Getting around the rules, Legally????

[Speck]

Hi,

I want to fully wire up a workshop that I have just built, sockets, lights etc. I am fully competent enough to do this but the rules say I cannot. However, I think I may have a way around it and seek your advice.

Here is my plan. I will install the consumer unit, wire up all the lights, sockets, spurs etc, whatever I need. I will then run a cable from the consumer unit up to my house and fit a round plug on the end (16amp or 32 amp, advice please?) similar to the ones that are used for caravan hook ups.

I will then get a fully qualified Part P electrician to install for me an IP67 outdoor socket, again similar to the type used on caravan sites for mains hook up. Then, simply plug my shed into this socket, hey presto! Fully mains powered workshop!

Is there any reason why I cannot do this and is it legal, safe and within the rules?

Thanks.

 

[Marvo]

I don't see the point of the plug and socket what do you think you're gaining by installing it? Which rules specifically do you think it will circumvent?

 

[telectrix]

think he's concerned about notification to labc.

 

[Speck]

think he's concerned about notification to labc.

As far as I am aware I cannot legally open up my consumer unit and connect my workshop to it?

 

[Octopus]

You should contact LABC, pay their fees and allow them to do all the inspections etc.....

 

[Speck]

The point of doing this is .......
1. I won't have to pay an electrician to wire up my workshop when I am capable of doing it myself.
2. I won't have to bury an SWA in the ground and have that inspected.
3. I will get a useful outdoor socket.

 

[telectrix]

you can legally do any work you want, including working on the consumer unit. to comply with part p of the building regulations, you should notify to your LABC before starting. this usually costs around £300. whether or not you decide to comply with part p is up to you. in any case, you should possess the test equipment to test the install and produce an EIC for the work.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

If you do a risk assessment, you will discover that the resulting installation via the socket-outlet is less safe than if it were directly connected. Why compromise safety?

 

[Speck]

If you do a risk assessment, you will discover that the resulting installation via the socket-outlet is less safe than if it were directly connected. Why compromise safety?

Why is it less safe?

Also, I want to save the £300 by doing it this way.

If we can put aside the reasons for a moment, is it safe and legal to do it this way?

Thanks

 

[telectrix]

can you test the installation and complete a certificate? if not you are not complying with BS7671, a non-statutory set of regulations for electrical installations. by not doing, if anything were to go wrong, your insurance company may refuse to pay out and you could find yourself in front of a judge. a defence of " well it was only on a plug" when someone is injured or killed will not get you off.

 

[Octopus]

Tel mate, time to give up. The op is a chancer

 

[telectrix]

just was bored or i'd not have bothered. i gave him the answer in post#7.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

The plug and socket do not make the shed any less of an electrical installation. They merely constitute an unsuitable type of isolator that takes the place of any other kind of isolator. As for not running SWA, if this means not running a suitable cable, again that's not excused by the plug arrangement. If I were looking into an accident in your workshop I would be much more worried to find you had tried, unsuccessfully, to find loopholes, than simply to have done the installation properly but omitted to notify. Paperwork does not make wiring safer, proper installation does.

 

[Speck]

I don't think some of you are being fair, I will respond for what its worth.
Murdoch - You say "the OP is a chancer" Why? I came on here to as if I can LEGALLY get around some of the regulations by comparing the installation to that of caravan hook ups. I have now been informed that I cannot, great, I got my answer so I will not go ahead as planned. If I was a chancer then I would not have bothered to ask, I would have just gone ahead.
telectrix - My original question was can I legally use the plug & socket arrangement, so no, you did not answer my question in post 7. I am pleased however that I was of some relief to your boredom.

I think I asked a pertinent question in the interests of safety, I just wanted advice, not to be belittled by the clique that clearly seems to exist on here. For you information, I am not a qualified electrician, but I am a competent DIY electrician and I am very familiar with the 16 edition regs (and yes I am aware we are now onto the 17th). I have spent 12 years working on the fringe of the industry and have carried out a number of installations prior to the rules changing. I have NEVER broken the law and have no intention of doing so, thats why I seek the advice of those who know.

 

[Octopus]

I don't think some of you are being fair, I will respond for what its worth.
Murdoch - You say "the OP is a chancer" Why? I came on here to as if I can LEGALLY get around some of the regulations by comparing the installation to that of caravan hook ups. I have now been informed that I cannot, great, I got my answer so I will not go ahead as planned. If I was a chancer then I would not have bothered to ask, I would have just gone ahead.
telectrix - My original question was can I legally use the plug & socket arrangement, so no, you did not answer my question in post 7. I am pleased however that I was of some relief to your boredom.

I think I asked a pertinent question in the interests of safety, I just wanted advice, not to be belittled by the clique that clearly seems to exist on here. For you information, I am not a qualified electrician, but I am a competent DIY electrician and I am very familiar with the 16 edition regs (and yes I am aware we are now onto the 17th). I have spent 12 years working on the fringe of the industry and have carried out a number of installations prior to the rules changing. I have NEVER broken the law and have no intention of doing so, thats why I seek the advice of those who know.

Its a bit like asking the Police where you can speed and not get caught..

You asked a question, got answers you didn't like and asked again...

 

[Marvo]

I don't think some of you are being fair, I will respond for what its worth.
Murdoch - You say "the OP is a chancer" Why? I came on here to as if I can LEGALLY get around some of the regulations by comparing the installation to that of caravan hook ups.

I think the problem is that you were actively pursuing a solution that was going to be at best a compromise and at worst unsafe or illegal.

I have now been informed that I cannot, great, I got my answer so I will not go ahead as planned. If I was a chancer then I would not have bothered to ask, I would have just gone ahead.
telectrix - My original question was can I legally use the plug & socket arrangement, so no, you did not answer my question in post 7. I am pleased however that I was of some relief to your boredom.

Tel gave you good and safe advice and he did give you your specific answer in post#11.

I think I asked a pertinent question in the interests of safety, I just wanted advice, not to be belittled by the clique that clearly seems to exist on here........

You stated you wanted to save the 300 quid and you didn't give the impression that safety was particularly high on your list of concerns. If by clique you're referring to a group of guys who are motivated to installations of high standards and safety then yes, I guess it's a clique. Murdoch shouldn't have called you a chancer and I apologise on behalf of the forum, we do have a strict rule in the DIY forum that posts be constructive or not at all.

I think you question has been thoroughly answered and great info has been given so I'm closing the thread whilst the going is good.

Marv.