Default forum response to DIY enquiries vs. skills shortage

[tlangdon12]

To the qualified electricians on the forum:

The default response to DIY enquiries on how to do stuff seems to be "Get an qualified electrician in, it's too difficult for a DIY'er to do". Given the skills shortage within the industry, is this a reasonable response? Is there another way?

 

[Deleted member 105166]

I don't think the response is normally about something being too difficult for a DIYer, rather erring on the side of caution, in that a DIYer may not be aware of all considerations and could harm him or herself. Part knowledge is often more dangerous than no knowledge, as those with the latter aren't tempted to "have a go".

 

[Deleted member 26818]

To the qualified electricians on the forum:

The default response to DIY enquiries on how to do stuff seems to be "Get an qualified electrician in, it's too difficult for a DIY'er to do". Given the skills shortage within the industry, is this a reasonable response? Is there another way?

I generally advice how to do the work on the premis that if it sounds too difficult or complicated, they’ll get someone in.

 

[davesparks]

To the qualified electricians on the forum:

The default response to DIY enquiries on how to do stuff seems to be "Get an qualified electrician in, it's too difficult for a DIY'er to do". Given the skills shortage within the industry, is this a reasonable response? Is there another way?

How does a skills shortage affect what the best advice is?
The safest advice is to get an electrician to do the job regardless of whether there is one available or a hundred available.

If there is a shortage of electricians then the customer will just have to wait a bit longer for the job to be done.

 

[Andy78]

My personal opinion is that it is professionally and morally irresponsible of me to give advice to someone I have never met and do not know the competencey levels of, to actively assist them in a potentially life threatening task.

That's why you'll see me saying "get an electrician in" or more often, just ignoring the thread. In which case you won't see me doing that. But you know what I mean.

 

[oracle]

My answer is "Become a qualified electrician if you want to do electrical work"

 

[Spoon]

I don't mind helping out DIYers, as long as I think they are capable of doing the job safely. That is why I usually ask questions and in their replies I have to judge the above.
Everyone to their own I guess...

 

[pirate]

If I were to ask a question about how to do something, and got the reply "get an electrician in" then I would think I had asked in such a way that I had demonstrated a lack of knowlege for the task in hand.
That's not a problem...it's helpful.

 

[Rpa07]

T’is funny Pirate because I really don’t think that we are sure exactly what you are, trade wise - I’d go for a ‘good old all rounder’ with a penchant for parrot training!

If I were to ask a question about how to do something, and got the reply "get an electrician in" then I would think I had asked in such a way that I had demonstrated a lack of knowlege for the task in hand.
That's not a problem...it's helpful.

 

[Andy78]

If I were to ask a question about how to do something, and got the reply "get an electrician in" then I would think I had asked in such a way that I had demonstrated a lack of knowlege for the task in hand.
That's not a problem...it's helpful.

Then you'd be wrong.
It has been clearly communicated to forum members in the past by these diyers that refusal or reluctance to help the incompetent is nothing short of an elitist mentality displayed by belligerent electricians. Aggrieved at the fact that diyers have figured out that our job is in fact very simple and that all the "tests" we do relating to safety are nothing more than smoke and mirrors to justify the exorbitant fees we charge.

Keep up.

 

[Squid]

We all have a go at something, I have moved rads in my house, some would say get a plumber in, I have put doors in some would say get a chippy in, I have replaced glass in windows some would say get a glazier in, I work on my own cars some would say......... I can go on and on

 

[Squid]

My answer is "Become a qualified electrician if you want to do electrical work"

Are you married?

 

[Spoon]

Then you'd be wrong.
It has been clearly communicated to forum members in the past by these diyers that refusal or reluctance to help the incompetent is nothing short of an elitist mentality displayed by belligerent electricians. Aggrieved at the fact that diyers have figured out that our job is in fact very simple and that all the "tests" we do relating to safety are nothing more than smoke and mirrors to justify the exorbitant fees we charge.

Sad thing is, is that some of the DIYers that come on here actually think that... The ones that come across like they don't know how to do the job safely and get into a huff when you tell them that.

 

[buzzlightyear]

Get an qualified electrician in, it's too difficult for a DIY'er to do

I will give you the answer for that ,some Diyers Dice With Death knowing that the fact they can not do it ,but still have a go ,
and some people will still give the revenant information ,I can understand if it was a spark asking for some information then I would make a judgment call to give them that information . not me I will not give a DIYER that information ,but one day a DIYER will come to the forum and ask for some information and one day some body will be in a brown box ,so any diyer need to read their insurance policy home and life has well, and read the package instruction saying in doubt consult a qualified spark meaning get some body in .the end .

