- Joined
- 1 Feb 2007
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An electrician recently recommended that I should ideally have my ancient fuse box replaced by by a box of trip switches - in fact if there had not been a spare fuse in the box he was going to make me have one in order to give me an extra power socket. So far as I can see, although he is listed on the Construction Licensing Executive site as a "Licensed Scottish Electrician" and is on the SELECT site, he is not listed on the NICEIC site.
Since then I had another electrician (a NICEIC member) in to replace a fluorescent tube fitting which had become faulty, and asked him how much he would charge to do the trip switch box. He said he wouldn't do it without rewiring the whole house because he had to produce a certificate as to what he was connecting the trip switch box to. I'm not entirely clear as to his reasons, he mentioned something about earthing but I said that he himself had done a load of earthing in the house 6 years ago. I'm not quite clear as to his response but I gathered he still wouldn't want to do it without doing the whole house.
In any case I was surprised, when he sent me his bill for replacing the light fitting and switch, that he also sent a Minor Electrical Installation Works certificate. The other electrician did similar work in my parents' house recently and produced no such certificate, though in talking with him about various things the issue of what should and should not legally be done was raised (I don't remember the exact context) so I didn't get the impression he was out to do a cowboy job.
So my question is, to what extent are the various certificates a legal requirement in Scotland, or are they just required by NICEIC if you're one of their members?
Since then I had another electrician (a NICEIC member) in to replace a fluorescent tube fitting which had become faulty, and asked him how much he would charge to do the trip switch box. He said he wouldn't do it without rewiring the whole house because he had to produce a certificate as to what he was connecting the trip switch box to. I'm not entirely clear as to his reasons, he mentioned something about earthing but I said that he himself had done a load of earthing in the house 6 years ago. I'm not quite clear as to his response but I gathered he still wouldn't want to do it without doing the whole house.
In any case I was surprised, when he sent me his bill for replacing the light fitting and switch, that he also sent a Minor Electrical Installation Works certificate. The other electrician did similar work in my parents' house recently and produced no such certificate, though in talking with him about various things the issue of what should and should not legally be done was raised (I don't remember the exact context) so I didn't get the impression he was out to do a cowboy job.
So my question is, to what extent are the various certificates a legal requirement in Scotland, or are they just required by NICEIC if you're one of their members?