Electrical work in my house - what can I legally do

[connorsj]

Hello,

I am in the process of renovating a house. I have had the builders in to do some work and now need some electrical work doing, and would like to know what I can do myself, rather than having to get a qualified electrician to do.

1) There was a large bathroom on the 1st floor, that I have had converted into a small landing, a smaller bathroom and a new small bedroom. The old bathroom had 2 light fixtures in, with a pull cord light switch.

The pull cord light switch is now in the landing. And the two existing bathroom light fixtures are now one in the bathroom, and one in the new bedroom.

I want to move the old bathroom light switch from the pull cord in the landing to a switch on the new wall outside the bathroom, and then put a new switch inside the new bedroom, and move the bedroom light fixture from the old bathroom switch to this switch.

2) I have a small kitchen downstairs that came off the back room, making an L-shape. They were connected by a door, with a light switch for the kitchen on the wall next to the door in the kitchen. I have had the door opened up as an archway (wall knocked out where switch was), meaning that the switch is now hanging loose and needs to be moved to a different position on the wall.

For points 1) and 2), am I allowed to do the work as a DIY job, or do I need an electrician to do it? I have done similar electrical work in the past (e.g. adding new plug sockets to existing ring main), so I am capable of doing the work.

Note: The building work that was done was all done under Building Notice.

Many thanks,

James

 

[stem]

There is no prohibition on DIY electrical work. The legal requirement is that for work in certain locations ie Bathrooms & Kitchens, you need to advise your local authority building control before you start and allow them to inspect and test the installation.

The attached download tells you when you need to notify them.

http://www.ashfield-dc.gov.uk/ccm/cms-service/download/asset/?asset_id=751023

 

[davy_owen_88]

Here is the official Part P document. Page 9 onwards should give you the answer to your question.

Oh and Stem, shouldn't you censor that link? I spy a neon screwdriver

 

[stem]

Stem, shouldn't you censor that link? I spy a neon screwdriver

I wondered who would be first to spot it Don't worry the circuits isolated, It's perfectly safe

 

[RF Lighting]

 

[pdcelec]

you could have done the building work yourself and saved even more

 

[markie]

Why do you's diss the neon so much ? people who don't know fook all about leccy it's a good little tool, ok for you's in the know then fair enough but to them who don't it it could be a matter of life or death ( or one hell of a shock ) don't you think ?

 

[davy_owen_88]

it could be a matter of life or death ( or one hell of a shock ) don't you think ?

Relying on a neon screwdriver to indicate presense of voltage could very well cause someone to receive a shock. They are not reliable enough to trust your life to.

A high resistance path through you and the neon won't light - high light levels and the neons glow could go un-noticed - dodgy resister could create a direct path between your hand and the live terminals - drop it in a puddle... I could go on

The final nail in the coffin is probably the fact that they are absolutely ****e screwdrivers...

 

[markie]

I would rather test if something was live with one of them than use my fingers

 

[davy_owen_88]

Unless your not bothered about going home in a bag I'd suggest you don't use either

 

[DESL]

would rather test if something was live with one of them than use my fingers

But you are using your fingers to complete the circuit!! That's how they work.

 

[plugwash]

would rather test if something was live with one of them than use my fingers

But you are using your fingers to complete the circuit!! That's how they work.

which means they tell you categorically that something is dead relative to you. If you are too well isolated to light a neon screwdriver i can't see how enough current is going to flow through you to give you a nasty shock.

 

[markie]

would rather test if something was live with one of them than use my fingers

But you are using your fingers to complete the circuit!! That's how they work.

But they have an fuse in side of them ( i hope ) which would blow before any harm would ocour, wouldn't it

no matter what the neon gets the first belt

 

[ebee]

No they don`t have a fuse inside them.
Even if they did you would blow before the fuse would blow.
Sorry.
Never use mains tester neon screwdrivers for testing mains.
Who in their right mind would deliberately make themselves part of an electrical circuit?

 

[securespark]

Secure reluctantly raises his hand...

When I was a lot younger (eeh, them were t' days) my party trick used to be standing on the second floor of a timber floored structure with a volt stick in one hand and a live lighting conductor in the other. Imagine the surprise of onlookers to find the volt stick glowing healthily!!

However, here is a disclaimer...

DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS YOURSELF!