Building Control Notice, Part P and DIY

[londonman]

I'm currently doing a complete refurbishment and that will include rewiring. The work is being carried out under a Notice and I told Building Control today that I would be carrying out the work and when/what stage would they like to come and inspect.

Maybe I'm the first person to say this as the BCO was very confused and went away 'to check'. Ok - you know and I know that they have to do it within the terms/fees of the Notice that I've already paid for.

My question is this...at what stage would you expect them to come out/send someone out to inspect? When first fix has been done? If so, what sort of access is it reasonable to give them? Plasterboarded with the wires poking out of the holes? Or do they need to see the stud partitioning bare with the wires laid out and clipped etc?

It's an old black-and-white timber framed building and the walls will be Kingspanned. I intend to run the cables behind the Kingspan (between the Kingspan and the brick infill panels) as that will be in the cooler side. But if they need to see all the cable runs then that makes life difficult.

Any suggestions? Thanks

 

[equitum]

Ask your BCO when/what they wish to inspect. Anyone elses opinion is meaningless!

 

[londonman]

I agree but the BCO I spoke to today didn't have a clue and so I was hoping for some suggestions to steer him in as I reckon that, within reason, I can 'dictate' what they'll do.

 

[Taylortwocities]

I dont need to go the DIY route for electrical works as I am a full scope registered spark and i could be wrong here but:

I beleive that, first you notify the BCO that you are going to DIY it and have raise the necessary paperwork & pay the fee. Then you must give the BCO a minimum of 2 days notice that you are going to start the works. It is then up to them to inspect as and when they see fit.

If you give notice and they dont inspect then its their problem.

Read the Part P document (link on the WIKI) page 11. It describes the process.

 

[londonman]

Hi TTC - I must be looking in the wrong place in Wiki as I can't see any documents that are paged as you suggest ...ie Page 11 eludes me. Can you please help?

many thanks

 

[Spark123]

Part P Guidance document

 

[jono_h]

I've just done my extension under a Building Notice including the electrics. The things that my BCO wanted to see in relationship to electrics were -

Cable runs to ensure they were all horizontal / vertical as per the spec
First fix to check that back boxes were grommetted etc
Second Fix - although he didn't look specifically at anything just had a wander aorund
Testing Cert - which I have yet to get done, but I'll get a sparky in for.

Now I'm lucky that I get on well with my BCO - it may be that if you haven't worked together before he may want to see an awful lot more of the work.

(It is worth noting that checking the electrics isn't a mandatory inspection, unlike foundations etc. But if you haven't had it inspected and can't prove that it meets the Regs then you might have to undo your work to keep the BCO happy. better to get them out more often, than not often enough)

 

[aptsys]

Testing Cert - which I have yet to get done, but I'll get a sparky in for.

The BCO should be doing this for you at no expense to yourself.

 

[akinks]

Testing Cert - which I have yet to get done, but I'll get a sparky in for.

The BCO should be doing this for you at no expense to yourself.

Really? We've got someone in installing new LV lights & a fan in our bathroom. He's a qualified electrician, but hasn't been registered for a quite a while now. The BCO came for an inspection today & from the sounds of it he was suggesting we'd need to get an electrician in to provide an electrical installation certificate.

 

[Steve3948]

A registered Electrician should not issue a Domestic Installation Certificate for work unless installed by him or his employee's.

It's also within his or her own interest not to for safety and legal reasons.

Periodic Inspection Certificate is fine but not Installation Certificate.

 

[davelx]

Domestic Installation Certificate?

If he's a qualified electrician he should be able to test his work and issue the EIC himself. BCO should accept this and then issue the Building Regs Completion cert once all the work is complete.

Have the BCO refused to accept his certificate? If so, then it's up to them to test/arrange for test at THEIR expense, as clearly stated in the circular from the ODPM (see the wiki on Part-P). Perhaps you should point this out to them?

 

[akinks]

A registered Electrician should not issue a Domestic Installation Certificate for work unless installed by him or his employee's.

It's also within his or her own interest not to for safety and legal reasons.

Periodic Inspection Certificate is fine but not Installation Certificate.

OK - the BCO probably said an inspection certificate, not installation certificate - I haven't got the full story from our fitter yet.

What I was really interested in knowing was whether the BCO should be testing the electrics & whether the cost is included in the building notice fee I paid?

 

[aptsys]

What I was really interested in knowing was whether the BCO should be testing the electrics & whether the cost is included in the building notice fee I paid?

If you paid the fee, you don't need to pay anything else. It's up to the BCO to come and inspect the work. If they don't want to do it, it's up to them to contract out some or all of the work to a specialist body which will then carry out the work on its behalf. The BCO have to do this at their own expense - not yours.

 

[akinks]

Domestic Installation Certificate?

If he's a qualified electrician he should be able to test his work and issue the EIC himself. BCO should accept this and then issue the Building Regs Completion cert once all the work is complete.

Have the BCO refused to accept his certificate? If so, then it's up to them to test/arrange for test at THEIR expense, as clearly stated in the circular from the ODPM (see the wiki on Part-P). Perhaps you should point this out to them?

I think it was a long time ago he qualified as an electrician... so I'm not sure he'll be able to test and certify that his work fully meets current regs. I'll have to get the full story off him later & maybe talk to the BCO myself...

 

[aptsys]

Have a read of the wiki: //www.diynot.com/wiki/electrics:part_p