part p dilemma in screwfix

[daytona]

i think giving it all up is a bit extreme really.it doesnt cost that much and you can charge it all on

 

[flyingsparks]

i think giving it all up is a bit extreme really.it doesnt cost that much and you can charge it all on

They gave up because they were nearing retiring age anyway, but sometimes perhaps grandfather rights should be allowed...??

 

[daytona]

ah i see,probably too much grief at that age.too much grief now really.

agree with what you say in your last post.shame we have to be lumped in with'competent people'

 

[holmslaw]

No - but the frequency of some of them can be increased by putting restrictions on DIY electrical work...

 

[IJWS15]

The fault I found at home was created by a professional electrician (For him I use professional in the sense that he received payment for services rendered rather than to demonstrate any particular skill or knowledge).

The fault could have killed me, I did get a jolt as you don't expect to have to check neutrals for mains voltages after switching off a circuit at a DP Switch (I do now). Picture in the Hall of Shame.

Part P would not have changed what he did or the way he did it.

Of more relevance it would not have saved me - and this is exactly what Part P IS supposed to do.

 

[RF Lighting]

you don't expect to have to check neutrals for mains voltages after switching off a circuit at a DP Switch (I do now).

Lesson learned.

Never assume anything.

Test, test, test and then test again.

You didn't expect the neutral to be live, but you still ALWAYS test to make sure.

I'm not sure what the fault was, but it is not uncommon to find a fault which raises a neutral to a dangerous potential. (or CPC for that matter)

 

[ban-all-sheds]

i started that about banning sales of electrical items.
what i meant was the more complicated stuff should be kept out of reach.

How do you decide what is "complicated"? Given a few minutes I, and you, could find evidence here of people for whom a light switch is too complicated...

to my mind its foolhardy and dangerous to let a diyer loose on a new CU for example.you wont know the regs,be able to do the testing and so much could go wrong,the consequences of which dont bear thinking about.

Apart from the supply isolation issue, then with a reasonable amount of common sense, including enough common sense to realise that they should find out a little bit about it, what can go wrong, or get worse, if a DIYer carefully replaces an old CU with a new one, and possibly end up with MCBs where he previously had rewireables, or an RCD where he previously had none?

yet you can get one from the sheds for sixty notes and walk out,totally oblivious to what your supposed to do with it.
there is more to safe circuit design than connecting pieces of cable together

Indeed there is, but there is no circuit design involved in removing conductor ends from one set of protective devices and inserting them in others, and circuit requirements do not become more onerous when switching from fuses to MCBs.

The sheds aren't in the business of supporting DIYers in their attempts to avoid using tradesmen - if CUs weren't being bought they wouldn't have them on the shelves, so as there is no evidence of widespread cock-ups, most people who buy them are probably fitting them with no problems.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I think the recent idea of restricting access to parts and information will likely not achieve its goal of reducing DIY casualties, and may indeed have the opposite effect.

It's not an idea with any official support, is it?

But yes, if Australia is anything to go by, it would have the opposite effect.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

sometimes perhaps grandfather rights should be allowed...??

I don't think so.

The only way that "I can't justify the cost of registering" actually holds water is if what the guy really means is:

"I have no official proof of my understanding of the current wiring regulations or my ability to test my work, I do not own adequate test equipment anyway and I do not have insurance cover befitting a professional".

 

[ezekiel]

i think any time served spark with quals should be allowed to sign off work and part p should be kept for people who electric isnt there main trade ie: plumbers kitchen fitters etc.....

 

[ban-all-sheds]

So who would enforce all that? How would the enforcement system be funded?

Who would check the validity and currency of the qualifications?

Are we to ignore the all-to-common story of "time-served" sparks with out-of-date qualifications and out of date ideas and out-of-date attitudes to testing?

Who would check that they have insurance?

Who would check that they have proper test equipment?

Who would keep track of the signing-off of work? What would the sanctions be against people who did not sign it off properly? What legal force would those sanctions have and what legal mechanism would be used to create the sanctions? What would be the "incentive" for householders ordering the work to ensure that it was properly signed off?

Where would householders go to find a qualified time-served spark?

If Part P is to be retained for the others, that means that for these others the existing Building Regulations would be in force, but how could you have a situation where an actual law did not apply one group of tradesmen?

 

[IJWS15]

A quote fro a report from the USA

"The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that in 1998, clothes dryers were associated with 15,600 fires, which
resulted in 20 deaths and 370 injuries. Fires can occur when lint builds up in the dryer or in the exhaust duct. Lint can block the flow
of air, cause excessive heat build-up, and result in a fire in some dryers."

So if part P is necessary why don't you need a qualification to use a tumble dryer!

 

[Click-Sure]

So if part P is necessary why don't you need a qualification to use a tumble dryer!

Shhh!

The wife thinks shes got that very qualification and that I haven't.

She keeps trying to get me one the courses at college for: Ironing, Oven Usage, Boot-Lace untying, Cat Feeding and Duster usage.

I keep telling her I just don't have the time to get all those licences!