Cost of connection

[ban-all-sheds]

And are you going to take it seriously, or is the whole idea of giving advice and rational critiques just one big joke to you?

 

[doorBell]

Reading is my issue, clearly. Do you do subtitles for the hard of understanding?

It seems you might have forgot what website you are on, so I'll help....DIY!!!!

Football calls, I thank you.

 

[sparkiedave]

I'm a spark, and I can see both sides of the argument here, the guy is obviously working out what he needs to do, the advice I would give is to perhaps try to find a local sparky who will oversee your labour and then perhaps do some of the 2nd fix, all the testing and certification, it might not cost much more than the council fee, I've recently done this for someone who admitedly, was pretty clued up, and my final bill was about £500

 

[1john]

Whats the problem here, twelve important and concise points for ANYONE undertaking major installation work. FFS why pick on a guy who is just making sure people are informed as to what needs to be done so it is safe and sound.

DIYers in general want to do a professional job by themselves, they wouldn't be here if they just wanted to lash up any old crap would they?????

If there are any of the 12 points that any diyer doesnt understand then at least they get to opertunity to read up on them, imvestigate them and ask questions.

Or as sparkiedave said, ask about for an electrician who is able to oversee your work as you do it and give you some pointers.

 

[iandandav]

I'm a spark, and I can see both sides of the argument here, the guy is obviously working out what he needs to do, the advice I would give is to perhaps try to find a local sparky who will oversee your labour and then perhaps do some of the 2nd fix, all the testing and certification, it might not cost much more than the council fee, I've recently done this for someone who admitedly, was pretty clued up, and my final bill was about £500

Yes this is a good suggestion. I have thought about this too. I will contact the council on mon to ask what the fee is actually covering. I dont like as was mentioned in one post above that the council charge for each visit. I was hoping the fee would cover all their visits.

 

[Steve]

Forgot about this. Oh well, we'll let sleeping dogs lie eh.

AFAICR, the comment was made light heartedly and in jest, and the OP realised this. I have nothing to explain.

 

[mikhailfaradayski]

Whats the problem here, twelve important and concise points for ANYONE undertaking major installation work. FFS why pick on a guy who is just making sure people are informed as to what needs to be done so it is safe and sound.

I don't think anyone is being 'picked on'. Maybe sheddy courts the responses he gets due to the perceived condescending attitude he delivers his 'advice' with? He feels that politeness and manners dilute his message and are not necessary, he does not see any other way. He also repeatedly denies having interpersonal skill problems. He also accuses other people of being solipisistic. er, pot, kettle

DIYers in general want to do a professional job by themselves, they wouldn't be here if they just wanted to lash up any old crap would they?????

True, but sheddy, whether directly as a result of his attitude towards a DIYers or indirectly as a result of his attitude toward other regular posters here has probably caused the most threads to degenerate into a multi coloured cut/paste extravaganzas which surely do not help the OP who, i imagine ends up with a 'why did i bother?, just wack it in any old how' How does that help?

If there are any of the 12 points that any diyer doesnt understand then at least they get to opertunity to read up on them, imvestigate them and ask questions.

Do you think intimate knowledge of all aspects of all 12 points are required for a clued up DIYer to carry out simple domestic installs using standard circuits?

Or as sparkiedave said, ask about for an electrician who is able to oversee your work as you do it and give you some pointers.

yip, ditto. Good idea.
When you consider the cost of self-notifying to labc against a registered spark notifying, it isn't as expensive as you may think. It also gets over the problem of 'i do not have testing equipment, how can i test my work?'

 

[ban-all-sheds]

AFAICR, the comment was made light heartedly and in jest, and the OP realised this. I have nothing to explain.

Considering that this is completely untrue

That list is Ban's dirty dozen that he regurgitates every now and then to belittle a DIYer and make them feel incompetent enough to call an electrician

I think you do have something to explain:

Why do you think it acceptable to raise doubts in someones mind about the validity of important advice with which you have no disagreement by making false statements in order to have a laugh?

 

[mikhailfaradayski]

To the OP, please try to overlook sheddy's attitude, i think in a former life, he/it may have been a dickensian work house master. The medication he seems to take (sometimes) may be causing him /it to undergo some kind of regression.

I am also imbarking on the wiring of the property myself

1. For a circuit to supply a given load (doesn't matter what), how would you go about deciding what cable and protective device to use?

1. via research, which you have already told us you have embarked upon and asking questions.

   
   [*] How do you calculate maximum demand and how can diversity be used?

   via research, which you have already told us you have embarked upon and asking questions.

   
   [*] What are the 3 different types of domestic single-phase supplies provided in this country, how would you recognise them, and what differences do each make to the requirements for the rest of the installation, particularly any outdoor supplies??

   You could find the answer to this via research, which you have already told us you have embarked upon and asking questions.

   
   [*] Can you correctly identify all components and connections of a circuit by method of testing or otherwise? In doing so can you identify or recognise anything wrong or dangerous with the circuit?

   thats not too tricky - cable, switches, socket outlets, mcb, rcd, rcbo etc. If you saw something which didn't conform to the knowledge gained during your research, you could ask questions to decide if that was dangerous or not. The electricians here like photographs, far easier to understand then a hard to read paragraph of 'the brown connects to the brown then that connects to a brown, then three browns connect to a blue with brown and then, and then, and then.....' picture=1000 words
   

   [*] Do you understand how the way in which you install cables affects how much current they can carry?

   I imagine you could, via research, which you have already told us you have embarked upon and asking questions.

   
   [*] What are the rules concerning cables concealed in walls, partitions and under floors?

   Easy to work out after the research, which you have already told us you have embarked upon and asking questions.

   
   [*] What are the rules for cables run outdoors, buried in the ground or overhead??

   This forum is not a quiz game, you do not need to respond to this, you won't be awarded any points or prizes. Cross that bridge when/if you come to it.

   
   [*] Where cables need to be joined, how should this be done / not be done and in what circumstances are different methods acceptable??

   if it is not obvious to you how to do this, please feel free to ask question here.

   
   [*] Can you identify extraneous conductive parts, and do you know the requirements for main and supplementary bonding of them??

   I imagine you can, given the research, which you have already told us you have embarked upon and asking questions.

   
   [*] Which circuits should be RCD protected??

   You could work this out via research, which you have already told us you have embarked upon and asking questions, you will find the answer to this question.

   
   [*] How do you propose to isolate your supply so that you can connect up your new CU??

   When you have the supply to the house installed, ask for an isolator to be fitted, simple.

   
   [*] Can you explain what tests you would carry out on the installation - what sequence you'd do them in and at what point you would energise the installation, and for each test do you know what is being measured, why it is important, how you would carry out the test, and with what equipment, and what sort of results you would expect to get if everything was OK?

I imagine you can, via research, which you have already told us you have embarked upon and asking questions.

As suggested above, talking to an electrican before you start. Don't wait til you finished, then expect a spark to 'sign off' for a few quid, you may be unpleasantly surprised at the responses you get. Would you kick the tyres on your car and flash all the lights once a year, then attempt to get your local garage to give you an MOT cert for £2, whilst assuring them that you have kicked the tyres correctly?

If you are determined to do this yourself, i would recommend that you purchase a copy of BS7671:2008, the on-site-guide and a copy of guidance note3. -Only about £100 quid job lot, which is a drop in the ocean compared to the money you have saved by not employing a spark.

That leaves you with only the problem of how to test the installation. You will need to consider a few things, including-
RCD trip times
earth fault loops
insulation resistance
fault currents

these require equipment which it is unlikely that you possess