Rules on DIY installations

[armour]

Hi,
Forty years ago, I served an apprenticeship as an (industrial) electrician. After doing a little work in the domestic sector, I became a printer service engineer and did this for thirty years. Now retired, I have inherited a two bedroom flat which needs a little extra wiring to accomodate replacement LOT20 storage heaters.

I'd like to do the wiring myself and it seems pretty straighforward. I intend to upgrade and extend the wiring by adding four FCUs to the only ring main in the flat. This will be done by extending the ring and/or spurring off it. I also need to add two radial circuits feeding 20A DP switches to accomodate the off-peak supply to two (net new) storage heaters (there is no storage heater in either bedroom at the mo). The Three-way plastic (cartridge type) fusebox would also need to be upgraded to a six-way metal clad type incorporating 20A MCBs.

I am aware that some testing would need to be done by a suitably qualified person, but would it be legal for me to do the work myself as long as the job was signed off by such a person?

By the way, I had the EICR done in February of this year. All was OK.

Thanks for reading,
Chris.

 

[loz2754]

In theory yes. New circuits and consumer units need to be notified to local building control, under Part P of the building regs.
The usual way of going about this is to use an electrician who is registered to self certify notifiable works.
If you want to do the work yourself, you are required to notify building control before starting the works. They will inspect the works and issue a notification certificate at the end if all is well. There is a large fee of £300+ for this service.

In either case, an electrical installation certificate for the new works well also need to be produced.

There is a third option, though you will possibly find it hard to get someone to do it for you, and that is to use an electrician who is registered to 3rd party certify someone else's work. Such a person would need to be involved from the start if they're going to put their name to it.

As a side note, I would not recommend night storage heaters for bedrooms, as they heat up during the night and the bedroom can become too warm for sleeping in, with no way to turn off the heat. It's usually considered better to fit panel heaters or similar, perhaps with a built in timer.

 

[DPG]

And remember RCD protection will be needed. I'd suggest RCBOs.

Consider surge protection also.

 

[timhoward]

I have no idea if it works, but in theory you can search specifically for people that do third party certification here NAPIT - Member Search - https://search.napit.org.uk/ ,(you can specify third-party certification (TPC) like this)

Feedback on whether this is at all helpful in practise is welcome as I'm adding 3rd party certification at the end of the month for a large project. I'm not near Croydon though!

 

[armour]

Thanks very much for you response Loz - particularly for the info regarding the unsuitability of storage heaters for bedrooms. If I don't install them, I guess I would have no need of the two radial circuits or the replacement consumer unit.

Your post might just have saved me a lot of time, money and effort.

You said:

New circuits and consumer units need to be notified to local building control, under Part P of the building regs.

Does that mean that the modification of existing circuits is not notifiable or needs inspecting?

If I don't put storage heaters in the bedrooms, all I will need to do is to extend and/or spur off the socket ring-main to get FCUs next to the heaters. Would this be legal?

 

[loz2754]

Thanks very much for you response Loz - particularly for the info regarding the unsuitability of storage heaters for bedrooms. If I don't install them, I guess I would have no need of the two radial circuits or the replacement consumer unit.

Your post might just have saved me a lot of time, money and effort.

You said:

Does that mean that the modification of existing circuits is not notifiable or needs inspecting?

If I don't put storage heaters in the bedrooms, all I will need to do is to extend and/or spur off the socket ring-main to get FCUs next to the heaters. Would this be legal?

That's correct. Notifiable works in England are: a new consumer unit, a new circuit, any additions or alterations in a room containing a bath or shower.
Extending existing circuits other than in a bathroom does not need notifying.
It might be worth you downloading Approved Document P, it's a free download and makes good reading for anyone involved in domestic electrical work. Most recent revision is 2013.

Just to add, all new work/alterations should be accompanied by the appropriate certificate, whether a Minor Electrical Works, or Electrical Installation Certificate.
Any new lengths of cable, if buried in walls at a depth of less than 50mm, will need to be protected by a 30mA RCD.
Any new lighting wiring will need to be protected by a 30mA RCD also.

 

[armour]

Thanks for the info Tim.
I called the nearest NAPIT guy I could find and he said he would provide a service, at £40/hr, to include an initial consultation advising me on how to proceed and then return to inspect. Sounds reasonable I guess. However, he said he would have to fit the CU himself. Even so, I guess it wouldn't cost more much more than a hundred quid to get the legal formalities squared away.

