Is this a DIY site anymore

[darren7]

I really do understand what the law is, and there are some people who do not know how to change a fuse....but but but....when I used to look at this site a long time ago, it used to be all help.....now all is I see is Part P.....

I do understand that people who do electrics for a living, and there views..... but all is it says most of the time is don't DO IT.....

Part P this and Part P that......I don't know what to say.... and the end of the day the pro`s hate DIY people.... and will tell you the bodges they have seen, but I think it is going a little to far sometimes, and the help is not coming.

Darren

 

[Silver_Hawk]

Good post Darren!

I was hoping for help from this Forum...but it's like squeezing water from a stone.

Paul

 

[Lectrician]

Answers are always forthcoming......they just get accompanied by a PART P comment.

It like saying drive at 80mph, but dont.

 

[il78]

Most domestic electrical work can be easy "but but but" do it wrong and people are going to get hurt.

A majority of electricians on this site are fully qualified to advise DIYers what to do for the best and are informed on the legal issues involved for there own benefit. (Certification when selling etc)

When someone asks how to change a light switch or whatever, consideration should be given if the wannabe DIYer is upto the task in hand and the electrician can easily assess this by asking a few questions first.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I was hoping for help from this Forum...but it's like squeezing water from a stone.

You've only asked one question, and you did get an answer. You didn't like the answer, but that's not our fault....

Re the Part P thing, the fact is that there are, still, a large number of people who haven't heard of it. It is reasonable to expect people doing "building" work to be aware of the existence of the Building Regulations, so (I imagine) that on the Building forum you don't see constant reminders.

But with electrics and Part P, it seems it is not yet reasonable to have the same expectation. Part P is not used as a stick to beat people into not DIY-ing, but the reminders and explanations are there to ensure that they do not inadvertently break the law through ignorance. If they choose to break the law, that is entirely up to them, and nobody is going to shop them, but it should be an informed choice....

The $64,000 question is when to stop drawing peoples' attention to it. If someone today were to ****-up, regulation wise, and bleat on the Building Forum "but you never told me I had to notify the council about my loft conversion", they'd get short shrift. When should the same apply to electrical installations?

 

[pdcelec]

I really do understand what the law is, and there are some people who do not know how to change a fuse....but but but....when I used to look at this site a long time ago, it used to be all help.....now all is I see is Part P.....

If you wish to do the work with complete disregard to Part P, that is up to you. But as a qualified electrictrian, I feel that ALL of the information is given to someone who maybe ignorant of what is required.

I do understand that people who do electrics for a living, and there views..... but all is it says most of the time is don't DO IT.....

When people ask very very basic questions and show a complete lack of knowledge, then the best answer to give is dont do it. Would you go the local cake shop to get the brake pads replaced on your car?

Part P this and Part P that......I don't know what to say.... and the end of the day the pro`s hate DIY people.... and will tell you the bodges they have seen, but I think it is going a little to far sometimes, and the help is not coming.

Why ask the pro's then, if you do not respect their opinions?

Darren

Good luck with any future work that you may carry out

 

[kevplumb]

nobody ever mentions CORGI in the plumbing forum

 

[securespark]

Would you go the local cake shop to get the brake pads replaced on your car?

That's why my brakes are spongy........

 

[?]

nobody ever mentions CORGI in the plumbing forum

Is that because it is not illegal to carry out gas work in your own home ?

 

[kevplumb]

it is if you can't prove competance check the reg's

 

[Gary0]

Maybe a sticky thread detailing the part p in plain English would serve to avoid so much reference to it in individual threads ?

 

[darren7]

Ok…… Yes it would be nice to have a divvy bit for people like me, sticky….Like all about that nice part P…Blood out of a stone, yes it is a little like this. I can see all the points but sometimes it is no don’t do it, even when someone has a little bit of sense…..what is the next step for DIY? Will the leccy be looking over my shoulder in B&Q, pulling the junction box out of my hand? Or will there be a picket out the front of the shop?????? No really I don’t know where it will stop, maybe one day we wont be able to buy the stuff?

Well Im just of to fit my hob, and run a gas pipe through the concrete floof to my Gas fire, does not matter if the copper pipe is in the bare floor does it Kev?????
Joking

Darren

 

[andy]

darren: we can read what you say wether it is this big, this big or even this big

 

[kevplumb]

personally i couldn't give a toss

long as you dont live near me

 

[AdamW]

even when someone has a little bit of sense

That's often the most dangerous quantity of sense... or am I thinking of knowledge?

Anyway: one day, like me, you will read a post and you will shake your head in disbelief at what someone will be trying to do. Then you will find yourself muttering "I hope I never buy that guy's house!"

We all start out at the beginning, none of us are born with the ability to carry out regulation-meeting electrical work. It's a learning curve. But some people will:

1) Want to rewire their entire house, top to bottom, new CU, with no previous experience.
2) Ask if their plan to complete a task is correct, then get angry when they find that using coathanger wires instead of T&E isn't acceptable, or that they will need to buy an FCU instead of wiring flex directly into a socket... basically whenever a job will cost them 50p more than they thought.
3) Ask something totally vague that points towards a complete lack of understanding of this "elastic trickery" running in the wires.

I am not an electrician, I've never pretended to be. But, I have learned enough to do most small jobs around my home. And I am never reminded of Part P: perhaps because I don't propose to do things that contravene it, perhaps because I've taken the time to read up on Part P... or perhaps because I write my questions in such a manner that indicates I do have a decent understanding and am not about to install a toaster above my bath.

As to the gas: I saw a factsheet in Wickes, ironically called a "Good Ideas leaflet", on installing a combi boiler... it had big letters on it saying that you must not do it unless you are Corgi registered. But surely, if you are Corgi registered you don't need a Wickes "Good Ideas leaflet" telling you how to install a boiler