Thinking of doing some DIY electrics after 1 1 2005? Think again.....

[Satch]

Anyone still think this Governement is worthy of the name?

New law spells end to DIY electrics and cowboy electricians


Cutting corners on electrical work is plain dangerous - and from 1 January 2005 it'll be breaking the law too, according to the UK's leading electrical safety body, the NICEIC. The new electrical safety law - entitled Part P - aims to tighten up electrical safety in the home by clamping down on cowboy electricians and on homeowners doing DIY electrical work. The law will require that all electrical work in homes be carried out by a 'competent' person, such as an electrician registered with the NICEIC.

Despite the fact that faulty electrics result in 19 deaths and over 2,000 non-fatal electric shock accidents each year, until now electrical installations have not been subject to Building Regulations, so employing competent contractors for all electrical work has been left to the common sense of the homeowner.

"This new electrical safety requirement is long overdue - we're delighted that the law will now demand that homeowners and occupants employ only government-authorised electricians for electrical work and don't embark on DIY electrics," said Jim Speirs, director general of the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting (NICEIC).

The electrical safety law will be included in the Building Regulations for England and Wales, and requires any persons carrying out work on fixed electrical installations in the home - such as sockets, switches, fuse boxes and ceiling fittings - to follow the fundamental principles of BS 7671, the British Standard for electrical installations.

New law spells end to DIY electrics and cowboy electricians

Don't let cowboy electricians put your life at risk - the NICEIC already has a roll of Approved Electrical Contractors, you can find one in your area by visiting www.niceic.org.uk or call the NICEIC on 0870 013 0381. Ends Notes to editors: The NICEIC is an independent, non-profit making body, with a register of electrical contractors that meet its rules, and Governmental controls on technical standards. It is for this reason, and because all electrical contractors are periodically assessed by one of its 60 area engineers, that the NICEIC symbol is one that you can trust. NICEIC electrical contractors are identified by the symbol accompanying their advertisements in directories and local papers, and on company stationery and vehicles.

Further information on Part P What is Part P?

Part P is a brand new part of the Building Regulations for England and Wales. It comes into effect on 1 January 2005, and brings all electrical installation work in dwellings into a 'controlled service' under the Building Regulations. This means that, for the first time, the technical standard of electrical installation work in dwellings (generally houses and flats) will be subject to statutory requirements. These requirements will apply not only to new construction, but also to any alterations or additions to existing installations, including full or partial rewires.

What is the purpose of Part P?

The law, which applies to electrical installation work in dwellings and connected gardens, greenhouses and outbuildings, is expected to raise the competence of electrical installers, and significantly reduce the number of deaths, injuries and fires caused by defective electrical installations.

How will it be enforced?

Part P will be enforced by Local Authorities and failure to comply will be a legal offence.

How will this affect me?

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. There will be two ways to prove compliance:

1. A certificate showing that the work has been done by a government - authorised electrical contractor, such as an NICEIC contractor.

2. A certificate from the local authority saying that the installation has approval under the Building Regulations.

 

[scruffy]

similar to window installers with the fensa certs, whilst I agree in principle, the cost for the certificate will be hard to swallow if you only want to move a light fitting or a socket and know doubt sparkies rates will rocket, bet B&Q and the like arn't chuffed.

 

[guydewdney]

so im still allowed to move my light, but when i sell my house i have to get a certificate stating that im not a monkey?

ook ook.. :bananna:

 

[Satch]

so im still allowed to move my light, but when i sell my house i have to get a certificate stating that im not a monkey?

ook ook.. :bananna:

I think so. But you would then have to apply for a retrospective certification from the Local Authority.

But here is the rub: the Solicitor acting for the purchaser with have a checklist and, just like double glazing where you will have to provide a FENSA certificate for installations after a certain date, there will now be a box to tick for said electrical certificates. So they will always ask for them and it is up to you to prove that one is not required and that can be rough.

I know this because after my mother died we sold her house which had double glazing contracted for and fitted just weeks before the critical dates so there was no FENSA certificate. So we had to prove no certificate was required or indemnify the purchaser in case the whole lot could not be certified and had to be replaced.

Took a month to sort out and involved the Installer, Local Authority, FENSA and two solicitors. I reckon it cost about an extra £500 in Legal fees to sort out.

Do not forget you now have to prepare and disclose all this crap in adavnce thanks to that other John Prescott marvel, the Homebuyers Information Pack.

 

[scruffy]

I've just had my self installed windows inspected by the building control officer to get my certificate which cost £50, joke is, as the BCO agreed, once there glazed you can't tell how they've been fixed.

It'll be interesting to see how this will be policed as I would imagine a BCO who is only checking building regs compliance isn't qualified to check or inspect electrical installations.