 

[ruston]

Every job has it's dangers , only some more drastic than others.
Many years ago a Policeman friend of mine was called to an accident where two young lads had been killed when their car had hit a bridge on an uneven country road.
It was in the days of the fashion to jack the suspension at the rear end of the car up . Unfortunately they did not extend the rear flexible brake pipes to compensate for the lift of the car over uneven roads, so after going over a hump in the road the pipes snapped an they crashed into a sandstone bridge.
Extreme maybe - but it happens.

 

[pirate]

Rpa07, you might be right, "good old all-rounder", fed up with so-called experts in the past. I do plumbing but not gas, I do joinery, and just about everything else, including some electrical work, but I do know my limitations. That's why I enjoy this forum so much as it is a great place to learn. The fact that I like to learn stuff doesn't mean I'm going to do it, just that I like to find out new stuff. Thus, while I am happy doing most jobs, running cable, changing switches and sockets etc I don't even think about holding myself out as an electrician, and installing a CU is a step too far...3 steps too far, because I don't have the equipment or knowledge to test everything. Example: my cloakroom fan has stopped working today. It has been fine for over 10 years, and I installed it in place of one the builder put in that couldn't shift a fart in 2 hours...oh yes, I needed a fan in there due to Building Regs, but he put in the cheapest fan he could find...it was totally ineffective, but it was a fan...so, compliance, apparently. I researched, bought a centrifugal fan with good spec for air changes, and it has been fine.
I have checked this failed fan this afternoon. There is power to the isolator, there is power to the fan connector block, so I simply conclude the fan is duff. I will order a straight-forward replacement and connect it. I don't think that's excessive DIY. Had there been a power supply problem, suggesting a fault upstream of the isolator, ok, I might have had a look, but if there was nothing obvious like a poor connection at a JB, wel...I'd call an electrician in...and just hope he/she wasn't a kitchen fitter masquerading as a spark!

 

[45140]

The biggest mystery to me is now that it is actually illegal to work on electrical systems without being defined Competent, why so much electrical equipment is available in so many outlets ???

My understanding is that the work needs to be tested and certificated afterwards, and that this can only be done by a Competent person with the relevant C&G/EAL certification, yet it seems people come here looking for answers when the questions they raise in many cases clearly indicate at serious lack of knowledge.

Given that electrical work is governed by the Building Regs and the EWA it is surely foolish if not technically a breach to provide guidance to DIYers, most of whom in my experience are a menace. I do have to agree with the poster whose response is to get a qualified electrician. It is not only wise but surely the only legitimate answer that can be given ?

 

[Squid]

Rpa07, you might be right, "good old all-rounder", fed up with so-called experts in the past. I do plumbing but not gas, I do joinery, and just about everything else, including some electrical work, but I do know my limitations. That's why I enjoy this forum so much as it is a great place to learn. The fact that I like to learn stuff doesn't mean I'm going to do it, just that I like to find out new stuff. Thus, while I am happy doing most jobs, running cable, changing switches and sockets etc I don't even think about holding myself out as an electrician, and installing a CU is a step too far...3 steps too far, because I don't have the equipment or knowledge to test everything. Example: my cloakroom fan has stopped working today. It has been fine for over 10 years, and I installed it in place of one the builder put in that couldn't shift a fart in 2 hours...oh yes, I needed a fan in there due to Building Regs, but he put in the cheapest fan he could find...it was totally ineffective, but it was a fan...so, compliance, apparently. I researched, bought a centrifugal fan with good spec for air changes, and it has been fine.
I have checked this failed fan this afternoon. There is power to the isolator, there is power to the fan connector block, so I simply conclude the fan is duff. I will order a straight-forward replacement and connect it. I don't think that's excessive DIY. Had there been a power supply problem, suggesting a fault upstream of the isolator, ok, I might have had a look, but if there was nothing obvious like a poor connection at a JB, wel...I'd call an electrician in...and just hope he/she wasn't a kitchen fitter masquerading as a spark!

I do gas and I am still her

 

[Silly Sausage]

I do gas and I am still her

You accuse me about word confusion?!?!

 

[Squid]

You accuse me about word confusion?!?!