Rewiring my own house

[donlogan]

Hello, i've rewired my own house. I'm fully a qualified electrician but not Part P registered. I've done it properly to the letter and have tested it. To the letter...

I'm gonna get my Part P mate to sign it off.

What do i need to do about building control? It's ok to say that i did the work myself and that a Part P electrician came and tested it, said it was all good and signed it off, isn't it?


If not, then what should i have legally done? Payed someone 3 grand to do the work that i could have easily done myself? No way. There must be a legal way of me rewiring my own house and then getting someone who's registered to a scam to come and sign it off?

What happens when i sell the house if i don't say anything to BC, but still get my mate to sign it off?


As it goes, i've made it a thousand times safer by geting rid of the horrors that i found (socket radial wired off of the boiler thermostat, bare twisted together joints, cables ran with heating pipes inside the lagging, no earth in the lighting, no gas/water bonding, etc, etc.) If it really is illegal for me to that, then there's something seriously wong with this industry.

Do i just need to tell BC that it's been rewired and tested by a Part P electrician? I don't really know much about this as i've been working on industrial plant for the last 6 years...

Cheers.

 

[jj4091]

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/BR_PDF_ADP_2006.pdf

 

[donlogan]

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/BR_PDF_ADP_2006.pdf

Oooh no, not for me thanks...

 

[stem]

AFAIK there are two ways to comply.

1. As a DIYer You need to notify your local building control (LABC) before starting work. Send in a Building Notice to your local council (blank forms can be downloaded from you LABC website) along with their fee.

2. Those registered with Competent Persons Schemes (eg NICEIC) allow individuals to self-certify that their work complies with the Building Regulations.

Unfortunately you are too late for 1. And for 2, the person has to certify their work. They can't self-certify work that they have not done. (the clue is in "self-certify") Which makes sense as how would they know that the installation hidden from view, cables buried in walls etc has been done properly, and that every socket and switch termination is made correctly.

I share your frustrations. I am electrical engineer employed by an international company and work on control systems for production processes, yet I need approval from my LABC to install a socket outlet in my own kitchen.

 

[EFLImpudence]

You should have informed the Building Control and pay their fee (£150 to £400) before the start of the work so that it could be inspected as it progressed.

No one else is allowed to certify work that they did not actually do.

All you can do now is have an EICR.
I'm not sure if you would be allowed to do this yourself.

Contact the BC and see what they require.
You could register with one of the schemes (£450ish plus insurance) and certify it yourself.

 

[JohnW2]

Hello, i've rewired my own house. I'm fully a qualified electrician but not Part P registered. I've done it properly to the letter and have tested it. To the letter... I'm gonna get my Part P mate to sign it off. What do i need to do about building control? It's ok to say that i did the work myself and that a Part P electrician came and tested it, said it was all good and signed it off, isn't it?

As you've been told, that's not theoretically OK, because it doesn't work like that. Rather than asking questions here, in 'public', you probably should really be having a quiet chat with your mate about what he is prepared to do to help you.

What happens when i sell the house if i don't say anything to BC, but still get my mate to sign it off?

Very interesting question, given that this is a 'problem' which is often mentioned when people are talking about failing to notify notifiable work to BC. When you sell the house, you (your solicitor) will have to aswer yes/no to a question as to whether any electrical work has been undertaken since 1st January 2005 and if the answer is yes, the other side's solicitor will expect to see the paperwork ('completion certificate') from BC. However, this is just a private matter between you and the buyer. If you say that work has been undertaken, but admit that it was not notified to,or certified by, BC, then there is really no reason why BC should become aware of that (and, even if they did, there's little evidence that any action has ever been taken against anyone for failure to notify electrical work). The real question relates to how the buyer will react. If the work has been done satisfactorily and an EICR confirms that (as far as can be ascertained) the installation is now satisfactory, it's hard to see what a seller could reasonably do/say (except, perhaps, to ask you to pay for a new EICR). They might try to use the situation as an excuse for trying to get the price (for the house) dropped - but if they tried that one on me, I would tell them what to do with their (IMO unreasonable) suggestion!

Kind Regards, John

 

[Johnmelad]

I'm gonna get my Part P mate to sign it off.

If he is prepared to say he did it and issue appropriate paperwork, end of.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/BR_PDF_ADP_2006.pdf

Oooh no, not for me thanks...

What's not for you?

There is no exemption from the law due to inability or unwillingness to find out about it.

I'm gonna get my Part P mate to sign it off.

If your mate is prepared to lie on official documentation, then that's an end to it.

IMO you have a strange idea of what it's OK to ask a mate to do, though. Favours are one thing, criminal conspiracy quite another.

What do i need to do about building control? It's ok to say that i did the work myself and that a Part P electrician came and tested it, said it was all good and signed it off, isn't it?

No.

If not, then what should i have legally done? Payed someone 3 grand to do the work that i could have easily done myself? No way. There must be a legal way of me rewiring my own house and then getting someone who's registered to a scam to come and sign it off?

There is - as the others have said, it starts with you applying for Building Regulations approval first.

It might have been that they would accept your EIC, but you'll never know now, what with your Ready..., Fire..., Aim... approach.