 

[Aswall]

The answer, for now, would seem to be simply to say that any work done was carried out before the end of this year. Unfortunately if you then move house next year you couldn't use that one but you could say that any mods you make in the new house were like that when you moved in

 

[PJH]

I was talking to a heating & plumbing engineer earlier this week.
He said all Corgi gas fitters were having to go on a course because of new regs in January. He said that the new regs meant that gas fitters would not be able to change central heating timers any more, even though they have been doing it for years and know exactly what they are doing.

Will the new regs stop me changing a plug/fuse?

 

[Satch]

Will the new regs stop me changing a plug/fuse?

Nearly. If you just REPLACE an existing outlet, switch or ceiling rose you are supposed to show that it is compliant with the Regulations by having it inspected by a "competent person" and having them issue a "Minor Works" certificate.

It really is Regulation gone mad. And this is after a long period of "Consultation".

But who did they "Consult?" Why, a bunch of safety freaks and representatives of the Electrical Industry of course, who then help John Prescott & crew to produce a huge raft of self serving Regulations which effectively drive people in the DIY market to pay for "Certifications".

The phrases "Intruder State" and "Super Regulation" do seem to be justified here.

 

[Howard]

How do they prove that the shiny chrome switch that you installed in place of the crappy plastic one wasn't there already ?


I refitted my house just over a year ago, but i can't prove whether i did it a year ago or a day ago ....

will i need a certificate if i come to sell.......?

 

[Satch]

I refitted my house just over a year ago, but i can't prove whether i did it a year ago or a day ago ....

will i need a certificate if i come to sell.......?

Ah, the very problem. Chances are that after a while anybody selling will have to have house inspected to produce an Electrical Safety Certificate even if they have had no work done because it will become a standard check list item for buyers.

This will be at your cost of course, thanks to Two Jags Prescott forcing through the "Home Buyers Information Pack".

You can get a feeling for how opaque this is by looking at the Regs. if you can stand it.

http://www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm_buildreg/documents/page/odpm_breg_029960.pdf

 

[glojo]

What an interesting thread,
This is big brother gone mad. We have a special room that has a 12volt Hi Fi system installed (Car radio and four speakers plus casstte recorder). My son has recently installed a multi CD player to this system. We all know that it just needed one cable plugged into the rear of the radio, and then into the CD Player. Would this need a 'qualified' person, and who would they be? Hi-Fi Installer, Car Radio Installer or this NICEIC expert who quite possibly would have absolutely no knowledge of Kenwood radio or Euro fittings?

I am at present waiting for a quote on a new boiler that will conform to new stupid regulations, NOW THIS, the World is indeed going mad.

John

 

[marcos]

Bieng a fully qualified electrical engineer and having to run a company to strict electrical and health and safety guidelines already I know a thing or two about this.

Firstly bringing these laws in will undoubtledly save lives, I go to many propertys every year for the fire services when the fire was caused by an electrical fault. In most cases it is down to poor installation by incompetant people.
Secondly most people you find in the local paper etc are not qualified electricians, they are dropouts who couldn't cope with the technical side , dropped out of college and just do house bashing. I'm not saying that all these people are bad at what they do but the majority are and are carrying out sub-standard work.

Any electrical company that is actually worth a toss will already be a member of the NICEIC and will already have to complete completion/test forms so there should be no huge rise in associated costs.

Why should I spend thousands of pounds and five years to train someone to do a job properly when some little monkey can come along with little or virtually no training and be allowed to do the same job but badly and get away with it.
I've seen some horrific work carried out by unqualified people resulting in deaths so if this new legislation can cut that out then good.

BTW we do very very little domestic work so this won't actually affect my company whatsoever.

 

[Benzowner]

I purchased my house many years ago, and at long last, according to her that mus be obeyed, we had a new kitchen installed. This involved some monor electrical work, one item which caused concern, is that the previous owner had spured off the electrical cooker box and run a 13amp cable to a twin outlet socket. I have since then had the house wiring checked. If this legislation stops this sort of cowboy work I am all in favour of it.

As an aside, how many of you out threr have installed downlighter fittings in your home, and how many of you have maintained the fire integrity of the ceiling you installed those downlighters in? Have you told your insurance company you have compromoised the fire integrity of the building? There are many other examples of the home owner carrying out work to their house without the full knowledge of their actions. After all, your house was built to comply with quite specific regulations, should it not be maintained to those same standards. The corner garage will "service" your much less money than the main dealer, but lord above, you wouldn't do that, would you????

 

[glojo]

Bieng a fully qualified electrical engineer and having to run a company to strict electrical and health and safety guidelines already I know a thing or two about this.

Totally agree with every word, but there must be common sense applied somewhere to this legislation.

Geoff2,
Totally agree, but I had our whole house completely re-wired and those horrible down-light thingies ripped out.

The other major thing you missed out is drilling holes through weight bearing wooden beams. There is a right location to drill these holes, and a wrong location. Both John Wayne and Clint Eastwood (was going to say Robert Mitchum) famous cowboy builders always drill these holes in the wrong place. Holes must sometimes be drilled for cable runs?? but they must be drilled correctly and also to the correct diameter.

John