Thanks to Loz though, maybe I won't have to trouble him?.

Loz, I'm a little confused. You say:

all new work/alterations should be accompanied by the appropriate certificate, whether a Minor Electrical Works, or Electrical Installation Certificate.

after having said this:

Extending existing circuits other than in a bathroom does not need notifying.

Does this mean that I will still need a qualified person to inspect the extension, or spurring off, of the ring main to be legal?

Lastly, is this the download you refer to?

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electrical-safety-approved-document-p

Thanks both,
Chris.

 

[timhoward]

Lastly, is this the download you refer to?

Yes

Does this mean that I will still need a qualified person to inspect the extension, or spurring off, of the ring main to be legal?

It should be inspected and tested and have a minor works certificate completed.
If you meet the requirements of BS7671 for being a "skilled person" (see below) and have appropriate calibrated test equipment and knowledge of testing procedures you may be able to do this yourself.

(Skilled Person - a “person who possesses, as appropriate to the nature of work being undertaken, adequate education, training and practical skills, and who is able to perceive risks and avoid hazards which electricity can create” )

Please also note earlier advice by others about RCD protection. If you need to add this by changing consumer unit you have unfortunately gone full circle as it becomes notifiable again.

 

[telectrix]

notifiable works basically cover new circuiuts, work in bathrooms and CU upgrades. if you are just altering/modifying a circuit, it's a minor works cert. and not notifiable under part pee.

 

[loz2754]

Thanks for the info Tim.
I called the nearest NAPIT guy I could find and he said he would provide a service, at £40/hr, to include an initial consultation advising me on how to proceed and then return to inspect. Sounds reasonable I guess. However, he said he would have to fit the CU himself. Even so, I guess it wouldn't cost more much more than a hundred quid to get the legal formalities squared away.

Thanks to Loz though, maybe I won't have to trouble him?.

Loz, I'm a little confused. You say:

after having said this:

Does this mean that I will still need a qualified person to inspect the extension, or spurring off, of the ring main to be legal?

Lastly, is this the download you refer to?

Electrical safety: Approved Document P - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electrical-safety-approved-document-p

Thanks both,
Chris.

I think others have probably answered for me.

First of all yes that's the download.

To clarify the certification side of things:

According to the wiring regulations (now known as BS7671), all new electrical work, whether an addition or alteration, should be accompanied by an electrical certificate, either a Minor Works or Electrical Installation Certificate.
This is the responsibility of the person doing the work. Blank forms are available for download.
You can do this yourself, and keep the certificate safe somewhere. This is purely to satisfy the wiring regulations, you'll probably never be asked to show it to anyone. If you were doing the job for someone else, you would give them the certificate, which is a form of proof that you have done the job correctly.

For notifiable works only, a Building Control Notification Certificate is required in addition to the electrical certificate. If you don't do any notifiable works, then you don't need this.

I know I've probably confused you even further...

 

[earthling]

Bit of a thread hijack, so I'll start with an apology for that.

I've replaced a couple of things in the last year (a timer for an immersion heater which stopped working - replaced with a combined timer and fused spur switch - and a like for like socket faceplate with built-in USB ports which wasn't happy with water flowing through it - due to a hole in the roof). Should I have self certified those as "Minor Works"? I'll leave the issue of what purpose that might serve for other people to get upset about.

 

[armour]

I know I've probably confused you even further...

No. You have been very clear Loz. Interestingly, I had a kitchen installed last year, which certainly did involve some 'minor works' and I didn't recieve any paperwork from the installer. He did seem to do a good job though.
Thanks all for your input and to Earthling the thread hijacker, fill yer boots, I don't mind at all.

 

[loz2754]

Bit of a thread hijack, so I'll start with an apology for that.

I've replaced a couple of things in the last year (a timer for an immersion heater which stopped working - replaced with a combined timer and fused spur switch - and a like for like socket faceplate with built-in USB ports which wasn't happy with water flowing through it - due to a hole in the roof). Should I have self certified those as "Minor Works"? I'll leave the issue of what purpose that might serve for other people to get upset about.

It's not usually absolutely necessary to certify like for like replacement of accessories. However, it's still a good idea to test the circuit after the replacement has been done, and compare the results with the regulations.
This kind of testing is beyond the scope of DIY, though, as specialist test equipment is involved.