DIY Rewire

[JohnW2]

I knew the rules had changed and now the LABC could charge for non LABC inspectors on top of the fees. In 2006 the fee was £100 plus vat for first £2000 worth of work to now charge £438 for same work is scandalous. It is nothing more than a DIY tax.

In the context we seem to be talking about (a complete rewire of a house), there is probably another way of looking at this. I would think we would all agree that, for such extensive work, 'proper full I&T' is definitely desirable, and if the person undertaking the work is not able to do that him/herself, then it seems reasonable that they should pay to have it done - and I wouldn't have thought that 'a couple of hundred pounds' is necessarily unreasonable for a full I&T (presumably including inspection of first fix etc.) of a complete re-wire.

When it does IMO become totally ridiculous is when an LABC charges these sort of figures for just 'installing a new circuit' for, say, an immersion, cooker or outside light/socket!

Kind Regards, John

 

[dhutch]

Its an interesting topic.

My dad wired our family home when it was built, well, totally gutted and extended from a one up one down to a four bedroom in 1988. They also did the project management.

He was an is competent and careful, and armed with a copy of current regs, support from my granddad (his father in law) who was an electrical engineer, and a local friend who was an electrician, but personally had no relevant qualifications.

With the whole house being electrically heated, with a mains pressure hot water tank, underfloor heating across the whole ground floor which he also laid himself (circa 15kW over about 10 circuits) and wired with four lighting zones and three ring mains, double switch hall, three way switching on the landing, outdoor lights that can be turned on from the door or by pir, etc. It was a fairly high spec job for its age, has aged well, and still being used in original.

Took him most of the time between the floors going in and the plaster, mainly evenings, and a few days off to finish it.

We then added the garage/workshop (running the SWA, garage cu, ring main, lighting in four rooms, in about 2001. And added network runs to 6 rooms in about 2004.

As far as I know there is no reason why this could not be done again, but the costs of having inspected have, I understand, increased a lot.


Daniel

 

[WhiskyFudge]

As I struggled to find the required information online I'm keen to keep this thread updated with how I've progressed.

Firstly - massively under-estimated the amount of work to be done, possibly made harder by myself and wanting to do as minimal damage to the property as possible. That said since my last post we've also moved into the property, installed a temporary kitchen, a bathroom, removed 3 walls and added 2 doorways. So it's certainly made for some very busy evenings and weekends.

Today I had the LABC inspect my first fix electrics which they approved with flying colours. I requested the inspection with 1 days notice which didn't seem to be a problem. The lady (+work experience girl) who turned out had a quick initial look around the property, seemingly attempting to gain an understanding of the size of the project and that all cables were run vertically/horizontally. Then followed a few questions about the incoming mains, why there was SWA in the kitchen, the intended testing procedure and what (if any) copies of the reg's I processed. After which she declared that she was confident that I had done the job properly and that a full first-fix inspection wouldn't be required. In total the inspection lasted around 5 minutes. Considering how nervous I was about the inspection, it all seemed a lot of fuss over nothing.

I've now got to take a break from electrics as the misses seems very keen to have her kitchen fitted, but will update again once I've fitted all the accessories and had the installation test performed.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

My first experience of a visit by building controls was about 40 seconds!
Introduced himself, introduced the lad that was with him on work experience, quick look at work, and a that'll do, then off they went.

My second experience, I was not at the property, they turned up unexpectedly, they posted a note through letter box saying they had been, looked through windows and were happy with what they had seen!

 

[JohnW2]

My first experience of a visit by building controls was about 40 seconds! Introduced himself, introduced the lad that was with him on work experience, quick look at work, and a that'll do, then off they went. ... My second experience, I was not at the property, they turned up unexpectedly, they posted a note through letter box saying they had been, looked through windows and were happy with what they had seen!

Yes, I've heard many similar stories ... and it does make one 'wonder', particularly when it is DIY work!

Mind you, I've also (albeit only occasionally) also heard of far more lengthy and detailed inspections - so I guess it's largely down to the individuals concerned!

Kind Regards, John

 

[ericmark]

When doing my mothers wet room the LACB wanted to charge me for an inspector to check on my work.

I said only if the inspectors qualifications exceeded those of my self. Their off the cuff answer was of course, until they realised my qualifications were level 5 and all the electricians on their books were level 3 ,at which point they had to back down and accept my electrical installation certificate, and issue a completion certification without doing any further inspections.

In real terms the highest qualification for inspection and testing is the C&G 2391 there is also a C&G 2392 which is a cut down version of the 2391 but both are level 3.

In real terms it does not matter what exam you pass it is down to personal thoughts as to what passes and what fails it is what is considered as a professional opinion and to back up that one needs profession indemnity insurance public liability is not good enough.

There are many items which at the end of the day are down to the inspector.

If I give an example to my mind lights without earths have not been allowed since the 1960's and the regulations under the name used today did not exist in the 1960's so to my mind no earths on lights is a failure. However the electrical safety council gives advice on how no earth on lights can be accepted. When an electrician finds this he has to make a decision does he simply advise there is a possible problem or does he say this is just not acceptable!

It is a personal decision there is no right or wrong answer and for the LABC this is a major problem. Do they pass or fail as the law does not say it has to comply with BS 7671 it says to comply with BS 7671 is one way to comply with Part P so the building inspector has to make that call does he accept or reject the work?

It really does not matter what any third party inspector says at the end of the day it is the local authority building inspector who must decide if he will pass or fail the work and to fail the work he has to be able to support his decision and to say I asked Joe Blogs to test and inspect does not really hold water it is him and only him who must say why he is rejecting the work.

As a result unless the local authority building inspector has a qualification to demonstrate he has the skill required then in real terms he is up the creak without a paddle.

If he passes work which does not reach standards he can be brought to court if there is an accident and if he rejects work which is safe and complies with a European standard even if not a British standard he can be dragged across the coals.

So there is no room for untrained inspectors they can't pass the buck the buck stops with them, it is their and can be no one else's decision that counts and it is clearly no good employing any third party electrician they have to decide and no one else what passes and what fails.

In simple terms the buck stops with them.

 

[RF Lighting]

Just shows what an absolute sham the regulation of this industry really is. I'm disgusted with the blasé nature of the LABC non-inspection.

 

[JohnW2]

Just shows what an absolute sham the regulation of this industry really is. I'm disgusted with the blasé nature of the LABC non-inspection.

Indeed. As I'm always saying, IMO one either has, or or does not have, 'proper regulation' (and that includes inspection of at least some self-certified work) - and if one hasn't, then one shouldn't pretend that electrical work is 'regulated'.

Kind Regards, John