UK Suitability of electrician

[Sillyoldgit]

I decided not to tackle installing an extractor fan in our bathroom myself but to get in a professional. I checked with Building Control and they said go ahead, it did not need their permission. I looked on social media and found a local electrician who scores very highly with named and verified customers in this local area. He said he could do the job. When I asked if he was a member of NICEIC or similar body, he said no, but he had 20 years experience. He said he was a professional electrician but not registered at the moment and if I wanted a certificate he knew someone who would sign it. This sounds dodgy. Should I give him a miss or am I just being overly cautious?

 

[littlespark]

It’s not so much about being registered, but having the right qualifications. Currently BS7671 18th edition (up to amendment 2 now) although regs for this particular job won’t have changed much in recent years.
Thinking of rcd requirements for circuits within a bathroom.

Do you know any of his previous customers personally that you could get an honest review from? You can’t tell if anything written online about him came from genuine customers or not.

 

[timhoward]

Are you in England/Wales?
If so part P of building regs applies and as this would be work in a special location (room with bath or shower) it would need notifying to building control. So by rights installing a new fan would need to be done by a member of a CPS like NICEIC or NAPIT as these folk can go to a web interface and chuck some info in, and hey presto, a building control completion certification appears.

In addition to this, any electrical work should have the appropriate certificate completed, and this can in fact be done by any competent sparks.
So to reiterate, notification and certification are two different things.

Personally I find it a bit of a red flag that the sparks with 20 years experience isn't willing to sign a certificate himself, and thinks that getting another sparks to sign it is appropriate or indeed required.

 

[littlespark]

True, Tim… and I can’t say I’m an expert on Part P, but the way I understand it the onus is on the homeowner to notify building control…. And one way of doing that is through the electrician being a member of NICEIC or other competent person scheme.

The unwillingness to sign certificates is indeed worrying

 

[davesparks]

He said he was a professional electrician but not registered at the moment and if I wanted a certificate he knew someone who would sign it.

You don't have to be registered to produce and sign a certificate for the work.

You only have to be registered to notify jobs which fall under part P.

 

[Pretty Mouth]

This job may not need notifying, depending on where in the bathroom it is, see p7 of part-p:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/441872/BR_PDF_AD_P_2013.pdf

 

[James]

Simple,
If an electrician is not willing to provide a certificate of there own works, find a different one.

i would not contemplate taking on a job that I would not provide a certificate for.
if they want someone to do the certification for them,
they are surely hiding something because they are not willing to put there name to it on paperwork.

 

[Pretty Mouth]

I strongly suspect that where @Sillyoldgit says 'certificate', he actually means 'notification'. Notification would be the only obstacle than an unregistered electrician might encounter with this work, anyone can fill out a cert.

The electrician in question may be really good, or he may be really bad, we have no way of knowing without seeing his work first hand, or at least having a conversation with him. Neither registration nor qualifications guarantee quality.