Chosen electrician, I'm a bit concerned....

[GaryinAshby]

Ground floor extension, bathroom, utility, diner & living room. Had three quotes & the one that seemed interested got the job. Shower, fans x 2, sockets x 7, lights x 4.

We ran briefly through what was required, new CU with RCD protection, bonding etc, etc. As I am technical manager for a company that produces components from the CU back to the sub station, I have a fair idea of what is involved, but I'm obviously NO expert with domestic installations. However, he came back round yesterday & I quizzed him about several things that have made me nervous & I'd like some opinons please before I decide to kick him off the job.

I accept that there are various ways of doing this installation, but please advise whether what is below falls within the guidelines or not.

1. CU. My old one (10 years) has no RCD protection, so replacement is obvious. However, he tells me that only the shower in the extension needs to be RCD protected to comply. I was under the impression that all of the new work had to be RCD protected, sockets, lights etc?

2. I asked whether he was going to work live when installing the new CU (I have a dog & a 4 y/o & wanted to make sure they weren't around to distract!). No, he was going to cut the seal, remove the fuse & then use the "there wasn't one in place when I started" line if quized by the DNO!

3. Certificate to comply with Part P. He said that he has to register the job online and a certificate is sent to both me & the BCO. Is that true?

Thankyou.

 

[rebuke]

1. All general purpose socket outlets in a domestic property have to be protected by a 30ma RCD. Lighting circuits don't specifically, however any cabling buried less than 50mm in a wall must be unless in earthed metal conduit (or SWA / FP cable etc), so in most houses it must be as well.

2. This is fairly common - there's a thread on here discussing it somewhere. While the 'correct' thing to do is to get the DNO in to remove the cutout, and then put it back when done, a lot of DNOs now allow members of certain schemes to remove them anyway...

3. Self certification under Part P is normally done via a website, which does send you and the BCO a certificate. Check the person / company you're using is listed on www.competentperson.co.uk though to make sure they're registered. You should also get a BS7671 EIC (electrical installation certificate) for the work.

 

[GaryinAshby]

Thanks for that, especially the web site, as this guy IS registered on it.

He didn't mention the EIC, only the bit about part P certificate. I'll call him tonight for a chat.

 

[hairyben]

Pretty much what rebuke said.

sockets = RCD mandatory (unless single socket labelled up for specific appliance "only" eg fridge)
lights = RCD not mandatory but most cost effective way of complying with certain regs, I'd be surprised if anyone included shielded cable/conduit instead and didn't point out or offer you this as a cost-option.

Plus, although rebuke already mentioned it, EIC is a absolute must. Building certificate you should have as well, but thats just paperwork, EIC & the testing involved proves the installation is safe.

so at a guess, you're right to be concerned