This one has reared it's ugly head again.
To Recap: I have a CU with two spare ways which I need for a new ringmain and lighting circuit in the new garage conversion to an office.
Building inspector wants a smoke detector in the room adjacent to the garage, which is the room the CU is in, so the smoke detector would be about 2-3ft max from the CU.
I've discovered that the pre-existing smoke detectors are on their own dedicated 6A MCB, which is good news, however that circuit is not RCD protected.
The sparky I've been talking to about this still doesn't want to do it, he says because the pre-existing cabling is in the ceiling, by adding another smoke detector, the whole circuit including the pre-existing has to be compliant, and this means that circuit has to be RCD protected. Even if the new smoke is put in with armoured cabled or across the ceiling in visible conduit, he still says it's got to go onto an RCD because of the existing cables, and therefore I need a whole new CU. I even suggested moving the alarm circuit MCB across to the RCD side, but he wasn't even happy about that.
Conversely the building inspector says the regs can't make you redo all the old stuff.
Who is right?
I'm starting to lose patience with this, as it's holding up everything else.
Oh, and just to shut them both up, would it be possible to get a 6A RCBO to fit a 10yr old Ashley & Rock CU?
To Recap: I have a CU with two spare ways which I need for a new ringmain and lighting circuit in the new garage conversion to an office.
Building inspector wants a smoke detector in the room adjacent to the garage, which is the room the CU is in, so the smoke detector would be about 2-3ft max from the CU.
I've discovered that the pre-existing smoke detectors are on their own dedicated 6A MCB, which is good news, however that circuit is not RCD protected.
The sparky I've been talking to about this still doesn't want to do it, he says because the pre-existing cabling is in the ceiling, by adding another smoke detector, the whole circuit including the pre-existing has to be compliant, and this means that circuit has to be RCD protected. Even if the new smoke is put in with armoured cabled or across the ceiling in visible conduit, he still says it's got to go onto an RCD because of the existing cables, and therefore I need a whole new CU. I even suggested moving the alarm circuit MCB across to the RCD side, but he wasn't even happy about that.
Conversely the building inspector says the regs can't make you redo all the old stuff.
Who is right?
I'm starting to lose patience with this, as it's holding up everything else.
Oh, and just to shut them both up, would it be possible to get a 6A RCBO to fit a 10yr old Ashley & Rock CU?
