Electrical certificate

[Simon New]

Hi all,

I had a conservatory built four years ago and we have now decided to see the house.

I asked the builder if I needed building regs and an electrical certificate for the 4 double sockets and electric Velux windows inside the conservatory.
The builder said we don't as he took a feed from an existing circuit (double socket on the inside wall)
The solicitors on the other hand are saying we needed one.

what are your thoughts?

Also, the solicitors are saying we needed building regs as the conservatory does not accord with point 5. The area of the roof space is not made of more than three-quarters translucent material. There are only 3 windows therein
The roof is a lightweight tile panels.

anyone able to put my mind at ease?

Thanks

 

[davesparks]

As an alteration of one existing circuit the electrical work should have a minor works certificate issued by the contractor who installed it. It doesn't however require notification under Part P of the building regs.

 

[Dustydazzler]

Get the buyer to pay around 50 quid for the cheapest indemnity policy you can find to cover the missing paperwork and jobs a goodone

 

[Simon New]

Get the buyer to pay around 50 quid for the cheapest indemnity policy you can find to cover the missing paperwork and jobs a goodone

Cheers, my solicitor has recommended me paying approx £100 for an indemnity policy.
I'm happy to do that, hopefully our buyers will be okay with it.

 

[Simon New]

As an alteration of one existing circuit the electrical work should have a minor works certificate issued by the contractor who installed it. It doesn't however require notification under Part P of the building regs.

Thanks Dave,
I'm not sure why my builder said it wasn't needed.
Hopefully the indemnity policy will cover that part too. If not I guess I'll need to get it checked.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[DefyG]

You may have needed building regs for the conservatory (build) and the solicitor assumed all within required the same.
I agree with the above that the alterations to the electrical installation do not require notification (Part P), but why not ask the local building control office to clarify in writing to show the solicitor. He may still press for a test certificate and an EICR for that single circuit alteration may be cheaper than an indemnity policy (unless it shows up too many non-compliances).

 

[davesparks]

Thanks Dave,
I'm not sure why my builder said it wasn't needed.
Hopefully the indemnity policy will cover that part too. If not I guess I'll need to get it checked.

Thanks for the replies.

It is usually because builders aren't electricians and don't understand the wiring regulations or don't care about them.

In the future I'd suggest getting an electrician to do your electrical work.

 

[Simon New]

You may have needed building regs for the conservatory (build) and the solicitor assumed all within required the same.
I agree with the above that the alterations to the electrical installation do not require notification (Part P), but why not ask the local building control office to clarify in writing to show the solicitor. He may still press for a test certificate and an EICR for that single circuit alteration may be cheaper than an indemnity policy (unless it shows up too many non-compliancesthanks for the info

You may have needed building regs for the conservatory (build) and the solicitor assumed all within required the same.
I agree with the above that the alterations to the electrical installation do not require notification (Part P), but why not ask the local building control office to clarify in writing to show the solicitor. He may still press for a test certificate and an EICR for that single circuit alteration may be cheaper than an indemnity policy (unless it shows up too many non-compliances).

Thanks for the information.
if they press for the certificate even after paying for an indemnity I'll give the builder a call and ask him to pop back to test.
I somehow doubt he will and I'll probably have the expense of calling someone in to test.

 

[brianmoooore]

It would be extremely optimistic to assume that the builder has the necessary equipment to perform the required tests.

 

[goasis]

It would be extremely optimistic to assume that the builder has the necessary equipment to perform the required tests.

Really?! Plugs a light in... "see, it's working fine"