new sockets

[sheddy]

My daughter has just bought a house and there is only one socket in each of the bedrooms. I am capable of putting in new sockets for her but what are the current regulations regarding diy electrics.
Thanks

 

[pjcomp]

Before worrying about the regs, have a look at what's there and whether the whole lot needs attention. If the sockets haven't been upgraded before now the wiring might also be old style, ie vulcanised rubber, which needs changing. You've probably still got a fuse box, which is not a problem of itslef but upgrading to a new consumer unit should certainly be considered.

If you do go about upgrading the sockets to doubles and adding more per room, the regs say you'll need to upgrade the fusebox to a 17th edition-compliant consumer unit for starters.

PJ

 

[iCraig]

It also comes under Part-P...

 

[ebee]

All domestic wiring in England & Wales comes under Part p

Came accross a gud un today:-

About 3 years ago I rewired a house.
Recently she had a burst - kitchen ceiling.
So whilst work being done she had kitchen refitted.
There's now a dishwasher and power to it is taken from the back of a socket on the ring directly using 1.5 flex which disapperasrs behind the dishwasher - whether it's connected via a trailing socket or just strip connectors I have no idea - bet she has no EIC for it and it's not been notified.

 

[sheddy]

I have taken off the face plate of one of the double sockets in the lounge and found the wiring to be one black and two red,- one of which is being used as the earth. Because of this I have decided to get an electrician to check the whole house to make sure everything is safe.

 

[ajrobb]

I think there is a strange anomaly in that adding sockets in ordinary locations (not kitchen or bathroom) to existing circuits is not notifiable. However, any new wiring has to conform to regulations. If new wiring is run on the surface, buried at least 50mm below the surface or protected by a concentric earth, it does not need additional protection. The problems come with 'normal' wiring hidden in walls that requires 30mA RCD protection. Adding RCD protection will require notifiable work on the consumer unit.

 

[Paul_C]

However, any new wiring has to conform to regulations.

Just to make sure it's understood what regulations are being talked about here - The current version of BS7671 stipulates the RCD protection mentioned, but following BS7671 is not mandatory. If you're talking solely about the legal regulations applicable, then there's nothing to stop you adding sockets to an existing circuit without adding RCD protection.