Retrospective certification

[DarkWatcher]

Hi all,

So when I bought my house my father and I took a look at the kitchen and decided that the sockets in there were insufficient and poorly positioned. Having done lots of DIY before, and the house being empty at the time, we set to work and installed some new sockets using the appropriate cabling etc.

This was in 2006 and I didn't realised that electrical installations in the kitchen have to be carried out by qualified people. It's an honest mistake, and quite frankly what we put in is much better than any of the wiring in the rest of the house. For example, the lighting ring dates back to prehistoric times and has no earth, but because that is pre-2005 it's ok.

Is there a mechanism for gettting DIY work like this inspected and signed off?

Thanks

 

[OwainDIYer]

Are you sure you didn't
- start the work before 2005
or
- only replace existing cabling and accessories
in which case the work would not be notifiable.

The procedure for correction now would be a retrospective Building Regulations application. However, why bother? It's unlikely there would be any enforcement action taken after 7 years.

 

[EFLImpudence]

All you can do now is commission an Electrical Installation Condition Report.

However, as the new rules only came in in 2005 and did not apply to work 'planned' before that I would be honest and state the facts to prospective buyers and leave it to them if they want a report.

State the electrics are as would be expected for the age and the price reflects that.
They may rewire before they decorate.

 

[EFLImpudence]

- only replace existing cabling and accessories
in which case the work would not be notifiable.

In a kitchen would have been. Just saying.

 

[EFLImpudence]

Just to point out that -

the rules changed on April 6th this year so the work would not now be notifiable.

However, it should have been properly tested, for which I doubt you have the equipment, so your work may look nice but you may have made a mistake.

 

[JohnW2]

- only replace existing cabling and accessories ... in which case the work would not be notifiable.

In a kitchen would have been. Just saying.

Just for the record, if the work had been restricted to what OwainDIYer said, I don't think it would have been notifiable. 1(a) and 1(b) of the old schedule seem to have allowed for replacement (without notification) of ('damaged') cable and accessories anywhere, without any exception of kitchens or special locations.

In reality, it seems that the OP also added sockets, which would have been notifiable in a kitchen, per 2(a) + 2(c)(ii). However, as you've said, that is no longer the case.

More generally, I personally think that the matter of (and concerns about) work done between 1.1.2005 and 5.4.2013 without required notification is going to become an increasing irrelevance as time goes by. In common sense terms, it would be hard to make much of a fuss about historic non-notification of something that would not be notifiable 'today'.

Kind Regards, John

 

[EFLImpudence]

Yes, true.

I should have quoted what the work actually was and not what Owain was suggesting it could have been.

 

[EFLImpudence]

I'm with you now.

I completely missed the point of Owain's suggestion.

Not used to such subterfuge.

 

[JohnW2]

I'm with you now. I completely missed the point of Owain's suggestion. Not used to such subterfuge.

You should be used to at least reading about it - it's by no means the first time we've seen such 'suggestions' here

Kind Regards, John

 

[ricicle]

Different rules in Scotland!

 

[JohnW2]

Different rules in Scotland!

Ah! That's always happening. Maybe we should let them have independence and change this forum to "Electrics England/Wales/NI"

Kind Regards, John

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Having done lots of DIY before, and the house being empty at the time, we set to work and installed some new sockets using the appropriate cabling etc.

How did you work out what was appropriate?

quite frankly what we put in is much better than any of the wiring in the rest of the house.

You know that because of the testing you did?

For example, the lighting ring

It's virtually certain that it's not a ring.