What happens when i sell the house if i don't say anything to BC, but still get my mate to sign it off?

BC finding out about it is what signing it off means. If your mate decides that he'd rather not lie for you, then at house sale time, you will have to choose between:

1) Saying yes, there was notifiable work done but you didn't notify.
2) Denying that any notifiable work was done.

I'd suggest, at that stage, not making a false statement about a material fact related to a transaction to the value of £100,000's....

As it goes, i've made it a thousand times safer by geting rid of the horrors that i found (socket radial wired off of the boiler thermostat, bare twisted together joints, cables ran with heating pipes inside the lagging, no earth in the lighting, no gas/water bonding, etc, etc.)

I'm sure you have, but....

If it really is illegal for me to that, then there's something seriously wong with this industry.

It's not illegal for you to do that.

It's illegal for you to do it in a way which contravenes the law, i.e. the way that you've done it.

Do i just need to tell BC that it's been rewired and tested by a Part P electrician?

No. More than that. Too late now though.

I don't really know much about this as i've been working on industrial plant for the last 6 years...

Which may, or may not, mean that you know SFA about the Building Regulations, hence the requirement for you to notify in advance, just like for anything else within their scope.

 

[JohnW2]

What happens when i sell the house if i don't say anything to BC, but still get my mate to sign it off?

BC finding out about it is what signing it off means. If your mate decides that he'd rather not lie for you, then at house sale time, you will have to choose between:
1) Saying yes, there was notifiable work done but you didn't notify.
2) Denying that any notifiable work was done.
I'd suggest, at that stage, not making a false statement about a material fact related to a transaction to the value of £100,000's....

I agree that it would be unwise to lie, but nor do I think there's any reason to do so in a case like the OP's. I've known of several people who have done (1) with no adverse effects, and I don't know why you (and many others) should think that BC will become aware of this communication between buyer/seller and their solicitors (or,come to that, that anything would happen, even if BC did become aware).

Kind Regards, John

 

[TheGayOwl]

I'm gonna get my Part P mate to sign it off.

If he is prepared to say he did it and issue appropriate paperwork, end of.

As the above says....if your sparks mate will sign it off, then that's that, you will get cert from BC through the post.

Regarding selling the property it may cause an issue with some potential purchasers...sometimes a full inspect and test may be required to check the install is safe and correct for a sale to proceed. It depends on the purchaser to some extent and whether their lender is happy to offer a mortgage on said 'non-certified' installation.

It could possibly invalidate buildings insurance in the shorter term if a problem arose..

Normal procedure for non registered spark would be:

Inform LABC of works being carried out and pay fee.
Carry out all, or first fix, of works.
Request inspection.
Finish second fix.
Test installation.
Request second visit and hand over installation cert.
Wait 3-6 weeks for letter or cert from LABC saying all is ok.

Generally LABC inspectors know very little about electrics and get their spark to look over any certs. They will also care not about your rewire not being 'signed off'. I have not heard of any cases of a LABC pursuing a homeowner due to it.

 

[TheGayOwl]

I'd suggest, at that stage, not making a false statement about a material fact related to a transaction to the value of £100,000's....

Concur.

 

[JohnW2]

Regarding selling the property it may cause an issue with some potential purchasers...sometimes a full inspect and test may be required to check the install is safe and correct for a sale to proceed. It depends on the purchaser to some extent and whether their lender is happy to offer a mortgage on said 'non-certified' installation.

As I said, I really wouldn't forsee any problems if all we've been told is correct. The OP told us that he is a 'fully qualified electrician' and that he undertook the work and testing 'to the letter'. If that is all true, then I see no reason for either the purchaser or a mortgage provider to have a problem. The electrical installation is not really 'non-certified' (the OP is effectively saying that he undertook an EICR) - the only real issue is the non-notification, and I can't see why that should matter a jot to either purchaser or mortgagor. Let's face it, if either had uncertainties, all they would probably ask for would be an EICR - which the OP already effectively has.

It could possibly invalidate buildings insurance in the shorter term if a problem arose..

Insurance companies are, of course, prone to try anything to squirm out of paying a claim but, if a 'fully qualified electrician' has undertaken a full I&T, it difficult to see any truly rational basis for any such squirming.

Kind Regards, John

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I have not heard of any cases of a LABC pursuing a homeowner due to it.

//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=275610

 

[donlogan]

Hmm.

I've lived there 2 and a half years, meaning that grey cable and split load DB's were about well before i moved in.

Can i just say that i was like that when i moved in?

Honestly, i don't know how this industry survived for so long without Part P...

 

[Electrifying]

Why is it that some 'sparks' think that, just because they are fully qualified with 'x' years of experience, they are exempt from building regulations and the law?

The 'Building Regulations' and 'Part P' have nothing to do with electrical qualification and experience.

To the OP: If you were a 'fully qualified' Bricklayer with 20 years experience, do you believe that you would be exempt from 'notifying' an extension that you may build on your home?..........no, you still have to submit notification and/or plans etc. just like everybody else.

Well, it's the same with electrics!

The only time you don't have to 'notify' before work commences is if you are a member of a 'scheme' which entitles you to 'self-certify' that your work complies with the 'Building Regs'..........F*** all to do with how qualified you are.