new cu

[crichtons]

My consumer unit is an old wylex fuse unit, the insulation is perfect, the cables are twin and earth but the cable routes don't follow new standards. ie lighting circuits chased all over the place - no zones.

I want a new consumer unit - RCD protection but no electrician will take on the job simply as they fear they will be held liable for the entire house wiring.

I can't rewire the house for the sake of a new consumer unit, are these electricians making up stories or could they be held liable for the house wiring just because they changed the consumer unit?

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moderator

please note 20, which is here

your post has been split

 

[andy]

there isnt really a problem with just a CU change, altho many will want to do a PIR first and will not include fault finding or anything in their price. i.e finding a N-E fault thats trippin the RCD will most likely be charged extra

 

[ban-all-sheds]

There is also the not-so-minor matter of the cables not in the correct zones.

This is dangerous - it certainly does not meet requirement P1 of being reasonably safe, and there was a high-profile case last year of somebody being killed when a wrongly installed buried cable was drilled into.

The problem you have is that Approved Document P says:

[code:1]2.1 Where any electrical installation work is
classified as an extension, a material alteration
or a material change of use, the addition and
alteration work must include:

a. such works on the existing fixed
electrical installation in the building as
are necessary to enable the additions
and alterations, the circuits which
feed them, the protective measures
and the relevant earthing and bonding
systems to meet the requirements[/code:1]
As usual with Approved Documents, this isn't quite what the law says - the Building Regulations actually say, AFAICT, that if something did not comply before you make changes, then it must not end up any worse off regarding compliance than it was before.

But if it were me, I'd want advice from a proper legal expert on what the Building Regulations actually require before putting my c*** on the block, so I can well understand why the electricians you have spoken to are jittery.

You may find that you do indeed have to have the whole house rewired in order to have a new CU fitted.

Try asking LABC Services what the exact legal position is.