Hi all, looking to you good people for some NIC advice. have been in the industrial electrical/electronics game since 1976 and yes I am older than the pyramids!! business went bad last year and I moved into the brick dust and floorboards of the domestic world. Despite having an electrical engineering degree and two level 3 C&Gs (electronics) I had to take the 5 day EAL level 2 domestic installer training which to be fair did enlighten me in this new world especially the inspection and testing. So I am just 3 weeks away from my first NIC inspection and quite nervous about it! For my two jobs I am just near completion of a full rewire (3 bed terr) and a consumer unit replacement with new 4mm radial feeding 4 double sockets over two rooms.
With the rewire I have a dual RCD split load CU with an additional 6amp RCBO for a class D interlinked smoke alarm system also feeding lower hallway lights as a method to warn if power is off. Main service head is PME so Ze and therfore loop tests are nice and low... However, in the main entrance I have the hallway lights (on the smoke alarm circuit) switched on a double gang switch where the other switch is switching the landing lights on two way switching... So to isolate power completely from that specific switch you would need to isolate two MCBs (actually one MCB and one RCBO) Is the nice NIC man going to kick me for that?
With the consumer unit, it’s also a split load dual rcd unit but supply is TT.
Good Ze (for TT) at approximately 0.9 but I can’t actually find the rod!! I see a 10mm CPC going off in the distance into the ceiling but I would need to tear up the upper floor boards to find the rod and that would be a problem for the house owner. My fear is the NIC man will tell me that despite the relatively good Ze is it really just the rod or the rod and service pipes?? By the way, the water main and gas are bonded with 10mm CPC at the right locations and that is all accesible.
Regarding the other NIC requirements, I have my liability insurance, test equipment (seaward and megger) proving unit, copy of the part P doc, 17ed regulations (the red book) cal certificates.
Have also got the green NIC certificates – completed for the consumer unit but not yet completed for the rewire since that is work in progress.
Sorry for this very long story, I am paranoid that I will fail but have I forgotten anything? Do you think the AWL earth rod or the two gang light switch will get me into trouble?
Will the NIC guy want to take up floor boards etc? How extensive is the inspection?
Thanks and again my apologies for the very long post!!
automationman
With the rewire I have a dual RCD split load CU with an additional 6amp RCBO for a class D interlinked smoke alarm system also feeding lower hallway lights as a method to warn if power is off. Main service head is PME so Ze and therfore loop tests are nice and low... However, in the main entrance I have the hallway lights (on the smoke alarm circuit) switched on a double gang switch where the other switch is switching the landing lights on two way switching... So to isolate power completely from that specific switch you would need to isolate two MCBs (actually one MCB and one RCBO) Is the nice NIC man going to kick me for that?
With the consumer unit, it’s also a split load dual rcd unit but supply is TT.
Good Ze (for TT) at approximately 0.9 but I can’t actually find the rod!! I see a 10mm CPC going off in the distance into the ceiling but I would need to tear up the upper floor boards to find the rod and that would be a problem for the house owner. My fear is the NIC man will tell me that despite the relatively good Ze is it really just the rod or the rod and service pipes?? By the way, the water main and gas are bonded with 10mm CPC at the right locations and that is all accesible.
Regarding the other NIC requirements, I have my liability insurance, test equipment (seaward and megger) proving unit, copy of the part P doc, 17ed regulations (the red book) cal certificates.
Have also got the green NIC certificates – completed for the consumer unit but not yet completed for the rewire since that is work in progress.
Sorry for this very long story, I am paranoid that I will fail but have I forgotten anything? Do you think the AWL earth rod or the two gang light switch will get me into trouble?
Will the NIC guy want to take up floor boards etc? How extensive is the inspection?
Thanks and again my apologies for the very long post!!
automationman