Plan Submission to LABC

[eyeofthebeholder]

Hi Guys,

Those of you who were using this forum last may remember the several questions I had regarding the total rewire of my house. Well, after several delays from other work being carried out (new heating installation etc), we have finally got to a point where I can concentrate on doing the rewire.

With the knowledge I currently have of the regulations and also with the advice of my recently retired 2 uncles who worked for contractors to local councils, we are proceeding with the final planning and installation - although we have already started channelling out for new sockets.

Due to the fact my uncles are now retired and do not have access to the required testing equipment to fully sign off the work, we have submitted the Building Notice for the installation to be carried out by a non-competant person which will mean the councils subcontractor will come in and perform all the required checking/inspections/testing etc.

Now, I assume the council will require some kind of plans to also be submitted at some point, but I have not been able to find anywhere what they will require. I know that documentation should be kept near the CU regarding the circuits/wire type/amount of sockets etc, but is this all they require??

I have used Visio to map out the floors in the house showing where all the sockets, lights etc. will be located and also the position of cable runs. Will they also require these?

Thanks for your help.

Adam.

 

[aptsys]

Unless they specifically ask, they don't need any plans at all.

 

[oharaf]

From my understanding they will require wiring diagrams, that they will probably want to approve.

You will need to pay special attention to the kitchen and bathroom(s) i.e. distance of sockets from the sink / cooker / need for bonding in the bathroom re copper or pvc heating pipes.

Heights of sockets and switches from the ground i.e 400<sockets/switches<1200

I am pretty certain with what I have told you here, but I'm sure BAS, RF et al. will be able to correct any errors I have made.

Don't forget to think about the future as well, expansion etc.

I re-wired our house 2+ years ago, I have 4 ring mains, kitchen, office, upstairs & down stairs.

I have a bank of 4 double sockets behind the TV just to cope with all the gizmos!!

I have 47 double sockets in the house!!!

Best of luck with it, I really enjoyed doing so satisfying when it came to the power up and it all worked and test results were just dandy

 

[jj4091]

I presume you mean non registered & it would seem that the best thing to do would be to ask your lbc what there requirements are as it appears to vary so much from council to council.

 

[eyeofthebeholder]

Hi Thanks for your comments - just wanted to get a feel for what they would want . I managed to find the email address for my Districts Building Control Surveyor, so I have asked him the question.

oharaf:

You will need to pay special attention to the kitchen and bathroom(s) i.e. distance of sockets from the sink / cooker / need for bonding in the bathroom re copper or pvc heating pipes.

I am not 100% with the bonding side of things, hence the reason why I am getting in my uncles for help (among other things!).

Heights of sockets and switches from the ground i.e 400<sockets/switches<1200

I am aware of this building regulation. For all comments I have seen on DIYnot, in the building regs themselves, and also in the councils documents, this only applies it new builds, not rewires, although it is advisable.

Don't forget to think about the future as well, expansion etc.

I re-wired our house 2+ years ago, I have 4 ring mains, kitchen, office, upstairs & down stairs.
I have a bank of 4 double sockets behind the TV just to cope with all the gizmos!!

I have 47 double sockets in the house!!!

I have planned out the sockets I want to put in, with expansion in mind.
Briefly, I have a 3 storey town house. I will be having:
- 5 ring Mains (Top Floor, Kitchen/Diner, Lounge, Ground Floor, Study)
- 3 Lighting for each floor
- Electric Oven
- Shower
- Immersion Heater
- Front Garden Circuit
- Back Garden Circuit
- 1x Spare for furture Conservitory
I have already purchased a 21way CU, which will leave 3 spare ways.

I will be having about 65 double sockets - including 6 behind the TV, 6 in the Comms Rack, and about 10 in the study

Best of luck with it, I really enjoyed doing so satisfying when it came to the power up and it all worked and test results were just dandy

Indeed - I hope mine installation is also just as smooth!

Thanks again

Adam.

 

[oharaf]

Sounds like you just want to crack on!!

Watch those knuckles when chasing out!!!!

 

[eyeofthebeholder]

Excellent - just got an email back from the council:

Many thanks for your email.

Firstly, the fee applicable in this case (£265) is a one off payment, and covers all the visits made by either myself or the contractor, throughout the life of the project.

Generally, the ‘first fix’ inspection is most useful when all the wiring is connected to the consumer unit, and the cables are still visable in the wall chases, but the socket boxes do not necessarily need to be in place.

No plans are required, but it would be useful for me to arrange for the contractor to visit soonish so that he can get familiar with the project.

I will contact you again upon receipt of the application to arrange for the electrical contractor and myself to visit you. If you have any further questions though, please contact me again.

Hope this helps for now.

Just what I hoped for!

