Fitting an electric shower - regs

[relief123]

What are the regs regarding the fitting of an electric shower?

The obvious one that comes to my mind is do i ned to be part p qualified and what other regs do i need to watch if any???

 

[Biggles..]

Yes you need to be part p and BS7671 are the regs. You need to look at the rating of the shower, the size of cable and fuse etc.
Lee

 

[Softus]

do i ned to be part p qualified

No. You may, alternatively, notify your LABC that you'll be installing the shower and the cable, and pay them a fee for certifying the work.

...and what other regs do i need to watch if any???

BS7671 is a wholesome standard to adhere to, but there's no legal requirement to use this particular standard.

 

[relief123]

cheers for the advice.
I may actually think about getting the part p thing
Anyone know of good part p courses for beginners and what sort of cost, i seen some about around a grand but unsure

 

[Biggles..]

Altough BS7671 Wiring Regs and the BS7671 On-site guides aren't statuary and the only legal document is the Electricity at Work act you may well find that your LABC wont pass your work if it doesn't adhere to the wiring regs. To be fair he might not pass it at all, here in Notts our LABC aren't yet qualified themselves and insist on you being part P or getting a part p firm in. A palce at Chesterfield run a part P course that enables you to qualify for C&G 2381 (16th edition) and 2391 (inspect and test) but comes in around £1500.
Lee

 

[gremlin16]

Yes you need to be part p and BS7671 are the regs. You need to look at the rating of the shower, the size of cable and fuse etc.
Lee

Fuse??? don't think so
Showers elec should be supplied through correctly rated RCD


As for part P,your test equipimet will cost u about £1k on top of course fees and registration.

 

[Softus]

Fuse??? don't think so
Showers elec should be supplied through correctly rated RCD

RCD??? Don't think so.

An RCD is still optional for a shower, whereas overcurrent protection is mandatory.

 

[Spark123]

Altough BS7671 Wiring Regs and the BS7671 On-site guides aren't statuary and the only legal document is the Electricity at Work act

Electricity at work Regulations, Health and Safety at Work Act. These do not apply to someone carrying out DIY in their own home, Part P of the building regs does (in England and Wales).

you may well find that your LABC wont pass your work if it doesn't adhere to the wiring regs. To be fair he might not pass it at all, here in Notts our LABC aren't yet qualified themselves and insist on you being part P or getting a part p firm in. A palce at Chesterfield run a part P course that enables you to qualify for C&G 2381 (16th edition) and 2391 (inspect and test) but comes in around £1500.
Lee

Even once you have passed your course you still need to become a member of a competent person scheme in order to self certify compliance with the building regs.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Yes you need to be part p

Not true.

here in Notts our LABC aren't yet qualified themselves and insist on you being part P or getting a part p firm in.

They may well "insist", but there is absolutely no legal basis on which they can do so, and the first time that somebody pushes back they will have to give way.

 

[Taylortwocities]

Indeed. On top of the £1500ish to do an "Instant Electrician Course ( just add hot water and stir) you will need a few items. These include:


Join one of the Part P registration organisations (£200 joining fee plus £300 per year plus VAT)

£2m of Public Liability Insurance (£150ish)

Relevant Publications - BS7671:2001 and the On-Site Guide (£70ish) and others

A full set of calibrated Test Instruments (£say £700)

Thats a lot just to install one shower, or were you thinking of taking this up as a trade?

 

[Pensdown]

BS7671 is a wholesome standard to adhere to, but there's no legal requirement to use this particular standard.

Although that's true, it must confuse the hell out of the average DIY'er. What other particular standard could we recommend that we're all conversant with?

 

[Adam_151]

BS7671 is a wholesome standard to adhere to, but there's no legal requirement to use this particular standard.

Although that's true, it must confuse the hell out of the average DIY'er. What other particular standard could we recommend that we're all conversant with?

How about whatever one the authors of DIY manuals work to?

*grumble, grumble*... recommending shed supplies are installed in T+cpc, inside PVC conduit buried in the ground... *grumble*

 

[FingRinal]

Nothing wrong with that advice. It's perhaps easier for a DIYer to dig and prepare an appropriate trench than to expect them to terminate SWA glands correctly. Let's face it, they won't buy 20 glands and some extra cable to practise with. They wouldn't know how to test it correctly so it's perhaps the best overall advice given skills/safety/result etc.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Nothing wrong with that advice. It's perhaps easier for a DIYer to dig and prepare an appropriate trench than to expect them to terminate SWA glands correctly.

That's not a hard task, particularly given that DIYers are unlikely to be using anything bigger than 10mm².

Let's face it, they won't buy 20 glands and some extra cable to practise with.

At most an extra metre? And why that many glands? You only need 1 to practice with. They should be encouraged to do it properly, not bodge an inferior solution.

They wouldn't know how to test it correctly

That's true no matter what cable they use....

 

[plugwash]

*grumble, grumble*... recommending shed supplies are installed in T+cpc, inside PVC conduit buried in the ground... *grumble*

I have a DIY book that reccomends using MICC! (nothing wrong with MICC but given it's sensitivity to damp, bad potting etc I wouldn't want to see it installed by someone who was unable to test)