new build wiring diy or go for spark

[cigamseinnub]

just had a quote for doing all the electrics in a new build house in norfolk which is more than i was expecting . £3400 for approx :CU, 50 sockets , and 15 lights+switchs i know people are going to say thats reasonable but its a lot of cash still .
I was hoping to be able to get someone to design and do final testing with myself doing the donkey work of chasing and wire fitting ect which as i understand is allowable. but obviously electricians don't want to do this as with the cost they pay for exams insur ,equip ect they want to earn as much as they can. so finding a spark willing to do this is going to be difficult.
the only other option is to do it all myself an getting building control to do the certificate , (realise this is going to take a lot of reading to understand all the technical side now required) so wondered if anyone else gone down this route and has any advice .
and how difficult is it to do the plans required by BC which they require before commencement?
or is it just a matter of biting the bullet and saying by by to all the money

 

[EFLImpudence]

just had a quote for doing all the electrics in a new build house in norfolk which is more than i was expecting . £3400 for approx :CU, 50 sockets , and 15 lights+switchs

Are you sure you won't need anything else?

i know people are going to say thats reasonable but its a lot of cash still .

Cheap compared to the building.

I was hoping to be able to get someone to design and do final testing with myself doing the donkey work of chasing and wire fitting ect which as i understand is allowable.

You may find someone.

but obviously electricians don't want to do this as with the cost they pay for exams insur ,equip ect they want to earn as much as they can. so finding a spark willing to do this is going to be difficult.

Half as much for half as much is the same.

the only other option is to do it all myself an getting building control to do the certificate , (realise this is going to take a lot of reading to understand all the technical side now required) so wondered if anyone else gone down this route and has any advice .
and how difficult is it to do the plans required by BC which they require before commencement?

Did you design the house and draw the plans yourself?
Do you know how to design electrical installations? Judging by you list of requirements above, perhaps not.

or is it just a matter of biting the bullet and saying by by to all the money

That's up to you.

 

[ericmark]

If you list what you need you will see how much is labour.
I would expect 50 sockets would be split into at least three circuits.
I would expect the lights would be split into at least two circuits.
Normally one would include a supply to a cooker even if not used.
The same applies to aerial cable and outlet
If one follows the rule book it states that any fixed appliance over 2kW should be on it's own supply I would consider immersion heater, tumble drier, washing machine, dish washer etc.
So likely you will end up with 10 or 12 circuits and a lot more then you list here.
Then you have to work out time. Now where a customer wants to do some of the work himself the only way is to charge for the time taken rather than for the job. This will include travel time so if you ask him to call and look at something likely minimum charge of one hour.
I have seen where guys say I'll do all the donkey work and how one has then to correct it which can take more time than doing it all. Putting cement in holes which were for sockets but have been let in too deep ect.
So if we think of half the charge is for labour so two weeks approx to do the job. More likely two guys for one week.
So if you do everything correct to save him time maybe one guy for one week with you as labour rather than two guys for one week so saving to to is likely to be around the £850 mark.
And you will need to takes a weeks holiday to labour for him. This doing a bit every night just does not work as he visits so often with travel costs there's no saving to you.
Assuming you do get some one to do the work because the installation certificate will need three signatures it will have to go though building control so with their payment your saving will drop to likely £650 now I know £650 is a lot of money but really is it worth all the hassle?

 

[Taylortwocities]

That £650 would be the minimum that you'd pay for a basic tester. And you will need one.

Don't forget that the LABC may only verify your testing. You will still be expected to do all of the continuity, polarity, insulation resistance, RCD testing etc.

Don;'t expect them to turn up and start fault finding your wiring for you...

 

[ban-all-sheds]

just had a quote for doing all the electrics in a new build house in norfolk which is more than i was expecting .

When is your planned start date?

 

[Click4]

When we had electrician do ours here.. we ended up with circuits for,

Upstairs lighting
Downstairs lighting

Upstairs sockets
Downstairs sockets

Kitchen Sockets

Appliances (for washing machine, dryer and possibly later on dish washer) also have a couple of low wattage devices like a home distribution unit, cable modem, network switches and stuff connected to it.

Smoke Alarms

Security Alarm + CCTV

Fridge Freezer

Shower

Immersion Heater

Central Heating

Hob and Oven

Outdoor Lighting

Outdoor Power


Then have a Garage CU for garage sockets and lighting.

