D.I.Y. REWIRE-- A Step By Step Guide.

[telectrix]

1. Remove all heavy furniture from upstairs. Place in Storage.

2. Roll up all upstairs carpets. Ditto.

3. Lift floorboards to enable cable routing (not the ones that the plumber has wrecked, fitting central heating)

4. Move all downstairs furniture to centre of rooms and cover with dust sheets.

5. Cover all ground floor carpets with polythene sheeting.

6. Chase out from ground floor ceiling vertically to every point you require a fitting/accessory.

7. Now that you've realised that you are totally out of your depth, get on the phone to a qualified Sparks.

 

[JamesBrownLive]

LOL! Isn`t there a book going round called "part p doctor"? Havn`t looked at it though so i cant comment on the contents........

It's actually an interesting read, but its target audience is people who intend to undertake 'defined scope' work, i.e. kitchen fitters, HVAC etc, and not DIYers.

 

[TPES]

Although I do agree with all the other electricians on this thread to "get an electrician", as I do think you will certainly be out your depth at some point through your DIY project (and is it really worth taking the risk of your home with your family in?)

I do admire your interest to even join this forum and further your knowledge, and you seem to have done your research on the basics.
Even though there will be errors made you do seem to have made more effort than most DIYers.

 

[GLENNSPARK]

It was just the picture of a bloke with steinels as a stephescope that got me jb. Had me thinking it was aimed at diyers so i had visions of people poking around with those pound shop neon screwdrivers which i think are damn right dangerous and should be banned. i bought some insulated screwdrivers a while back with one of those things thrown in and it went straight in the bin.......

 

[mickys86]

After seeing a post tue other day marked "CU installation step by step. I really thought this was going to be a serious thread. I was also expecting the same op as well haha

 

[rsmck]

Although I do agree with all the other electricians on this thread to "get an electrician".

Spot on and good luck. Whatever you do though get it checked out. You can understand the reluctance of people not wanting to give advice on the heading of your post though . General questions may have yielded better replies if your level of understanding had been more prevalent.

Worth noting, if these are aimed at me, that I was not the OP of this thread ... the thread itself was started by an electrician, I just joined a bit of lively debate.. I wouldn't start a thread by asking for a step-by-step guide to rewiring... I would agree that anyone doing so (if asking for advice that way) is probably out of their depth and even I would be the amongst the first to say "call an electrician"

It's also worth noting that whilst I will happily undertake electrical work in my own house, and do minor things for family members like change a light fitting or connect a new appliance etc - I'd never undertake any major electrical work in anyone else's home.. I'd always advise they call an electrician and there's a few who I'll happily recommend who I've dealt with before

 

[LlandrilloSpark]

Sorry to be short and blunt rsmck but I don't agree with what your doing, without formal and proper training (not books) I don't agree with you rewiring your house or anybody else for that matter, its wrong and dangerous and should be outlawed IMHO, Electricians don't sit maybe 15 separate exams over 4-5 years sometimes spending £1000's in course fee's and maybe an Apprenticeship and another £500 on a part p competent persons scheme for nothing you know, annoys me that somebody who can buy a £60 bs7671 and a book of amazon thinks they can rewire a house CORRECTLY

 

[TPES]

rsmck you seem to be a sound bloke, giving good replys and not having an attitude as most would on forums, this is what makes this forum different to others I think, which is why I've been a member of this forum longer than any other and check in on here daily.

The important thing is not to get your intentions mixed up with your capabilities, and I'm sure your not...

 

[rsmck]

Sorry to be short and blunt rsmck but I don't agree with what your doing, without formal and proper training (not books) I don't agree with you rewiring your house or anybody else for that matter, its wrong and dangerous and should be outlawed IMHO

Noted.

