Part P is all great in the way that it stops people doing dangerous electrical work, but why now?.. electricians have been around enough years without it..
I believe it is because of people doing electrical without proper knowledge of what they are getting into, and leading it to be dangerous.
where i work for example, in the past they have had contractors in to do various work, they converted 1 room into 2, and in the process managed to disconnect a cable which means now, a few sockets down the other end of the building fail to work. Apparently when they was carrying out the work, they also disconnected a cable which lead to half the building loosing lighting.
Other examples i have foudn in the same building, is an outdoor pond they had built, the electrical cables, none of them are protected, no MCB's or RCD for the socket. joins between sockets not waterproof, too much load on the circuit as it is wired in radial with 3, 1/2 hp motors and 2 UV lamps.
Most dangerous thing i have found though is, where an electrician, yes an electrician, shoved a waterproof socket, on top of a metal backbox then sealed it around the edge with mastic... why not just wire the socket straight into the cable and keep it waterproof? with improper earth bonding.it is because of this new rules like Part P have come about.
and it stops people who are actually competant, and do a great job from doing electrical work. I consider myself competant, i used to test all my circuits appropriately, and follow the regulations very closely, do things like never put an ouside cable in place unless it is protected, or armoured, clip all cables back safely, which is more than some electricians do.. and i do believe i do a better job than some electricians, i know most of the theory and am very carefull. But because of part p i cannot do a thing.
I am a DIY person, but because i am always doing it, and because of the kind of work i do, i am closer to the trade than DIY.
But i still canot do electrical work, and things like Part P annoy me because there are people who can do part P work, such as electricians, but some of them do work to a lesser standard than i do. I take care and pride in my work, so i always do a good job, but with electricians who do a bad job all they are interested in is a quick fix, and their money.
They should revise it, and allow people who can do work to a high standard, carry out Electrical work, as right now the stupid thing about it is, that even if you are part p qualified you need to also belong to an organisation for your qualification to be valid.
The 1 major clause in the part p though, which is stupid if you ask me.
is that you are very limited as to what electrical work you can do in your own home...but if you build a new house, or extension which requires planning permission, you can happily carry out a full installation without breaking the law, as it is considered to be covered by the planning permission.
I believe it is because of people doing electrical without proper knowledge of what they are getting into, and leading it to be dangerous.
where i work for example, in the past they have had contractors in to do various work, they converted 1 room into 2, and in the process managed to disconnect a cable which means now, a few sockets down the other end of the building fail to work. Apparently when they was carrying out the work, they also disconnected a cable which lead to half the building loosing lighting.
Other examples i have foudn in the same building, is an outdoor pond they had built, the electrical cables, none of them are protected, no MCB's or RCD for the socket. joins between sockets not waterproof, too much load on the circuit as it is wired in radial with 3, 1/2 hp motors and 2 UV lamps.
Most dangerous thing i have found though is, where an electrician, yes an electrician, shoved a waterproof socket, on top of a metal backbox then sealed it around the edge with mastic... why not just wire the socket straight into the cable and keep it waterproof? with improper earth bonding.it is because of this new rules like Part P have come about.
and it stops people who are actually competant, and do a great job from doing electrical work. I consider myself competant, i used to test all my circuits appropriately, and follow the regulations very closely, do things like never put an ouside cable in place unless it is protected, or armoured, clip all cables back safely, which is more than some electricians do.. and i do believe i do a better job than some electricians, i know most of the theory and am very carefull. But because of part p i cannot do a thing.
I am a DIY person, but because i am always doing it, and because of the kind of work i do, i am closer to the trade than DIY.
But i still canot do electrical work, and things like Part P annoy me because there are people who can do part P work, such as electricians, but some of them do work to a lesser standard than i do. I take care and pride in my work, so i always do a good job, but with electricians who do a bad job all they are interested in is a quick fix, and their money.
They should revise it, and allow people who can do work to a high standard, carry out Electrical work, as right now the stupid thing about it is, that even if you are part p qualified you need to also belong to an organisation for your qualification to be valid.
The 1 major clause in the part p though, which is stupid if you ask me.
is that you are very limited as to what electrical work you can do in your own home...but if you build a new house, or extension which requires planning permission, you can happily carry out a full installation without breaking the law, as it is considered to be covered by the planning permission.