Kitchen vs Part p

[jwd_73]

Hello
I am in the process of replacing a kitchen in my house and I was going to run the mains from the fuse board to the kitchen.
Until I read about part P.

So I have already chased out the wall for the cables and cooker point but I am now confused as to how strict the regs are.
for example is there a certain height the cables have to be (above/below worktop) , can the cables be plastered over once tacked down or is there a cover as one sparky said, If I have a built under double oven and an induction hob do i need two cooker points?

I am considering putting all the cables in place and getting a sparky to connect it all to the fuse board and points so he/she can give me a certificate as one has said this could be poss.
any advice welcomed
John

 

[sm1thson]

theres some links to guides on where cables can goe etc in the wiki.

technically electricians cant sign off someone elses work for part p, but if you have it all still visiable (ie before you plaster over) you might find one that will. what your electricion miight be giving you may just be a test certificate, rather than him notifying it! -you need to double check what you are getting!

you can legaly do it yourself, but you will need to tell building control before you start, and pay them to inspect. (they have to take the cost of testing, but many try to fob it off -see the part p info in the wiki). prices vary, Ive seen £60 posted but mine charge £90 and dont understand the testing thing. phone your local building control it worth speaking to them, you dont need to give your name and adress so your not going to drop yourself in it should you choose another route, they are there to help!

 

[jwd_73]

the channel is below worktop height is this ok? and best way to power the fan?

 

[philrosenberg]

It's not quite as simple as doing the work then getting a spark to connect to CU. You need to speak to your local Building control as each one is slightly different. Mine told me that if I could do all the fitting and testing and then they would come round and check it (whatever that means) and issue me with my certificate at a cost of about £100. Other councils may be slightly different.
To have any chance of sticking to the regs you probably need a copy of them, plus the On Site Guide, your library might have them or you sometimes see them second hand on ebay. There's also a good guide to the regs at www.tlc-direct.co.uk

 

[philrosenberg]

Sorry you posted while I was writing
For starters all hidden cables must be in safe zones. That is in areas directly to the left or right or above or below sockets or within a certain distance of corners or ceilings (I can't remember the distances offhand as I've never had reason to use these zones)

 

[sm1thson]

as i see it your horizontal run is outside of the correct zone. i think there may be an easy way around this though (without more chasing). -if you just surface mount the cable below the worktop rather than hiding it in the wall i think this may be acceptable, (it may need plastic conduate -can someone who knows confirm). you wont see the cables as there behind worktops and your verticles look fine! (its best to put units not right up against the wall anyway).

your fridge socket looks in a funny place? -your not going to have a fridge below the worktop plugged in above are you? -you can use a switch above the worktop to turn off a socket below the worktop!

 

[jwd_73]

the horizontal is 800 high and worktop is give or take 920 so how far out am I?
I took into account the worktop fixing to the wall and thougt the wiring would have to be lower as i cannot go higher because of the hatch.
the fridge is a fridge freezer so the plug would be at the same height as the others or maybe same height as oven supply.

and is there a pic or diagram of these safe zones ta John.

 

[philrosenberg]

There's a diagram at http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Book/4.4.1.htm
It's not that 800mm is too high or low, it's just that if you want to bury a horizontal run of cable you have to have some sort of socket or switch etc at the same hight.
If the cable is not hidden then you can route it where you want. There is no need to put twin and earth in conduit if you don't want.

One useful tip I have gotten from this board is to put your cable in oval conduit (the regs tell you what size conduit is needed for which cable) in the plaster. This way if the cable ever needs replacing you can just pull it out and feed new cable through.

Have a good read through the rest of the guide on the tlc site, it should give you a lot of info that you may need to wire a new circuit.

Enjoy

 

[sm1thson]

the horizontal is 800 high and worktop is give or take 920 so how far out am I?

its npt the actual height thats a problem but that they a problem that they are not inline with the sockets, the link below will help explain, my suggestion (for some1else to confirm good or bad) is not to bury the cables below the worktops then they are not hidden and no one will come along at a later date (when fitting the next kitchen) and put a screw through them.

the fridge is a fridge freezer so the plug would be at the same height as the others or maybe same height as oven supply.

fair enough

and is there a pic or diagram of these safe zones ta John.

yes follow the links from my first post!! ok here you go: http://www.niceic.org.uk/downloads/C5-43.pdf