Electricians don't sit maybe 15 separate exams over 4-5 years sometimes spending £1000's in course fee's and maybe an Apprenticeship and another £500 on a part p competent persons scheme for nothing you know

It depends on the electrician I guess, but there's a lot out there that have undertaken much shorter courses and still advertise themselves as electricians. Obviously the Part P scheme is a bit of a moot point in my case..

annoys me that somebody who can buy a £60 bs7671 and a book of amazon thinks they can rewire a house CORRECTLY

I appreciate there's things learned by experience - same is true of everything - but I've always been a believer that formal training, whilst beneficial, is not a pre-requisite and that you can teach yourself most things if you need to (look at what they did with the ATA's Ferry Pilot's Notes from WWII if you want an extreme example )

Everyone has their own interpretation of "correctly", there is more than one way to rewire a house. I am not claiming I am rewiring my home exactly as you would nor that your own experience and training most likely would lead you to do some things differently. But rather that it is done safely and, as far as reasonably practicable, in compliance with the 17th Edition of BS7671 which is good enough for me

 

[rsmck]

rsmck you seem to be a sound bloke, giving good replys and not having an attitude as most would on forums.

Thankyou

The important thing is not to get your intentions mixed up with your capabilities, and I'm sure your not...

I'll do my best not to. If I am ever unsure (about anything) then I will ask someone - either via forums such as this or via some professionals I know personally (sadly none of which live locally!).

If I don't understand the REASON behind the answer, I won't do it. I will never just blindly follow instructions. When I reach the point that I don't understand why something is done a particular way, or why a particular regulation is what it is, then I would employ a professional.

This applies to everything, not just electrical work. I also accept my small house is very different from much larger projects that you're all trained to work with - your training will cover a lot more than what I need for this particular purpose.

p.s. my real work (both my full time job and a completely different hobby that's rapidly became a part-time job) involves a good understanding of electricity - so I'm not completely 'new' to the concepts

 

[TPES]

Sorry to be short and blunt rsmck but I don't agree with what your doing, without formal and proper training (not books) I don't agree with you rewiring your house or anybody else for that matter, its wrong and dangerous and should be outlawed IMHO, Electricians don't sit maybe 15 separate exams over 4-5 years sometimes spending £1000's in course fee's and maybe an Apprenticeship and another £500 on a part p competent persons scheme for nothing you know, annoys me that somebody who can buy a £60 bs7671 and a book of amazon thinks they can rewire a house CORRECTLY

Agreed

 

[malcolmsanford]

Well I think we should impose a life ban on Telectrix, not for any reason just so that some of us can catch him up.

 

[Big n Daft]

Sorry to be short and blunt rsmck but I don't agree with what your doing, without formal and proper training (not books) I don't agree with you rewiring your house or anybody else for that matter, its wrong and dangerous and should be outlawed IMHO, Electricians don't sit maybe 15 separate exams over 4-5 years sometimes spending £1000's in course fee's and maybe an Apprenticeship and another £500 on a part p competent persons scheme for nothing you know, annoys me that somebody who can buy a £60 bs7671 and a book of amazon thinks they can rewire a house CORRECTLY

Take heed.
WHEN you get out of your depth, you may not find a sparks and if you do I hope they are very expensive

 

[Dave_]

I do appreciate the risks involved this is why, even as a DIYer, I've spent some time studying the regs alongside the ECA's "Guide to the Wiring Regulations" and conducting the relevant tests (and recording the results)

Conducting the relevant tests - Once the install is completed i assume you are going to get it inspected & tested by a competent spark - as i'm sure your aware the test equipment required (to measure Zs and Pfc for example) is not cheap. A multifunction tester costs at least 500 notes....

 

[GLENNSPARK]

Just wondering if rmsck was thinking about joining our trade (properly)?

 

[rsmck]

Conducting the relevant tests - Once the install is completed i assume you are going to get it inspected & tested by a competent spark - as i'm sure your aware the test equipment required (to measure Zs and Pfc for example) is not cheap. A multifunction tester costs at least 500 notes....

I think my Fluke 1653B will be suitable, it's certainly helped so far

Just wondering if rmsck was thinking about joining our trade (properly)?

The thought had crossed my mind in the past... although for a variety of reasons the more physical bits (crawling about roof / floor voids etc) would become quite tricky through time as I have occasional problems with my back (old injury).. my desk-based job is probably more sensible

That said I spend a lot of time, when not working, clambering about, working at height and moving heavy stuff about in just the way my doc advised I probably shouldn't ... unfortunately I'd miss it too much.