Main and supplementary bonding

[s6stu]

I am currently taking a power supply to a garden shed and need to upgrade the bonding arrangements, as there aren't any at all.

Firstly, can someone confirm that I do need to add supplementary bonding in the bathroom, regardless of the fact that I will not be touching any of the circuits within the bathroom.

My main query is with the main bonding. The gas meter is next to the cu in the flat so is not a problem. The water service pipe however enters the flat underground, and appears above the floorboards at the opposite end of the flat to the cu. However, the pipe is also accessible under the floor, near to the cu, which I have been assured will be accessible at all times after the rest of the construction works has finished. So my question is, can I connect the main bonding under the floor near the cu, or should it be at the other end of the flat where the pipe emerges from the floor boards?

Hope this makes sense,

Regards,

Stu

 

[LukeScotty]

am not too sure, but in the regs I think you need to bond the services at the point where they first enter the premises..... this right any one?????

 

[gazzam]

The Regs State You Are Only Responsible For The Circuit/s You Are Working On.
Regards Gazzam

you are correct lscotty it should be bonded within 600mm of entering the premises with a bs951 label
regards gazzam

 

[TonyM58]

If you read the regs, it says the gas and water MUST be bonded, and this SHOULD be within 600mm of the isolator / meter on the consumers side and before any branches

I read SHOULD as 'desirable', i done a property recently where the bonding to water was going upstairs into the airing cupboard. I confirmed continuity to the incoming water pipe and left it. If it said MUST then i may have sorted it, but SHOULD could equally be read as IDEALLY.

Gazzam, not entirely correct about the regs. Off the top of my head (I ant got the regs in front of me) I think its something like reg 130-07-01 (or 130-02-01)

which says for any alterations/additions you must ensure that the existing circuit arrangements are adequate blah blah and that the earthing and bonding arrangements are also adequate.

The bathroom bonding is constant source of discussion on forms, bottom line is some people say you HAVE to sort it, some say you dont. Under the 17th with all bathroom circuits RCD protected you wont need supplementary in the bathroom (according to the DPC anyway!)

 

[Minky]

You are not responsible for other circuits only the one s you are adding/altering.Please note that all regulations are not retrospective.Meaning that whatever statute is being adhered to including any building control constraints then these must be complied with.It may be possible to run a single earth conductor to the gas main and then onto the water or vice versa without breaking the conductor then this would suffice.
Mechanical and electrical continuity must be ensured.That is there are no breaks in the pipe possible due to a burst in the past being replaced by plastic pipe on the break and then continuing in metal throughout the rest of the run before it branches off to feed water services in the installation.
Ask plumbers who have been caught out with this in the past,well the lucky ones who remebered to use croc clips when to let the fault current flow to earth instead of through them!!!.

 

[EasyFox]

If you read the regs, it says the gas and water MUST be bonded, and this SHOULD be within 600mm of the isolator / meter on the consumers side and before any branches

I read SHOULD as 'desirable', i done a property recently where the bonding to water was going upstairs into the airing cupboard. I confirmed continuity to the incoming water pipe and left it. If it said MUST then i may have sorted it, but SHOULD could equally be read as IDEALLY.


The bathroom bonding is constant source of discussion on forms, bottom line is some people say you HAVE to sort it, some say you dont. Under the 17th with all bathroom circuits RCD protected you wont need supplementary in the bathroom (according to the DPC anyway!)

(547-02-02 for equi bonding connection if you want to check)
I agree with TonyM here it's that magical word used over & over in the regs "PRACTICABLE", so not a you must or you have to statement but a regulation that leaves you free to interpret where you connect the bond. If it's such a pain in the backside to get to the meter or 600mm of point of entry into property then connect to a point that gives ease of access to the connection & make a note on the cert as a deviation.

As for the bathroom bonding I only ever bother checking it or installing if it's missing if I'm working on circuits within the bathroom or if I change the CU at a property.

 

[Girlyspark]

Tony is right - you do have to ensure that the bonding is adequate before doing any work on an installation - even though it isn't a circuit that you are working on. He was spot on with 130-07-01. I would have thought that bonding under the floor is okay, as long as there can still be access to the connection in the future (for testing/inspection purposes etc).