No DIY electrics allowed? How do I get a decent sparky?

[Bodgitnscarper]

I need a sparky to wire my extension.
Would I save much money by doing all of the first fix or is it not worth it?
How do I find a good electrician who I can rely on to do the job properly?

Thanks.

 

[Iggifer]

Reccomendations are the best way to find someone. Speak to family and friends and see if they’ve got anyone they like.

There are websites you can check but word of mouth from someone you know (and can maybe go and see the work) is the best.

As for saving yourself money, speak to the spark, he might be happy for you to do any chasing out / hole drilling etc but how much he is happy for you to do is down to whoever you get involved.

 

[ericmark]

I am an electrician, however when I wanted my mothers house rewiring I went to a firm of electricians, the main reason was time, what did reduce costs was I did all the plastering, with modern chasing machines not much point you doing that, and working where the home owner agreed to do work, only ever did it once, an electrician needs to get on with the job and the last thing he wants is to arrive and find agreed work not done, we ended up doing so much of the work the client had agreed to do that we may as well not have bothered allowing him to do anything. Once bitten twice shy, to finish off the work doing the plastering great, but any work which will delay the electrician if not done they will not want to know.

By getting a firm to do the work I saved on LABC fees, also some of my test gear is faulty and would need replacing so by time I took off the price of materials and LABC fees and new test equipment I was looking at paying less than £1000 for a weeks work by two electricians, it would have taken me at least a month more like two months to do myself so well worth it, specially as I only had 3 weeks before mother due home.

As to selecting as said personal recommendation is the best, all electricians will need to be a member of a scheme to be able to self certify, however if a member of any scheme to find them work like trusted traders or names to that effect, you really do need to ask why, most electricians can get enough work without paying money to people like them, only new electricians who don't have a good name will need them, so if a member of something to find them work, then steer clear of them.

 

[Bodgitnscarper]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. Very helpful.

 

[flameport]

No DIY electrics allowed

DIY electrics are allowed, just as they always have been.

 

[Bodgitnscarper]

DIY electrics are allowed, just as they always have been.

Really? Please elaborate. I was led to believe I have to have my extension required by someone with Part P qualifications. Is that not the case? Thanks.

 

[flameport]

There is no such thing as 'part p qualifications' so whoever told you that was totally wrong.

Anyone can do electrical work.
A few things need to be notified to building control, but that does not restrict who does the work.

 

[Bodgitnscarper]

There is no such thing as 'part p qualifications' so whoever told you that was totally wrong.

Anyone can do electrical work.
A few things need to be notified to building control, but that does not restrict who does the work.

So I'm building an extension and want to wire it myself having covered some electrical installation on my 1988 college course, can I do it?

What do people mean when they say it has to be 'signed off' by an electrician?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

So I'm building an extension and want to wire it myself having covered some electrical installation on my 1988 college course, can I do it?

If you can, then you may.

Part P is this:



and that's it.

How you make that provision is not defined. The guidance in Approved Document P suggests complying with BS 7671, and that's what 99.99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999% of people who consciously try to comply will do.

The issue of what work is notifiable is moot, really, as you are having an extension. The whole project is notifiable, so Building Control will (ought) to take an interest in the electrical work in it as they will be issuing a completion certificate for the whole project.

What do people mean when they say it has to be 'signed off' by an electrician?

Usually they mean that they think they can DIY the work and then get an electrician in to sign documents to say that they did it, and it complies with the Wiring Regulations and the Building Regulations. Usually they don't know it doesn't work like that.

You have 3 options:

1. Use a registered electrician who can self-certify the work.
2. DIY after submitting your plans on how you'll ensure compliance with Part P to the council and gaining their approval. Very often they will charge extra and/or insist you have an electrician inspect your work.
3. DIY after having retained a 3rd-party inspector to oversee the work (in much the same way that you may use 3rd-party building inspectors as an alternative to the council's Building Control dept.)

 

[HawkEye244]

So I'm building an extension and want to wire it myself having covered some electrical installation on my 1988 college course, can I do it?

What do people mean when they say it has to be 'signed off' by an electrician?

Yes you can do it provided you are confident and understand the correct sizing of cables and how they should be run. I have done full re-wires with no electrical qualifications and do most electrical work on my own. You save thousands in the long run but be prepared for a sharp learning curve.

My prefered option is to do the job and then have a firm do a EICR (electrical installation condition report). Everything comes back perfect, it's as good as building regulations and runs for 5 years, as it is signed off in the same way a building regs compliance form is. Anything you don't understand you can ask on here and you will get good advice because there are many good and knowledgeable chaps here, although there are one or two very toxic and unsavoury characters who try to stop people from learning and progressing. Such is life unfortunately.

 

[Bodgitnscarper]

Thanks Hawkeye I appreciate that. Thanks to all for your replies and advice.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

My prefered option is to do the job and then have a firm do a EICR (electrical installation condition report).

That is option #2 in my list above. Provided you've notified Building Control in advance, paid the fees, and they have said that they will be happy with you doing the job and getting an EICR, it's fine.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Bodgit - Hawkeye has made an important point about learning.

The electrical work you want to do is not a trivial job, and it involves knowing more than you probably think it does.

Asking questions here can be a useful part of a learning process, but they are not a substitute for proper structured studying. The key term there is "learning process" - you cannot learn all the things you need to know just by asking questions here. It isn't structured enough - it won't provide you with a way to progress where each step builds on what you learned before.

And you can't carry out a job of this magnitude by asking whatever random questions happen to occur to you. What if you get something wrong because you have no idea your knowledge is wrong? What if you miss something because you simply have no idea it even exists, and just don't realise you don't know it?

Ironically, Hawkeye is a textbook example of someone with dodgy misconceptions and unknown unknowns who really should not be attempting electrical work on the basis of asking about what he thinks he needs to know.