tegwin
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| posted on 7/11/11 at 03:35 PM |
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OT: Electrical testing... arghhh
So almost exactly 12 months ago I put in building control notification that I was starting work on an extension.
Everything went very well, the builder put up the extension with regular visits from the building control officer.
As part of the works I agreed with my builder that I would install a new split load consumer unit and do all the new cables in the kitchen. We
discussed how he wanted it done (as he had just qualified as a sparkie). Everything has been done ultra analy to the 17th edition book...
"textbook job" comes to mind.
Everything was completed just after Christmas last year. All works perfectly and I love the new kitchen. However..... The guy came back in the new
year and we went through all the testing, made a few alterations to the wiring etc in the "old" part of the house to get it all within
regs. Filled in the test form and all hunkydory..... However... the builder/electrician appears to have vanished off the face of the earth, have
called and emailed him douzens of time with no response... and I cant get a completion certificate from the council without the electrical test
cert....
One of my lodgers is a time served electrician but is not registered with any certification scheme.
Anyone have any ideas of the easiest way of getting a test certificate to please the building control department? Can I print the test forms of the
net and hire(?) some test gear and fill it in myself with my friends help? The testing really is not hard....
Just want this sorted now before I forget... only to be reminded when I cant sell the house in x years time because the work was never signed off....
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Would the last person who leaves the country please switch off the lights and close the door!
www.verticalhorizonsmedia.tv
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twybrow
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| posted on 7/11/11 at 03:49 PM |
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Oh Tegwin - I feel your pain. I had a similar experience with our house - it took 3 montsh to sort!
I would suggest you get the council out to do the testing. Our charged me £75,and was there for 6 hours testing, and writing it up. I could not find a
sparkie who would take on just the testing, without having done the work themselves.
Alternatively, ask your lodger to register, and get him to write out the certificate!?
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cliftyhanger
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| posted on 7/11/11 at 04:55 PM |
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can you not get a periodic inspection done? They are a test of the whole place, I have to get one done on rental places every 5 years.
Of course, the council may well be cheaper.
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JoelP
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| posted on 7/11/11 at 05:03 PM |
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Bit of a pickle there! I think the problem with the council might be that they would have wanted to inspect the first fix before it was all plastered,
they probably havent done that because they were expecting a spark to sign it all off for you. Was the electrical work specified on the building
notice?
Dont think PIR would cut the mustard for the council.
I always hesitate to suggets honesty, but it might be a good idea to contact building control and ask how they want you to proceed.
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Liam
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| posted on 7/11/11 at 07:01 PM |
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Oh dear  . What you should have done (but sounds like you didnt) was notify the electrical work on the building notice seperately (which
wouldn't have cost much more, if anything, in fees since you were already paying the fees for the rest of the work. In that case the council
becomes responsible for the inspection and testing (and now have the power to charge a bit more for this) and all would have been hunky-dory. Another
path to completion (as described in Approved Doc P) is you notify as above, but a suitably qualified 'competent' person (note this does
not mean being registered with one of the Competent Person schemes, eg NICEIC et al) carries out the work including testing then submits the EIC to
building control.
When I did my renovation including full rewire I was initially intending to go down the first path, but instead when I got access to a tester through
my old work I managed to convince them I was 'competent' (electrical engineering degree piece of paper) and go down the second path.
Sounds like you've started down the third path which is not notifying the electrical work seperately (and paying the fees) on the building
notice, which is what one does when a registered spark does the work and self certifies though his scheme. Only it was actually you doing the work
hoping to get a spark to sign it off at the end, which is a bit naughty really, and said builder/spark has done a runner when it comes to
certifying.
If that's the case, best bet is to ask building control exactly what they need and who from. They may put you on that first path (but the
problem there as JoelP points out is that they haven't inspected first fix), or onto the second path by agreeing to accept the EIC from your
qualified but not registered spark lodger if you can get hold of a calibrated tester. Or they might have invented their own rules (e.g. mine refused
to inspect/test themselves and wanted me to get a PIR done by a registered spark, which is ultimately what made me pursue that second path). Or they
might take you down the regularisation path which is there for getting stuff signed off after it's been done, which means higher fees.
Either way, with a bit of seeking of clarification, maybe a bit of fessin up, and probably some money, you should be able to sort this bit of bother,
hopefully without ripping out plaster for inspection of burried cables.
Good luck
[Edited on 7/11/11 by Liam]
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tegwin
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| posted on 7/11/11 at 08:17 PM |
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Chears for the inpit Liam.
Can I not go down path 2 and get my "competant" lodger to do the testing and fill in the form? Just need to find some test gear from
somewhere...any ideas where?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Would the last person who leaves the country please switch off the lights and close the door!
www.verticalhorizonsmedia.tv
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Liam
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| posted on 7/11/11 at 08:44 PM |
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Well that 'path 2' involved you notifying of the electrical work on the building notice before you started, but as you were intending to
have a registered spark sign of the work as his own I figured you hadn't done that. Have a read of the guidance Doc P just to know what the
options are/were, but bear in mind your council may have invented their own 'guidance' so as I said best clarify with them exactly what
they will accept.
[Edited on 7/11/11 by Liam]
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JoelP
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| posted on 7/11/11 at 08:44 PM |
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Its probably easier to get a spark in to test it than it is to hire or borrow test equiptment. I have a spare one in the loft but its so far out of
calibration, you'd be more accurate making the results up.
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