Wanted to RCBO the staircase lighting, but couldnt find a big enough MK CU as by the time you have the dual RCD and Isolator that is 6 ways lost.

but maybe there is a few circuit considerations.
maybe some are overkill lol but there you go.

 

[bernardgreen]

If you get all the knowledge first then a full electrical install is possible as a DIY task but you must do it in accordance with the BS7671 standards or higher.

Testing has to be done in a way that the local authority will accept the results as complying with the standards. This normally will mean using the "approved" test equipment which is an expensive item to buy or hire.

At the end of it you are likely to have an installation which provides you with 90% or more of what you need. You will also know that it was done in the way it was done. Some "electricians" do cut corners without anyone knowing they have done so. One dis-advantage with self certification of work ( applies to all trades in varying degrees ).

That said a full DIY installation is not a task to take on if you are not prepared to work hard at reading and fully understanding the requirements of the standards before starting the planning of the install.

I have done two full DIY rewires and am in the process of installing electrics in a 490 year old cottage. Due to the room by room nature of the renovation a DIY electrical installation has several advantages for the project. But for the ordinary house deciding between DIY or employing a reputable electrician is not so clear cut.

 

[SimonH2]

Hinted at, bit not specifically mentioned :

Do yourself a favour and include telephone AND computer network cabling, and don't skimp on the quantity of points. Even if you don't think you need it now, there is so much stuff becoming networked (TVs for example) that it just doesn't make sense not to include provision for it.

Wireless is not a good substitute if you have the option of building in hard-wired network cabling.

 

[Paul_C]

^^^^^^
Seconded wholeheartedly.

 

[cigamseinnub]

thanks for the responses .
the list of sockets lights was me trying to give an picture of the size of the job i had the quote for. i realise that a hell of a lot more is involved.
i've only just started reading up on the regulations regarding wiring an understand that i've only just dipped a toe in as yet .
i currently devoting 4 days a week to building the house so my time doest cost me where as a tradesmans does, and still have some time left to decide as this week am only getting the trusses up so a few weeks to research at night.

i was going to talk to the building control officer when hes next out about doing the electrics so wanted to get an idea of the feasibility of trying to do it myself (prefer to look a prat on here than in front of him )

after reading the responses will have to do more research first as although i knew i had to get the wiring right before the building control do their inspection/testing didn't think the testing equipment basic would be £650
thanks again for all the replies

 

[mattylad]

I wonder if you could rent the test equipment for a lot less?

 

[Taylortwocities]

Well yes, of course you can. But then we get to the tricky bit.

You have a bit of calibrated test equipment, it costs £650 (or £2000 - it matters not a jot).

You start your testing.

You test an RCD and get a trip time of 230mSecs do you know if that is good, or bad?
You do an insulation test and get a reading of 1.45MΩ between earth and live on a radial circuit. Is that good, or bad?
After installation you do an EFLI test on a circuit protected by a 32amp B curve MCB. The result is 1.45 Ω. Good, or bad?

What will you write on the test results page of the Installation Certificate?
What will Building Control say if they see these results?

There is no point installing and testing electrical circuits unless you know what you are doing.

 

[SimonH2]

I wonder if you could rent the test equipment for a lot less?

I was thinking you could hire an electrician with the test kit for less.

While I'm sure most would prefer to have the whole job, I find it hard to believe that a fair proportion of electricians would a) go through the design with you up front, and b) test it all at the end, for the right inducement.

I know a fair number won't touch that sort of job with a bargepole - you just need to find the ones that will (and who know their stuff). You're more likely to be successful if you at least give the impression of having done your homework first - you know what you want, where you want it, and know how to do it.

 

[flameport]

i currently devoting 4 days a week to building the house so my time doest cost me where as a tradesmans does

That simply isn't true.
If you attempt the electrical installation yourself, it will inevitably take far longer than if an experienced electrician did it. Same for all of the other trades - and if one part is delayed, it will delay other works.

If your house takes longer to build, it will cost more.

 

[Paul_C]

I wonder if you could rent the test equipment for a lot less?

Or you could buy perfectly serviceable second-hand equipment for a lot less, even if you then paid to have the calibration checked.

You need to know how to use the equipment and how the interpret the results though.