When Does A Circuit Get Energised?

[ban-all-sheds]

With your plan you are not going to get one.

You may get something from the council to say that it complies with the Building Regulations, since those do not mandate compliance with the Wiring Regulations, but you won't have anything to show that the work complied with the latter.

 

[Geps]

I thought wiring regs were the guidance for building regs? So surely if it meets building regs then it must meet wiring regs?

 

[JohnW2]

Without qualifications how do you get the council to agree that you are competent to sign parts 1 & 2?

If that became an issue, then there clearly could be a problem. However, if the council accepted (for whatever reason) the OP's signature for parts 1 & 2, and the electrician's for the I&T bit, then would that not be OK?

Kind Regards, John.

 

[Paul_C]

I thought wiring regs were the guidance for building regs? So surely if it meets building regs then it must meet wiring regs?

Not necessarily.

The building regs. (Part P for electrical) mandate only a very broad requirement of making "reasonable provision" for safety, and this requirement has been in existence only since 2005.

The Wiring Regs. as published by the I.E.E. for over a century (and which has been British Standard 7671 for about the last 20 years) contain very much more specific requirements, but are not mandatory, and never have been.

Compliance with the wiring regs. (BS7671) is taken as being compliance with the very much more vague requirement of the building regs., but it's entirely possible to comply with Part P while not complying with the much more detailed requirements of the voluntary BS7671.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I thought wiring regs were the guidance for building regs? So surely if it meets building regs then it must meet wiring regs?

Compliance with BS 7671 is regarded as a way to comply with P1. It's by far and away the most practicable, but it's not mandatory.

If the council are happy that you've complied with P1 without complying with BS 7671 then they are free to issue a completion notice.

 

[echoes]

Without qualifications how do you get the council to agree that you are competent to sign parts 1 & 2?

If that became an issue, then there clearly could be a problem. However, if the council accepted (for whatever reason) the OP's signature for parts 1 & 2, and the electrician's for the I&T bit, then would that not be OK?

Kind Regards, John.

It may be down to the opinion of the council's inspector: if they judge you to be competent, then they will accept your signature. If not, then you won't get an EIC.
What the council want is to be satisfied that the installation is designed & installed safely and tested to BS7671 standards. A schedule of test results, combined with their inspection visits, a nice cup of tea and a dog-eared Onsite Guide will satisfy them if all the work has been done properly (in my limited LABC experience).

EDIT: BAS has put it concisely ^^^^^

 

[Stoday]

Without qualifications how do you get the council to agree that you are competent to sign parts 1 & 2?

Qualifications are not required to issue a valid EIC. Only competance. The council has no part in the issue of an EIC. Indeed there are many EICs issued for non-domestic installations that are not subject to Part P.

There is no provision in the part P documents for the council to demand an EIC for work that must be notified.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Qualifications are not required to issue a valid EIC. Only competance.

That's true, but qualifications are often used by others as proof of competence.

If you want someone to accept that an EIC you have signed is valid then you may find that qualifications are, in that scenario, mandatory, i.e. without them the someone will not accept that you are competent and therefore will not accept that your EIC is valid.

There is no provision in the part P documents for the council to demand an EIC for work that must be notified.

Indeed not, but you brought it up:

As Electrifying says, you can sign off the first two boxes leaving your testing electrician to sign the third.

hence:

Without qualifications how do you get the council to agree that you are competent to sign parts 1 & 2?

When you notify the work, unless you take the mind-bogglingly stupid route of a Building Notice, you have to describe how you'll comply with P1.

If you say that the way you'll make reasonable provision in the design and installation of the electrical installation etc is to design and install it in compliance with BS 7671, and they approve your application on that basis, then they might well ask for proof that you did what you promised to do.