"Owain" wrote in message
...
wrote:
Owain wrote:
The On Site Guide is the book for electricians wiring up small and simple
installations that aren't designed by electrical engineers. AFAIK it has
no legal force, unlike the Regs.
Surely the IEE regulations don't have any legal force either, they are
not 'the law', they are just the accepted standards used for wiring in
this country.

They are the British Standard cited in the Building Regulations (Scotland)
and have been for a long while, which means they have the force of law in
that they are the standard to which installations *must* comply, unless
you can prove that they comply to an alternative but equivalent (ie
Harmonised) standard.

Not sure of the *exact* status in E&W after Part Pee, but similar.

The OSG is a summary of how one can implement domestic
wiring so that it complies with the regulations without having to do
the calculations from first principles that would be needed if you
worked direct from the regulations.

Exactly; but you can't say that you've designed an installation to comply
with the OSG. It has to comply with the IEE Regs. You can ignore the OSG
if you want to.

Owain

Whilst Building Regulations are under discussion - does anyone know the
exact definition of "should" and "must" in this context? e.g Part P has 50
"shoulds" and 34 "musts". As I understand it a "must" clause is a legal
requirement but a "should" is best practice and provided a "solution" meets
the spirit/reason for the clause it may be acceptable.

PeterK