Colin_p said:
With safety being what propogated Part P, why not actually have some useful information and guidance in it? At present there is none and as a result it is probably having the reverse effect to that intended.
And your evidence for this is?
You see, there are DIY-ers like yourself who feel that somehow they have been disadvantaged. And there are 'proper electricians' who feel that their abilities are being unfairly questioned.
Both groups are desperately seeking validation of their concerns and grasp at any straws that suggest that they are correct and the law is wrong. Both groups are actually minorities.
Being in neither camp, I can only comment on my experience and my experience informs me thus:
1. Electrical installation (to the regulations) is actually beyond the abilities of most DIY-ers, despite what they fondly imagine.
2. Most traditionally qualified electricans do not fully understand the regulations and struggle to test and certify.
3. The average householder doesn't understand much about anything, really.
4. But the message is getting through and virtually all of my clients do know at least that something has changed. They trust me to be professional and solve their problems. Legally.
5. If you let the electricans decide policy then DIY electrics would most probably attract the death penalty.
Okay, the last was a flight of fancy (just).
But, look, You believe what you wish and do as you please, but don't imagine for a minute that because you hold the views you do, that the world will alter shape to fit.
As I said, I can only go by
my experience and my experience is that Part P has already changed and will continue to change the domestic electrical installation sector for the better. Maybe I'm living life in a bubble, but it is a bubble that, almost certainly has a far clearer view of the real situation than you do... for which I sincerely apologise. Really, I do. I wish the shape of things could alter so that everybody could believe that their opinion matters, but the truth is that it doesn't.
Part P will not be going away any time soon, so get used to it. If you really want to do it yourself then you have to be informed, in which case £50 is a small price to pay. (And, whatever you want to believe, not all the information required to comply with all the other building regulations is free to all.)