Kitchen consumer unit testing

[Hopeless_Amature]

Hi All,

I have an odd one, I'm looking to conduct a renovation on my kitchen.

The consumer unit is old (Still valid with RCD) and there is no room for any expansion, I plan to install a new Consumer Unit and then a new ring main just for the kitchen, take the current dedicated fuse for the cooker from the old CU to the new CU, possibly add a new lighting circuit or just chop into the existing circuit with new recessed fittings, possibly add a new ring for all the appliances, add a external socket. at this moment in time I do not intend to move all of the wiring over to the new consumer unit for cost reasons / time constraints.

I plan on having my dad do all of the work, I haven't discussed this in detail with him yet but he's been a sparky for decades (now semi retired he refuses to not work) so I'm confident he can do the work however I don't think has Part P anymore and hasn't done something like this in a few years so I want to establish:

1) what type of certification will I need to get to make the nice insurance person happy?
2) Confirmation of that use of 2 consumer units are acceptable under the regs
3) what will the inspector look at? will they look at the current consumer unit and fully test it because parts have been removed or will they only look at the parts that have been touched? I ask because the previous owners / sparky's have made some questionable decisions which are "Safe" because we know of the quirks but will need fixing in the near future.
4) My dad is 17th 3rd edition qualified and I'm wondering if it would be cheaper to pay for him to update his qualifications so that he can do the sign off himself ? if so what qualifications will he need to update / do? (By Cheaper I mean compared to the cost of hiring an electrician to do this and a whole rewire on the house at some point £4-7K)

 

[EFLImpudence]

Does your Dad not know how the system works?

 

[Hopeless_Amature]

Does your Dad not know how the system works?

He'll know how the system works and he'll have contacts who can do the sign off.

I'm trying to get it straight in my head before I speak to him and so that I can plan my timeline of work.

 

[ericmark]

To sign some thing off when you have not done the work, one is breaking the rules, and to not register the work you are breaking the rules, so how does it matter?

The cost to get the paperwork is about the same as to do the job, so just make sure you get all you need doing in the one hit. Insurance is odd, you have to tell them the risk, not wait for them to ask, but any work done on your house will be covered by the person who is doing the works insurance, so if they have no insurance, your not covered.

As to how much you are covered anyway is debatable, I had wall knocked down by a car, and one would have thought the car's insurance would cover, we were told by police not to contact the owners of the car, as it was a police matter, after some wait we made inquiries, and were told since the person was given a custodial sentence, we could make no claim.

I think the police stitched me up, and I should have been informed when the court case was to take place, so I could claim. But the point is, if the work is so bad that you need an insurance claim likely they will not pay out anyway.

Doing it correct, you need to tell the LABC first and pay their fees, in Wales £100 plus vat, and their inspector has to decide if your dad has the skill, does not matter what qualifications he has, I did in the end get the inspector to accept my qualifications, but it was touch and go. If he does not he can appoint some one to inspect the work, he will also charge, so likely looking at £300 or more on top of the work to DIY, and the big question is, if you want the paperwork, is it worth doing it DIY?

So either get a scheme member to do the work, or take a chance, there is really no half measure.