Question regarding Robin test leads

[ban-all-sheds]

1) The inspector might start asking about the elecrical work that I have done.

If it's not notifiable then it is not within his remit to take an interest in it.

2) I am looking to the future when I might sell the house and so what to be covered against problems.

Although neither the law nor BS 7671 states who can issue EICs, unless you have demonstrable, verified competence, if there are any problems your test results and EICs will be worthless.

Part P may not enforce BS7671, but it does enforce the competency requirements.

It does not enforce any competency requirements related to BS 7671, except indirectly via the qualifications required by the various self-certification schemes. The words competent, competence etc do not appear anywhere in the legislation for Part P.

Now under the current incomplete introduction of Part P,

In what way is it incomplete?

registered electricians probably get considered automatically competent.

In the context of self-certification, it is not just that they "probably get considered automatically competent" - being registered is the only definition of competent.

But the promised self-certification scheme for DIYers has not yet materialised, so people like me will have to prove our own competence.

I don't recall any such scheme being promised, but even if it was, it is never going to happen now. And it does not matter how much you can prove your competence - you could be a professional electrician with every qualification under the sun, and donkey's years of relevant experience, but unless you were registered you would not be considered competent to self-certify compliance with the Building Regulations.

Now I have previously worked with the IET on the development of the competency scheme for functional safety, and we always held that competent persons will compy with all relevant standards (in that case IEC16508). Therefore it is not only sensible for me to work to BS7671 for reasons of safety, but also in order to maintain my claim to competency (please note that I am qualified - I am a chartered electrical engineer).

I genuinely wish you the best of luck with negotiating for your LABC to accept your test results and certs. Hope it doesn't rankle too much that you'll be paying them to do SFA!

And it's also nice to know that I'm not the only DIYer who owns proper test equipment.