Am I allowed to change the hob placement and extend the wiring myself?
- Thread starter Bilbo80
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When I first started as an electrician we had test equipment and wiring regulations in the foreman's office, and asking for them resulted in being asked why we want it, so testing was often missed out, not saying that was right, it was not, but it is what happened, and I do not recall any problems.
1980 I went to work abroad, and did not return until 1993 as a main's electrician, I did do some auto electrics in UK in those 12 years, but not mains. And in 1992 the BS7671 came out, and on my return all I heard from other electricians was BS7671 says this or that. The second landmark was Part P in around 2004 and from that point there was a crack down, however the consumer unit fires came after that date so it did not really make it any safer, maybe as people started to assume done by an electrician it must be right.
But often the work done where you know it's not done crossing all t's is better, as the guy doing it is more careful, I remember a mistake fitting sockets, 5 boxes of sockets 4 one make 5th a different make, and that fifth make had the line and neutral swapped to other four, and the electrician didn't notice, a DIY man would not have made the mistake, as he would have been reading N and L carefully, no harm done, the testing did highlight error before commissioned.
But there must be 1000's of installs done that are not checked. And also 1000's of faults which only come to light years latter when extra work it done.
Today I feel the neon screwdriver is really important to high light errors, it is not a testing device, but it still does highlight many errors, main error is borrowed neutral, yes I know you should always put a clamp on ammeter on the neutral wire before disconnecting, however mine starts at 100 mA and that will give a nasty belt. When you see the neon light as neutral is removed you think woups, and put it back and do some more isolating and investigation.
I have worked on one job where if caught working without the non switch-able voltage tester and proving unit resulted in removal of site pass, but only one, a chemical works in Rock Savage. I have also worked where standing on a container without a safety harness resulted in removal of site pass, which in real terms means your sacked, but most places I worked did not even have a proving unit.
All I had for years was my AVO Mk8 I got a clamp on when working in Hong Kong, and by 2000 I had I think all the test gear I needed, insulation tester, RCD tester, loop impedance tester, etc, never had my own earth rod tester, but did have a phase rotation meter. Lost some meters due to batteries leaking, try to remember to remove them after each use, but clearly missed removing them once.
When it came to needing to rewire late mothers house, I knew it would either be rented or sold within 10 years, either way lack of paperwork would be a problem, so priced up getting it done for me, or buying equipment and registering work with LABC, I would save a 100 or so pounds if all went well, but loose £500 a week if I over ran, so got firm in. But had I not considered renting out house, likely I would not have worried.
And it seems likely no DIY was done on this house, but still found borrowed neutrals.
1980 I went to work abroad, and did not return until 1993 as a main's electrician, I did do some auto electrics in UK in those 12 years, but not mains. And in 1992 the BS7671 came out, and on my return all I heard from other electricians was BS7671 says this or that. The second landmark was Part P in around 2004 and from that point there was a crack down, however the consumer unit fires came after that date so it did not really make it any safer, maybe as people started to assume done by an electrician it must be right.
But often the work done where you know it's not done crossing all t's is better, as the guy doing it is more careful, I remember a mistake fitting sockets, 5 boxes of sockets 4 one make 5th a different make, and that fifth make had the line and neutral swapped to other four, and the electrician didn't notice, a DIY man would not have made the mistake, as he would have been reading N and L carefully, no harm done, the testing did highlight error before commissioned.
But there must be 1000's of installs done that are not checked. And also 1000's of faults which only come to light years latter when extra work it done.
Today I feel the neon screwdriver is really important to high light errors, it is not a testing device, but it still does highlight many errors, main error is borrowed neutral, yes I know you should always put a clamp on ammeter on the neutral wire before disconnecting, however mine starts at 100 mA and that will give a nasty belt. When you see the neon light as neutral is removed you think woups, and put it back and do some more isolating and investigation.
I have worked on one job where if caught working without the non switch-able voltage tester and proving unit resulted in removal of site pass, but only one, a chemical works in Rock Savage. I have also worked where standing on a container without a safety harness resulted in removal of site pass, which in real terms means your sacked, but most places I worked did not even have a proving unit.
All I had for years was my AVO Mk8 I got a clamp on when working in Hong Kong, and by 2000 I had I think all the test gear I needed, insulation tester, RCD tester, loop impedance tester, etc, never had my own earth rod tester, but did have a phase rotation meter. Lost some meters due to batteries leaking, try to remember to remove them after each use, but clearly missed removing them once.
When it came to needing to rewire late mothers house, I knew it would either be rented or sold within 10 years, either way lack of paperwork would be a problem, so priced up getting it done for me, or buying equipment and registering work with LABC, I would save a 100 or so pounds if all went well, but loose £500 a week if I over ran, so got firm in. But had I not considered renting out house, likely I would not have worried.
And it seems likely no DIY was done on this house, but still found borrowed neutrals.
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