post subject:

Judith wrote:

You would probably be best off talking to a company that is bigger than a one-man band - tell them what you want to do, and perhaps even arrange for them to come out a couple of times in the course of the work just to cast an eye over what you are doing.

I'll give that a try, do you think they would be happy to do this or just insist they do all the work? I'm quite near London so there seems to be a constant shortage of qualified bods round here to do anything.

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Wed Nov 30, 05 12:45 pm Post subject:

Treacodactyl wrote:

What is entailed in certifying? I would expect all covers to be taken off the fittings and the wiring checked, then all circuits tested for correct earthing and correct wiring.

That sort of stuff - continuity, earth leakage, etc.
Can't advise on cost - OH is still working as an IT contractor at the moment! - but it would surely be based on the size of the installation.

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Wed Nov 30, 05 12:47 pm Post subject:

Treacodactyl wrote:

I don't see why it would be a problem as long as you can convince them you know what you are talking about. They are probably doing that sort of service already for people like kitchen fitters.

bernie-woman

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7824
Location: shropshire

Posted: Wed Nov 30, 05 12:52 pm Post subject:

So I need two extra sockets put in my kithen and would like an electrician to also check the wiring in the kitchen as the previous owner put the kitchen in himself and we have alreay identified that he wired the external security light to all of the electrics upstairs

Would it be best to get an electrician who has got his Part P or do I go for an electician who hasn't and then get building regs to certify it

There seems to be very few electricians advertising they have Part P

Behemoth

Joined: 01 Dec 2004
Posts: 19023
Location: Leeds

Posted: Wed Nov 30, 05 12:57 pm Post subject:

Judith wrote:

You could do that, but you would be lying in one of the documents that makes up the contract of sale - judges tend to take a dim view of that sort of thing if it ever ends up in the courts. It also might be difficult to explain how the wiring in your new extension was put in before the extension was built!

Yes that would be foolish. I'm thinking no more of putting a light in the cupboard under the stairs. For any job other I'd hire a qualified competent electrician from an established EIC certified firm and expect him or her to be able to do the job. To then have them checked and certified by another competent person seems a bit of overkill. I trust the blokes at the tyre centre to put my wheels back on properly and don't expect a man from the Council or where-ever to come and certify that they have.

In tems of cost we paid £3.5k for a total rewire 5 years ago, but it's a big old victorian house with longer than usual wire runs and I went a bit mad with double socket s everywhere.

Leonie

Joined: 13 Sep 2005
Posts: 731
Location: West Sussex

Posted: Wed Nov 30, 05 1:13 pm Post subject:

bernie wrote:

Would it be best to get an electrician who has got his Part P or do I go for an electician who hasn't and then get building regs to certify it

There seems to be very few electricians advertising they have Part P

Bernie, some non-part P electricians will be happy to get the certificate through building regs on your behalf so although they're not part p certified themselves they'll get it all done for you.

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Wed Nov 30, 05 5:11 pm Post subject:

bernie wrote:

Would it be best to get an electrician who has got his Part P or do I go for an electician who hasn't and then get building regs to certify it

There seems to be very few electricians advertising they have Part P

Bernie,

This is what OH has to say on the subject:

Quote:

To check electrics an electrician has to be ‘competent’ - C&G 2391 inspection and test is accepted as a good indication of competence. The electrician must issue a test report in line with the 16th edition regs. If they don’t then they are not acting competently. You don’t need part P.

To do anything electrical in a kitchen you need building regs certification. A part P qualified electrician is effectively qualified to issue the certificate and inform building control on your behalf.

If you call Building Control they will advise if they can check – apparently most just recommend a few part P electricians!

N.B. Only one person in the firm needs to be part P qualified (the duty holder) so larger firms don’t have much problem complying.

Don't know if that helps.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Wed Nov 30, 05 5:17 pm Post subject:
I think it helps me, I'll call our building regs dept and see if they recommend a couple of local people. As I also need some other work done I need a sparky anyway. Thanks Judith and OH.

bernie-woman

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7824
Location: shropshire

Posted: Tue Dec 13, 05 9:57 am Post subject:

I am struggling to find an electrician that has the qualifications to do the work in my kitchen

I have just rung our local council and they have informed me that for them to get someone to check the work they will charge me £175+VAT (£205.62)

Does that seem expensive to anyone else??

If I do find someone with the right qualifiactions is this the amount they include within their quote

I can fully understand the safety implications of these regulations but it appears to be a licence to print money

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