New cooker circuit

[Glyn1959]

Hi, I have a terrace house (100+ years old).
I want to install a cooker circuit (I see no sign of there ever having been one previously).
I want to minimise the cost by doing the labourious bit my self. I plan to lift the boards and route the cable myself and leave all in view for a qualified spark to see before he connects at each end (I will discuss/confirm the plan and cable size with the spark beforehand).
Would this be acceptable under Part P?
I know the spark will have the final say but just wanted advice beforehand.
Thanks

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

Contact the electrician you are going to employ prior to doing any donkey work, as they are going to sign the work off and it then becomes their responsibility.
Part P is a building regulation and providing the work is done safely and notification of work is correctly applied for, then I see no issue. The electrician needs to be able to sign this work off, under notification of a new circuit. To do this, they must be registered to do so or an application prior to work starting has to be sent to building controls, this would incur a fee. The fees vary from area/region of country. My local council charge £240 plus VAT.
So it would be in your interest to source a registered electrician, that can self notify, as their fee to notify is much cheaper.

 

[Glyn1959]

Thanks for the prompt reply. The spark is registered and of course I will discuss with him first. I just wanted to make sure me doing the donkey work was ok as long as I left it all visible to the spark. Some sparks may insist on doing 100% of the job before being prepared to sign off. However, I believe that this would be their choice rather than their legal obligation.
Thanks.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

It would always be best to discuss this with the electrician, prior to starting the work. Some will be happy to allow donkey work and inspect exposed routes and condition of cable, some will not. Part P will not prevent you from doing donkey work, but you need an electrician that is happy with this.

 

[Taylortwocities]

However, I believe that this would be their choice rather than their legal obligation.

Weeeell. The electrician will be signing a certificate that HE/SHE has Designed, Installed and Tested the installation to be in conformance with BS7671. And notifying the Local Authority that HE/SHE has carried out the work in accordance with the Building Regulations.

So, its rather a matter of finding an electrician who is prepared to put his/her name to documents that say the above, even though you did some of it.

 

[securespark]

What happened to third party certification?

You do the work & someone else comes in & does the paperwork?

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

What happened to third party certification?

You do the work & someone else comes in & does the paperwork?

Still need to inform the electrician first, which will require their input.

 

[Taylortwocities]

Electricians who are signed up as third party cert folk are as rare as rocking horse poop.
It was a nice idea, at the time, but very few have taken it up. Some of the CPS don't even provide it as an option.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

Some of the CPS don't even provide it as an option.

Some CPS did offer it, but then ditched it.

But if it were an option, you still need to inform the electrician prior to work starting and they then have to do 1st and 2nd fix inspection/testing.

Quote
"The registered Electrical Certifier must be informed in advance of any proposed work they will be employed to certify before it begins. The work will need to be inspected by the registered electrical certifier at first fix and second fix, and to undergo final testing."

 

[Glyn1959]

In addition to my original post, as I don't know the rating of the cooker (tenants choice when rented out) should I use 10mm rather than 6mm?
I understand the cable can be too small but could it also be too big for the cooker rating? If so are there any implications?

 

[JohnW2]

In addition to my original post, as I don't know the rating of the cooker (tenants choice when rented out) should I use 10mm rather than 6mm?

To be honest, provided the cable is not buried in thermal insulation or suchlike, there's probably no domestic cooker that would not be OK with 4mm² cable, so (with the same caveat) 6mm² is more than adequate.

I understand the cable can be too small but could it also be too big for the cooker rating? If so are there any implications?

No, other than increased cost and more difficulties in 'working with it', there are no downsides of having a cable which is 'unnecessarily big'.

Kind Regards, John

 

[Glyn1959]

The verticals will be in plastic trunking and the horizontals will be under floorboards (no insulation)

 

[JohnW2]

The verticals will be in plastic trunking and the horizontals will be under floorboards (no insulation)

That's fine, then. With that installation method, 6mm² cable has a current-carrying-capacity of 38A. Applying the concept of 'diversity', that means that a cooker with a maximum current draw of about 103A (over 23 kW) could be supplied by such a cable - which is far, far more than any cooker would take.

Kind Regards, John

 

[Glyn1959]

Many thanks for taking the time to reply/ explain. Much appreciated. Job starts tomorrow!

 

[JohnW2]

Many thanks for taking the time to reply/ explain. Much appreciated. Job starts tomorrow!

You're welcome. I hope all goes well.

Kind Regards, John