Part P Victory!

[SparkyTris]

I finally finished my full re-wiring of the old house - and I got (eventually) certified to Part P. Yippee!
So it's not as impossible - or as expensive - (as it seemed 6 months ago).
The most galling thing was the the LABC fee. I submitted my notification of material change to them with the cost estimation in the lowest bracket (of course) which equated to a £140 fee. £70 of that went to the certifying electrician for his 3 hour testing procedure (good value for money I thought), and the other 70 has gone where exactly?
I could have got the PIR cert direct from the electrician for only £70.
I think whatever they did with my planning aplication and PIR cert at county hall should be covered by council tax.

As part of the project I had the service cutout relocated by EDF. I dug the hole, provided the meter box and ducting etc, and that cost me £400 for 2 bodgers to cut the old cable, graft on the new one and connect the tails. It took them about an hour. Isn't this something of a monopoly? I can't choose who does that work - forced to use EDF, so they can charge what they like. But the work didn't involve disrupting any other customers or anything. I feel that the local electrician should have been able to do this: compare £70 for an exhaustive safety and function test by a qualified and experienced craftsman against £400 for a simple task performed by two neanderthals.

 

[securespark]

Your average spark is not trained or insured to work on street cables, jointing or live for that matter...

If sparks were allowed to do this kind work, the national grid would close down due to lack of demand...

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Your average spark is not trained or insured to work on street cables, jointing or live for that matter.....

And probably wouldn't want to be.....

 

[1974stephen]

Working on live cables in a small cramped wet hole? Touch them and they'll only be bones left? No doubt the monkeys don't get all of the £400, but I'd want more like £4k to do that kind of work for a living!!!

 

[Lectrician]

Actually, alot of the works done by the DNO's is contestable by the 'purchaser'. You can ask to do certain parts yourself (or appoint another). They will specify EXACT brands to use etc, and will inspect at the end.....


I only know of one job that was wholey done by another, and signed over to the DNO (you need to sign over all materials to them at the end!)

 

[andy]

Working on live cables in a small cramped wet hole? Touch them and they'll only be bones left? No doubt the monkeys don't get all of the £400, but I'd want more like £4k to do that kind of work for a living!!!

few weeks ago i was workin with some blokes from the DNO. they were following us connection direct to OH lines. they were gettin well payed to do it

 

[SparkyTris]

I see what you mean, but all the electricians I've worked with are not averse to troubleshooting/messing with live accessories. I've had a few mains shocks which although uncomfortable, were nowhere near fatal. And OK, working in a wet hole on a thick cable with virtually unlimited I is a different KoF. But if those lads could do it, anyone could have done it! They themselves were on £85 a day, and they averaged two jointings a day.

I would have considered £85 a reasonable price for the work EDF carried out at my place. I can't believe the rest of my 400 would be their insurance premium - or would it?

How many UK electricians are killed/seriously injured by electricity each year? I would kind of hope that they are at a lower risk than anyone else. But maybe the actuaries don't look at it that way.

 

[SparkyTris]

materials - that's another thing!! EDF specify only a certain line of meter boxes sold by Jewson. The quality of the box is beyond belief, and Jewson charge £50 each. The box didn't even have an IP rating embossed, but I had to use it! (moved the cutout to an external wall).
I had to install an isolator adacent to the meter box as part of my design, and I bought a weatherproof box for it (IP67 I think it was) with two locking catches, for £45, from TLC.

Those white meter boxes must be a licence to print money. Judging by the gay abandon with which the fellow at Jewson went through the pallet of boxes searching for one with unbroken hinges, Jewson don't pay much for them.

is it me?

 

[olly_k]

Your average spark is not trained or insured to work on street cables, jointing or live for that matter...

I have always been interested as to how jointers do this live....?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Carefully.....

 

[plugwash]

Your average spark is not trained or insured to work on street cables, jointing or live for that matter...

I have always been interested as to how jointers do this live....?

afaict the basic principles are insulated tools and gloves, do one core at a time and take great care

iirc the cable types the rec use regularlly change the spiral directions on the outer layer of cores.

so the process for teeing off the main cable in the street goes something like this:

strip outer sheath
gather together CNE cores away from the inner cores (they can do this becuse of the changes in spiral direction

screw special terminals into the phase cores of the street cable to join them to the new cable.

put the whole lot in a special container and fill the container with resin

i'd imagine jobs like moving cutouts where a new length must be connected to an existing branch cable and the old length removed are done by cutting and jointing one conductor at a time and then encapsulating the lot in the aforementioned resin

the resin seals the joint against water ingress and helps prevent problems caused by movement

 

[andy]

still a bit risky in wet wether. even tho tools might be insulated, i doubt they would be as effective once there drippin wet. bad enough workin live in a house