Before undertaking electrical work, consider the following if you are thinking of undertaking the work yourself:. Is this work likely to be covered by the Building Regulations? Substantial works such as partial and full rewires are notifiable under the regulations so will need to be signed off by your local authority if not using a registered contractor.
If the work is minor such as adding a new socket , is it in the bathroom, kitchen or garden? If in doubt please contact a reputable local registered electrician who can advise you.
Nearly six out of ten DIY projects are relatively safe and successful, even with homeowners lacking necessary skills some jobs require. Almost a quarter of DIY jobs have gone so wrong that a tradesperson has had to be called in to fix. People have confessed to cutting through power leads, attempting to repair electrical items that were still switched on and even drilling into wiring buried in the walls.
When it comes to DIY, how much do you really know? Have you got the skills to carry out work that complies with the regulations and is safe? Or are you out of your depth and in need of professional help? We know that however much the government and companies stress the necessity for a registered electrician, there will still be those who do it themselves. Our message is to you is if you are going to do your own electrical work in your own home, be safe.
Just like gas work, electrical work carries catastrophic risks, such as: death, fire, electric shock and serious injuries. If your electrics fail to comply, then you are breaking the law and will invalidate your home insurance. Your insurance provider will not cover you should any damages or faults occur.
Some electrical jobs you should never attempt to do yourself. Part P of the Building Regulations was introduced in and is a set of laws which breaks down electrics in a domestic property into two categories: minor and notifiable works. Minor work is altering, extending and or changing any existing circuits in the home, except in a bathroom, which is known as a special location.
Notifiable work should only be carried out by a competent electrician and includes house rewires, creating a new circuit, changing a consumer unit. Notifiable work requires prior permission from the Local Authority Building Council in the form of a building application. The alternative route of having notifiable work carried out in your home is by hiring a registered electrician, who can sign the work off themselves and certify that it meets current Building and Wiring Regulations.
You are entitled to carry out minor electrical work in your home, as long as you comply with Part P of the Building and Wiring Regulations. First Name: required. Email Address: required. We read and respond to all feedback by email. To allow us to do so you will be added to our email list, however you can unsubscribe at any time using the links at the bottom of any of our emails. Find out more in our privacy policy. Any DIY questions should be posted to our Forum.
Footer DIY Doctor. Follow us on Twitter. Follow us on YouTube. Many do-it-yourself home renovators are unafraid to take up a hammer and saw but may balk when it comes to electrical repairs.
Do-it-yourself electrical work , rightfully so, can be a daunting project, and it's no shame at all to call in a qualified electrician for even the smallest project such as installing a light switch or changing an outlet.
Yet if you have any inclination, electrical work is one home project that yields to logic and science. The legality of do-it-yourself electrical work varies from state to state and from one municipality to another. Always call your local permit office for the answer that pertains to you.
One scenario found in many communities is that you can legally do your own electrical work as long as you can attest to being the owner-occupant and that this work is being done for your benefit, as opposed to commercially. If this regulating body allows you, the owner-occupant, to do the work, you might be required to obtain a temporary license to do this work. In some cases, you might be required to take a test to obtain this temporary license. This is not the same as the extensive test taken by individuals wishing to become certified electricians or master electricians.
Instead, it is usually a modified, scaled-down test designed to ensure that the homeowner knows a few of the basics of electrical code before embarking on the electrical work. Typical of language found in many states' law books is this, which expressly allows an owner-occupant to do their own work:. While doing your own electrical work is often legal and can be safe, if performed carefully, one major concern surrounds ensuring DIY electrical work is up to code: Amateurs may complete perfectly functional electrical projects that may not meet code, and thus may cause issues if and when it's time to have the house inspected in order to sell it.
It's easy to find people to replace your windows or install the siding. They practically fall out of the sky. But it can be difficult to find an electrician when you need one.
Along with plumbers, a good electrician—especially one who has time to take on contract work for a do-it-yourself renovator—can be difficult to find.
0コメント