Loft electrics onto this consumer unit?

[gasbusters]

Thabks for the replies guys.

The loft conversion will be pretty large, there will be 2 bedrooms, an office and a small bathroom.

Each bedroom im looking to have 2 double sockets, andlighting will be spotlights

Office will have 2 double sockets and spotlights

Bathroom will have spotlights and lit mirror

All rooms within house will have hardwired smoke alarms, 2 lounges, hallways upstairs and down and 5 bedrooms, 11 smoke alarms in total.

Because of this i was hoping to have alarms, lighting, sockets each running off its own circuit. But the consumer unit/RCD issue wasnt something i was aware off until sparky mentioned it.

 

[Taylortwocities]

Could someone please kindly advise if i can get electrician to do wiring for loft connected to this legally and have it certified?

Having looked at the content of this thread, and your responses: my input is that you obviously do not have the skills to do any of this work yourself.
It is new circuits, and this is notifiable work. Your loft conversion will be done under building control.
There’s some involved work to do on the consumer unit (I would have it updated to meet today’s regs).
find yourself a registered electrician, LABC will require this.
stock up with chocolate biscuits and strong tea and leave it to him/her.

 

[John D v2.0]

Even non notifiable work in a notifiable extension, the building inspector will take in interest in the electrics. But i agree the work on the cu should be done by someone with the correct experience. I'm surprised from 12 years ago it doesn't have rcd protection on any of the sockets at all.

 

[JohnW2]

Having looked at the content of this thread, and your responses: my input is that you obviously do not have the skills to do any of this work yourself. It is new circuits, and this is notifiable work. Your loft conversion will be done under building control. There’s some involved work to do on the consumer unit (I would have it updated to meet today’s regs). find yourself a registered electrician, LABC will require this.

I didn't think that there had been any suggestion that the OP was considering doing any of the electrical work himself. The question posed in the OP appeared to be simply asking whether what the OP had been told was correct, that his (no RCD) CU would have to be replaced before an electrician could run new circuits for the loft conversion off it (an issue which you have partially addressed above).

Kind Regards, John

 

[SFK]

Gasbuster,

My experiance (for which I am ready to be shot down) of my loft conversion by the registered electrician (directly employed by the builder undertaking work and all reviewed and signed off by BC) for a Fuse box / consumer unit similar to yours (but mine was Wylex) was that the electrician:

Added three RCBO's, to meet the then current requirements, with one RCBO for the ring main for the sockets in the loft, one RCBO for the lighting in the loft, one RCBO for the new smoke alarm system in the entire house. He provided paperwork for these three circuits only and did not touch or ammend the other curcuits.​

However note that I had a tidy and well fiTted Wylex fuse box and it seems that Wylex RCBO's are easy to purchase (but were significantly expensive for three, but I never saw item cost as all paid for by builder).

But Your fuse box seems to have different brands in and not well aligned and missing important cover panels - not sure if this suggests if now difficult for electrician to obtain suitable/correct fitting RCBO's for your fuse box. Or if easier (and better) to simply replace fuse box.

SFK

 

[JohnW2]

Your fuse box seems to have different brands in and not well aligned - not sure if this suggests if now difficult for electrician to obtain suitable/correct fitting RCBO's for your fuse box.

I have to say that my first reaction is that, in relation to the big picture of the size (and hence presumably cost) of the OP's loft conversion, the cost of replacing the CU (with a dual-RCD or all-RCBO one) would be so relatively trivial that this would seemingly be a good opportunity to have it done, as part of the whole project.

Kind Regards, John

 

[AndyPRK]

Isn't the typical cost of replacing a CU around £750 ?
As you have so few circuits, it maybe less. An all RCBO CU would be a good option as you don't have many circuits

 

[JohnW2]

Isn't the typical cost of replacing a CU around £750 ?

Dunno, although that might be typical, particularly for an all-RCBO one. However, even at that figure (and given that there would be some 'electrical costs' even if the CU were not replaced), I still suspect that the marginal cost of a CU replacement would not represent a very high proportion of the total cost of a loft conversion which was creating "2 bedrooms, an office and a small bathroom."

Kind Regards, John

 

[gasbusters]

Having looked at the content of this thread, and your responses: my input is that you obviously do not have the skills to do any of this work yourself.
It is new circuits, and this is notifiable work. Your loft conversion will be done under building control.
There’s some involved work to do on the consumer unit (I would have it updated to meet today’s regs).
find yourself a registered electrician, LABC will require this.
stock up with chocolate biscuits and strong tea and leave it to him/her.

Just want to clarify i wont be doing ANY of the electrics myself. As a gas engineer/plumber il be doing the plumbing, pipework/heating, some of the structural work but i wont go near the electrics. The electrics is out of my scope. Im hust tryi g to get as much info as possible to make sure i dont end up paying for work that isnt needed.

 

[Luckyphil]

It looks like the existing C/U is moulded Plastic , so you can’t add extra Circuits to it because it’s not 18th edition compliant (ie Metal Body/Front) , you have 2 options either replace the whole board with an 18th edition Board or fit a Stand Alone Board which just feeds Loft Circuits

If it’s not Moulded Plastic , just try source some Hagar MCB’s to suit

Phil

 

[EFLImpudence]

It looks like the existing C/U is moulded Plastic , so you can’t add extra Circuits to it because it’s not 18th edition compliant (ie Metal Body/Front)

Nonsense.

 

[donrkebab]

It looks like the existing C/U is moulded Plastic , so you can’t add extra Circuits to it because it’s not 18th edition compliant (ie Metal Body/Front)

That is incorrect, but using the same logic would you also refuse to re-connect circuits using the old colours of red and black?

 

[SFK]

It looks like the existing C/U is moulded Plastic , so you can’t add extra Circuits to it because it’s not 18th edition compliant (ie Metal Body/Front) , you have 2 options either replace the whole board with an 18th edition Board or fit a Stand Alone Board which just feeds Loft Circuits
If it’s not Moulded Plastic , just try source some Hagar MCB’s to suit.

That is not right.
Even if it was metal (ie not Moulded Plastic), his Consumer Unit has no RCD protection, so he cannot simply add MCB's to his Unit.

 

[Luckyphil]

That is incorrect, but using the same logic would you also refuse to re-connect circuits using the old colours of red and black?

No , that is what the Sticker warning of mixed Conductor colours covers

 

[Luckyphil]

That is not right.
Even if it was metal (ie not Moulded Plastic), his Consumer Unit has no RCD protection, so he cannot simply add MCB's to his Unit.

He could have used RCBO’s if available to feed the new Circuits , but in a Metal Board imo