It seems since the advent of 'Part P' that most electrical work done as DIY
will require testing / certification by a qualified electrician.

The Part P document contains copies of model forms (of Certification) which
contain the words, "........design, construction, inspection and testing of
the work."

Since DIY work will not have been designed or constructed by the qualified
electrician employed to do the final testing how extensive and thorough is
the testing likely to be?

And what would be a fair and reasonable cost for such testing? (West
Midlands).

Any advice or information from anybody with experience of this new minefield
very welcome!

Tia,

Cic.

In article ,
"Cicero" writes:
It seems since the advent of 'Part P' that most electrical work done as DIY
will require testing / certification by a qualified electrician.

The Part P document contains copies of model forms (of Certification) which
contain the words, "........design, construction, inspection and testing of
the work."

Since DIY work will not have been designed or constructed by the qualified
electrician employed to do the final testing how extensive and thorough is
the testing likely to be?

And what would be a fair and reasonable cost for such testing? (West
Midlands).

It's not your problem -- you just do the building notice application.
The council is responsible for testing it (or subcontracting the testing,
and it will probably cost them more than the building notice costs you).

--
Andrew Gabriel

Andrew Gabriel wrote:
It's not your problem -- you just do the building notice application.
The council is responsible for testing it (or subcontracting the testing,
and it will probably cost them more than the building notice costs you).


Just today I spoke to my local building control dept, enquiring about
the building notice charge for some work that also will involve
electrical work under Part P. They informed me that if the electrical
work was not carried out by a 'competent person' then I would have to
pay for an electrician to do the testing of the electrical work on top
of the £196 charge for the building notice.
How should I argue the case for the electrical inspection being included
in the building notice charge, bearing in mind that I don't particularly
want to **** off the building inspector before I've even started?!

What is your source that states that the council is responsible for the
testing as part of the building notice submission?

Thanks,
Ben

In article ,
Ben Willcox writes:
Andrew Gabriel wrote:
It's not your problem -- you just do the building notice application.
The council is responsible for testing it (or subcontracting the testing,
and it will probably cost them more than the building notice costs you).

Just today I spoke to my local building control dept, enquiring about
the building notice charge for some work that also will involve
electrical work under Part P. They informed me that if the electrical
work was not carried out by a 'competent person' then I would have to
pay for an electrician to do the testing of the electrical work on top
of the £196 charge for the building notice.
How should I argue the case for the electrical inspection being included
in the building notice charge, bearing in mind that I don't particularly
want to **** off the building inspector before I've even started?!

What is your source that states that the council is responsible for the
testing as part of the building notice submission?

Well, I didn't have a concrete source, just putting together various
tidbits I had picked up in conversations, but amasingly Google finds
it quite definitively...

From http://www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/grou...eg_037024.hcsp ...

"There have been reports that some local authorities are asking
householders to have electrical installation work inspected,
tested and certificated by someone other than the person carrying
out the work. Section 33(2) of the Building Act 1984 (which would
give power to local authorities to require persons carrying out
building work to carry out such reasonable tests, at the person's
expense, of or in connection with the work for the purpose of
enabling local authorities to ascertain whether the work complies
with the requirements of the Regulations) has not been commenced.
This means in our opinion that local authorities do not have the
power to require householders to retain an electrician to test
and certificate the work in accordance with BS 7671. Local
authorities which have adopted such a practice should discontinue
it immediately."

No doubt there, I would say.

--
Andrew Gabriel

Andrew Gabriel wrote:

From http://www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/grou...eg_037024.hcsp ...

"There have been reports that some local authorities are asking
householders to have electrical installation work inspected,
tested and certificated by someone other than the person carrying
out the work [...]
Local authorities which have adopted such a practice should
discontinue it immediately."

No doubt there, I would say.

Also note the bit further down that page which says:

"Local authorities should ensure that charges for checking full plans
applications or building notices and carrying out inspections of
building work, including that relating to Part P, are pre-fixed in their
charges scheme as required by the Building (Local Authority Charges)
Regulations 1998. Authorities do not have powers to reassess a fixed
charge, which they have levied for a particular application or notice,
during the course of the work."

IOW the building notice fee is the only fee you should have to pay.

--
Andy

Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
Ben Willcox writes:

What is your source that states that the council is responsible for the
testing as part of the building notice submission?


Well, I didn't have a concrete source, just putting together various
tidbits I had picked up in conversations, but amasingly Google finds
it quite definitively...

From http://www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/grou...eg_037024.hcsp ...

"There have been reports that some local authorities are asking
householders to have electrical installation work inspected,
tested and certificated by someone other than the person carrying
out the work. Section 33(2) of the Building Act 1984 (which would
give power to local authorities to require persons carrying out
building work to carry out such reasonable tests, at the person's
expense, of or in connection with the work for the purpose of
enabling local authorities to ascertain whether the work complies
with the requirements of the Regulations) has not been commenced.
This means in our opinion that local authorities do not have the
power to require householders to retain an electrician to test
and certificate the work in accordance with BS 7671. Local
authorities which have adopted such a practice should discontinue
it immediately."

No doubt there, I would say.

Thanks Andrew, thats exactly the information that I need!

Cheers,
Ben.

"Ben Willcox" wrote in message
...
Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
Ben Willcox writes:

What is your source that states that the council is responsible for the
testing as part of the building notice submission?


Well, I didn't have a concrete source, just putting together various
tidbits I had picked up in conversations, but amasingly Google finds
it quite definitively...

From
http://www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/grou...eg_037024.hcsp
....

"There have been reports that some local authorities are asking
householders to have electrical installation work inspected,
tested and certificated by someone other than the person carrying
out the work. Section 33(2) of the Building Act 1984 (which would
give power to local authorities to require persons carrying out
building work to carry out such reasonable tests, at the person's
expense, of or in connection with the work for the purpose of
enabling local authorities to ascertain whether the work complies
with the requirements of the Regulations) has not been commenced.
This means in our opinion that local authorities do not have the
power to require householders to retain an electrician to test
and certificate the work in accordance with BS 7671. Local
authorities which have adopted such a practice should discontinue
it immediately."

No doubt there, I would say.

Thanks Andrew, thats exactly the information that I need!

Cheers,
Ben.

====================
Thanks to everybody for their contributions.

In the light of Andrew Gabriel's reply I asked my local Council for their
views on the matter. What they said largely confirms the information given
in this NG. They stated that I can get an independent electrician to
certificate my work if I want to but this is not obligatory. I would be
responsible for the entire cost of testing and certification.

They stated that I could apply directly to the Council to do the testing
etc.This would mean that they would be obliged to check the work themselves
or appoint an independent electrician to do the checking on their behalf.
The cost for the application would be £70-00 + VAT with no extra cost for
the testing (thus confirming what Andrew Gabriel said).

They also stated that it would be best for me (having already completed the
work) to apply for a 'Regularisation Application'. The process of testing
and checking would be the same apart from the cost. In this case there is a
'fine' payable for not having the work pre-approved. The cost for this would
be £70-00 BUT no VAT. A 'fine' would be added at a rate of 20% of the cost
of the works up to a value of £1000-00. This partly confirms the information
provided by Ed Sirett, that extra fees are payable but only for a late
application (Regularisation Application).

I am expecting the application forms in this morning's post and will check
that I've got the details correct.

In the light of Ben Willcox being asked for £196-00 (mine is £70-00 + VAT)
does anybody know if Councils can set their own rates or is there a fixed
common charge?

Cic.