Borrowed Neutral Problem.

[Clink]

What WayneL was saying was that changing a CU and work in a Kitchen is "notifiable" work and this should be done before the work is carried out. Not the end of the world, but you need either a sympathetic sparky who will need to inspect the work carried out or a very understanding Building Control dept to who will probably want to send in an inspector anyway. Sometimes DIY is not the cheapest option!

 

[timo1]

From the sounds of it the work in the kitchen was like for like or replacing unsafe or damaged items which does not require notification

A PIR or EICR as they are now known can be done on the existing installation and usually charged per circuit, for about £20 a circuit If you plan on changing the board you will need to inform the local authority planning dept prior to the work being done, they will charge you about £300 to inspect and test your work ( heck prices with them first as it may be less but thats what it is on the south coast)

Somebody registered with NICEIC, NAPIT, ELESCA or the like can self certify and they would probably change the board and notify for about the same price it would be through LABC. Its all a big racket really....Shed sounds fine by the way as long as its fused to 13A..

 

[pingu]

Thanks for the input. Yep always has been a racket even when I was a spark.

Looked at some figures yesterday and savings are like £10million with the new regs and Part P over injusries etc however a whole new training industry probably popped up to get everyone registered and feathering their nests while making it neccessary for competent sparks to take a whole new battery of tests at cost to themselves.

 

[pingu]

Kitchen was dropping a few spurs out, had 3 off a double socket which was itself tecnically a spur., replacing all the sockets like for like, moving a few bits. Nothing major. Apart from making it into a proper ring. Wish I could spoeak to the guy that done it.

Shed is off 32amp ring mcb so need to move that to a sperate circuit I guess, and advise buildng control aswell.

 

[pyrosym]

It sounds like you have made the kitchen safer. Sadly it is covered by Part P and is notifable work with building control.
I personally have put my shed on its own RCBO so if a fault develops it wont affect other circuits within the house.

You may be able to find a sympathetic electrician I would expect to pay around £300 presuming it tested out ok and complied but therein lies the problem that if it does not bell out ok it may need significantly more work.

 

[pingu]

Happy to pay. Was a bit of a bind as the plan was that the electrics only needed new sockets no moves or changes. However soon became apparent that all was not as it should be. Hence now I need to get the whole house tested by someone with the relevant up to date skills and equipment.

Was literally a death trap. Cables on the ring main in connector blocks and taped. Four spurs off a single socket. Old thermostat jointed multiple times at four separate locations when a new cable was easy to install.

Resolved the issues I can see and that my skills allow. BUT no doubt there are others given what I have already discovered so its not really a sympathetic spark but I know what you mean.

 

[SafetyFirst]

OOOOOOoooooo the dreaded borrowed neutral!!!

Have you shot the old fuseboard out???.............

 

[pingu]

Yes the old CU is gone.