Part P and all that

[blacksheep]

Are there any courses you can go on to become legal in doing anything that comes under this regulation?

Does this anyone know of this effecting house insurance?

ie. If I had something done in the house by a sparky and never seen them again and couldnt remember who they were is that not to say its legal for insurance reasons or otherwise?

Thanks for any enlightment

 

[DESL]

I hope this a hypothetical question.

 

[blacksheep]

haha yeah of course

 

[bengasman]

if an accident or a fire happened and the techno boys would find proof of dodgy work, I believe the insurer would be justified to claim lack of maintenance or inadequate standards. You should pose this question to a loss adjuster.

 

[blacksheep]

Who are the techno boys?
When you say dodgy work do you mean:

work that has been done that has caused a problem OR
a search for any uncert'd work ever been done in the house before?

 

[DESL]

Dodgy work can be defined as that which causes a fault or has the potential to cause a fault or accident.

I think in the event of a fire the only evidence to confirm compliance of the electrical installation will be an EIC or a PIR

As most fire service investigators are overstretched and under resourced if they can't find an obvious cause of fire it is more often than not attributed to an electrical fault.

However, I have seen a few installations that were a fire waiting to happen.

 

[Softus]

Are there any courses you can go on to become legal in doing anything that comes under this regulation?

Yes.

Does this anyone know of this effecting house insurance?

Your insurance company will know the answer to that.

ie. If I had something done in the house by a sparky and never seen them again and couldnt remember who they were is that not to say its legal for insurance reasons or otherwise?

If you have certifiable work done and cannot product a shred of documentation to show that it was tested and certified, then more fool you. That isn't to say that you're a fool, of course, because clearly you aren't.

Thanks for any enlightment

Er, I suggest that you watch Schindler's List.

 

[blacksheep]

Just interested to know, because even where I work (a school) I have seen work done but probably uncerted people. I have seen a whole room done out and a new circuit put in (I helped the guy) he was college qualified but doubt that is enough!? (depends who exactly he is qualified with I think) I have seen sockets taken out and a connector block put in (to reconnect the ring). Id susppect (but im no expert) that lots of breaches of regulations occur all the time in properys.

Er, I suggest that you watch Schindler's List.

Not seen it, something about the war, why should i?

 

[Softus]

Just interested to know, because even where I work (a school) I have seen work done but probably uncerted people.

I don't know the regulations for working in schools - Part P is only a domestic constraint.

I have seen sockets taken out and a connector block put in (to reconnect the ring).

If it was terminated properly and access to the joints was provided, e.g. a cover plate, then there's not necessarily anything wrong with that.

Id susppect (but im no expert) that lots of breaches of regulations occur all the time in properys.

Well, you live in this country, so you know that nearly everything is now cost-engineered, and domestic customers generally want a cheap job, not a legal job. There are many more rogue customers than rogue traders.

Er, I suggest that you watch Schindler's List.

Not seen it, something about the war, why should i?

You wanted some enlightenment.

 

[Spark123]

Just interested to know, because even where I work (a school) I have seen work done but probably uncerted people. I have seen a whole room done out and a new circuit put in (I helped the guy) he was college qualified but doubt that is enough!? (depends who exactly he is qualified with I think) I have seen sockets taken out and a connector block put in (to reconnect the ring). Id susppect (but im no expert) that lots of breaches of regulations occur all the time in properys.

A school will fall into the scope of the Electricity at Work Regulations. This can be viewed here: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1989/Uksi_19890635_en_1.htm
Also, pay particular attention to regulation 29, which puts the onus on the person to prove they took all reasonable steps etc.
So, how can he prove he took reasonable steps to comply with regulation 5? BS7671 will go a fair way to provide this. If BS7671 has not been complied with it cannot be used in defence.
Another one, regulation 16. Can he prove he is competent to be carrying out the work?

 

[blacksheep]

I will read this later but I would of thought (no expert!) even moving/removing a socket could be a risky thing ?.
I guess im swaying off the OP a bit here surely if the ring is broken by a bad termination at the join then the current capacity is reduced below the fuse protection and surely this then becomes a fire risk. If the ring is overloaded then the cable will burn out (and hopefully not start a fire!) or (probably worse) cause a long term overheating cable conditon?

 

[Spark123]

If the work is done by a competent person working to BS7671 then the risk is minimised.