 

[sparkybird]

Not quite sure how they can do a first fix inspection with all the cables in the CU (hopefully not connectetd!!), but sockets not in place - are the cables just to be waving around in the air? Or maybe just run the the first point on each circuit??

SB

 

[JohnD]

perhaps he means faceplates and doesn't know the word

he's just looking for correct runs and undamaged cable, isn't he?

 

[eyeofthebeholder]

TBH, I will be connecting up the sockets as I go round any way.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Hi Thanks for your comments - just wanted to get a feel for what they would want . I managed to find the email address for my Districts Building Control Surveyor, so I have asked him the question.

Until I saw his reply I was going to say that they probably wouldn't want plans.

I am not 100% with the bonding side of things, hence the reason why I am getting in my uncles for help (among other things!).

The OSG and the IET Guide to the Building Regulations, both of which you should already have, have good info on this topic.

Also see these:

http://rapidshare.com/files/96697332/NL139supp.pdf

http://www.voltimum.co.uk/files/gb/attachments/niu/l/attachments/e169-9.pdf

http://www.iee.org/Publish/WireRegs...tumn_plastic_pipes_to_bond_or_not_to_bond.pdf

Heights of sockets and switches from the ground i.e 400<sockets/switches<1200

I am aware of this building regulation. For all comments I have seen on DIYnot, in the building regs themselves, and also in the councils documents, this only applies it new builds, not rewires, although it is advisable.

Absolutely - if you don't want the accessories at those heights don't let them bully you into it.

Don't forget to think about the future as well, expansion etc.

I re-wired our house 2+ years ago, I have 4 ring mains, kitchen, office, upstairs & down stairs.
I have a bank of 4 double sockets behind the TV just to cope with all the gizmos!!

I have 47 double sockets in the house!!!

I have planned out the sockets I want to put in, with expansion in mind.
Briefly, I have a 3 storey town house. I will be having:
- 5 ring Mains (Top Floor, Kitchen/Diner, Lounge, Ground Floor, Study)
- 3 Lighting for each floor
- Electric Oven
- Shower
- Immersion Heater
- Front Garden Circuit
- Back Garden Circuit
- 1x Spare for furture Conservitory
I have already purchased a 21way CU, which will leave 3 spare ways.

I will be having about 65 double sockets - including 6 behind the TV, 6 in the Comms Rack, and about 10 in the study

Good idea to put all wiring in conduit for ease of future changes.

Think hard about where to have sockets - it's difficult to have too many, and also about what circuits to have. The items on the list below won't all apply to you, but they are worth thinking about:

• Upstairs sockets
• Downstairs sockets
• Kitchen sockets
• Radial for appliances
• Cooker circuit
• Non-RCD circuit for F/F
• Non-RCD circuit for CH boiler
• Dedicated circuit for hifi
• Dedicated circuit for IT equipment
• Upstairs lights
• Downstairs lights
• Immersion heater
• Loft lights
• Shower
• Bathroom circuit
• Alarm
• Supply for outside lights
• Supply for garden electrics
• Supply for shed/garage

Plus any peculiarities brought about by your house layout & construction – e.g. in mine because of solid floors and where the rings run, I have a radial just for a socket in the hall, the doorbell and the porch lights.

Plus a few spares on RCD & non-RCD sides for expansion beyond that for future unforeseen needs.

Consider also specifying a CU with separate sections, not a split-load, to increase the granularity of RCD protection, or the extensive use of RCBOs on a per-circuit basis.

If you live somewhere where supplies are dodgy in the winter, have the lights, the boiler supply, and a socket in each room wired to a separate CU, or a separate section in a large one, that can be supplied by an emergency generator - lights, heating, TV and a kettle/microwave make life a lot more bearable.

 

[eyeofthebeholder]

thanks for the info!

I will look into the points you have made and see how it can be incorporated into the design I am working on.

Cheers

Ad.

 

[eyeofthebeholder]

Ban,

Just been looking through your list of circuits for a second time, and with the discussions in other threads regarding the use of FCU’s in the kitchen etc, just would like to clarify in my situation the best practice as there seems to be confusion.

As you have stated in the list it would be beneficial to have a separate circuit just for appliances and they should be switched by a 30amp isolator switch rather than FCU. I assume this can isolate a double socket, as will be having separate fridge and freezer.

Also in the kitchen there is the dishwasher which will also be isolated. I propose to have all these three on a separate circuit to the other sockets in the Kitchen/Diner.

Now, as I live in a town house, with the kitchen on the middle floor, my Washing Machine and Tumble Dryer is located on the ground floor in a utility room. Currently I have designed the circuits for all the sockets on the ground floor to be protected by an RCB at the CU.

Can you see any issues in this?

Thanks

Adam.