Notifiable work

[kipper99]

Hi,

As I understand it, electrical work done in a kitchen, such as inserting new sockets in a ring main, are now notifiable.

If I undertake such work (as a competent DIYer) but don't splash out the exhorbitant fees on getting the work inspected by the local authority, what are the potential consequences?

When I come to sell my house, what process ocurrs to determine whether notifiable work has been carried out during the period of my ownership?

Thanks for any advice and opinions you can offer,
Ted.

 

[FredFlintstone]

You will be given a sellers questionnaire to complete in which it will ask if you've had any electrical work carried out.

If you answer no, you've lied on your sellers questionnaire (which I suspect is an offence).

Whether or not anyone will check each socket is a different matter so your lie may or may not be discovered.

You could minimise the chances of discovery by using some old colour T&E cable or alternatively eliminate the chances of discovery by notifying to LABC or getting it done by a pro.

IMO, if you're gonna do it, do it properly.

Regards

Fred

 

[karatedragon]

i would think that no one would know - how can they unless they carbon date your cable or something.

its up to you though to make the decision if you wanna be honest or not!

im sure there are plenty of DIYers who wont splash out on a spark to do simple jobs that are notifyable nor do they wish to further line the pockets of the council

 

[davy_owen_88]

To put is simply, if you do not inform the BCO then you have broken the law and can be fined. No EIC/building cert. and new cable colours pretty much gives the game away - carbon dating isn't necessary

Davy

 

[karatedragon]

new cable colours were purchaseable before the advent of this certfiyable work

 

[karatedragon]

To put is simply, if you do not inform the BCO then you have broken the law and can be fined.
Davy

If you speed in your car or van, maybe to get to another job you have broken the law and could be fined... Do you ever think of that?

If you record a programme off the TV you have broken the copyright law, and can be fined.

I think the list can go on!

I guess it's all down to what you consider to be an acceptable risk

 

[lookinn]

First practical answer I have seen about this Part P.

 

[karatedragon]

whenever I think about acceptable risks I think of a friend who featured in this YouTube clip!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPKJ4F9cHsQ

it puts things into perspective soonest!

 

[Pensdown]

First practical answer I have seen about this Part P.

You really think so?

If you want to compare, how would you feel if you brought a car thats been clocked and had a dodgy MOT?

Part P was introduced to protect the consumer which is me and you

 

[dingbat]

You don't get to choose which laws you obey and which you flaunt. Not without the risk (however small) of prosecution, anyway.

I hope when you move, kipper99, the house you buy has been extended, altered, rewired and re-plumbed entirely by a bodger, ignorant of the regulations, ignorant of the law, but just good enough to fool your superficial building society valuation (I imagine you will have the same approach to paying a surveyor).

Then you may learn the value of the building regulations.

 

[bernardgreen]

Then you may learn the value of the building regulations.

They are in some areas of building essential. The regulations and the building inspector were very helpful when we built our house ( self built, my wife and I did 95% of the work ). The guidance and advice were invaluable.

DIY must for the safety of the DIYer and future owners conform to the minimum standards to be safe and that is why the regulations are there.

 

[kipper99]

Thanks for all the comments - I can see there is a difference of opinion on this

Re. "I hope when you move, kipper99, the house you buy has been extended, altered, rewired and re-plumbed entirely by a bodger, ignorant of the regulations, ignorant of the law, but just good enough to fool your superficial building society valuation (I imagine you will have the same approach to paying a surveyor). "

My job is not bodged. I have a PhD in Physics and a qualification in electrical engineering and have worked on 3kV wiring as part of my previous job so I don't feel that my efforts to install a basic ring main socket would be a "bodge". Neither am I ignorant of the regulations.

From what I have heard many local authorities simply rubber stamp work without conducting any kind of test on the work that has been done. So what is the value of this other than to line their pockets?

I have also heard that many authorities don't have inspectors qualified to check electrical work under Part P, and try to charge you for their hiring of a certified electrician to perform the checks, which is illegal.

Further, I have heard that some refuse point blank to conduct the checks and effectively force you to hire an electrician, who, quite understandably, would want to do the work from scratch rather than sign off someone else's under their own name.

Finally, why am I allowed to fit a new socket in my living room, and not in my kitchen? The argument that the kitchen ring main is more commonly overloaded is bogus - in my house the kitchen ring main is shared with the living room. The law is clearly an ass.

With all this mess, it does call into question the value of such regulations.

I'm not saying that I do intend to break the law. As someone correctly pointed out earlier, it is a matter of what level of law-breaking you consider acceptable in everyday life. Having done some further research, my main concern would me the potential invalidation of my insurance (or that of the next home-owner) in the event of a fire - presumably even if my wiring were not responsible?

Thanks for your comments,
Ted.

 

[stevesey]

If you want to compare, how would you feel if you brought a car thats been clocked and had a dodgy MOT?

I hope when you move, kipper99, the house you buy has been extended, altered, rewired and re-plumbed entirely by a bodger, ignorant of the regulations, ignorant of the law, but just good enough to fool your superficial building society valuation (I imagine you will have the same approach to paying a surveyor).

Back to the assumption that any work done without getting the correct paperwork sorted is sub-standard. It may be done perfectly correctly, but of course, without testing and inspection, no one can tell.

If you consider yourself competent with electrics and want to add an extra socket to the kitchen, notification ends up multiplying the cost of the job ten-fold. On that basis it's easy to see why people try to avoid notification.

I'm not sure what the solution is - but I think there is scope for some adjustment to part-P for this sort of work in order to encourage DIYers to follow the rules, the current process/costs are a disincentive for smaller work. Perhaps a much reduced cost, with a penalty (re-inspection cost) if remedial work is identified by the inspector, this would encourage people to do their research, get it right first time and avoid the cost/hassle of arranging a second visit.

 

[Demonic]

Perhaps a much reduced cost, with a penalty (re-inspection cost) if remedial work is identified by the inspector, this would encourage people to do their research, get it right first time and avoid the cost/hassle of arranging a second visit.

Totally agree with this. I want to move a CCU and a socket, one foot to the right in each case. The walls are honeycombed plasterboard so it's a case of lifting two floorboards, pulling the cables up the wall and pulling them down into a couple of new dry-line boxes. I'm not adding to either circuit.

Cost to me = about £20 for boxes and switches and a few hours.

Cost of inspection = £120

Cost of electrician to do it = £85 (and that doesn't include the electrician that insisted that I had to have a new CU due to no RCD and was totally unwilling to do any diversity calcs and thus quoted £830)

In all fairness my LABC said it would probably be cheaper to get an electrician to do the job so it sounds like they aren't overly keen on the pricing or the restrictive extent of the Part P regs.

 

[dingbat]

Rocket surgeon you may be, kipper, and I have no doubt you think you know the regulations (a lot of electricians imagine they do, too) but not notifying notifiable work is an offence and nobody on here can tell you otherwise.