cu change price at the big orange shed

[applemac]

went down the warehouse full of edjits today looking for garden stuff

wondered down the leccy isle to find a big notice consumer unit change by our local blah blah £449.. not inc bonding or any faults...

im charging £350 including new tails not inc bonding...

sorry no pics :]

 

[PGTips]

Haha, ...a Real funny guy, ...well still trying to be anyway... lol!!

Exactly, so you have never heard of the 5/4 week wonders and now the 17 day Wizz kids, that can go on these short courses, get the 17th edition C&G, (and that's all they have, unless you count PAT testing as an appropriate qualification for an electrician) approach a Part Pee scheme provider pay there fee and bingo, he's a competent person, that can now go into peoples homes and undertake any electrical work in that home!!!! So are you getting the picture NOW, or do you Still have your head up in the clouds??

Most sensible DIY'ers wouldn't ever attempt a CU change, Part re-wire, full re-wire, but will be more than capable of adding/moving a socket outlet(s) to a circuit, or replacing accessory plates etc, etc. Fact is you'll never be able to stop a DIY'er, they will always find a way around any legislation that tries to stop them improving there home. If he's daft enough to go meddling beyond his abilities, in any area, not just electrical work, that's his concern, not yours, mine or anyone else's.... By the way, as far as i know, ''The Electricity at Work Act 1989'' applies to places of employed work, Not anything a DIYer would be doing in his own home. The clue lies in the title of the Act!!!

It's actually the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 andthat's my typo from the previous correspondence. I was thinking at the time ofThe Health and safety at Work Act 1974 where the Electricity at workRegulations 1989 come in under section 15 of that document and the two gotmixed up as I typed up my response.
For your information The Electricity at Work Regulations1989 apply where ever electricity may be encountered so no the clue is not inthe title at all.
You are correct that you probably will not be able to stop aDIY'er from carrying out work on their property unless things change. What I amsaying is that they should not be working on electrical systems period, if theyare not apprenticeship trained and qualified to do so. If these people can'tobtain the equipment to execute the work, then how would they be able to carrypotentially dangerous work out? Without any proof of their technical andpractical qualifications they should not be issued with the products from whichever outlet they try to buy the materials from.
A 5/4 week wonder (I've never heard of this, 6 monthwonders, yes) who passes a BS7671 course is not entitled to any form of IDstating that he, she, it, is qualified as an Electrician from any overseeingelectrical body that I know of or have heard of. So if we're now all having toprovide ID to get our electrical accessories how could the hardened DIY'erpossibly buy the items in person from a wholesaler be it Eddy's, Newey's orB&Q?
By the way, I've nothing against B&Q or the qualifiedElectricians that use this outlet as their way of sourcing cheaper electricalproducts that they can't get the same deal on at their local electricalwholesalers. Years ago I was involved in the design, construction & testingof B&Q warehouses and depots up and down the country, and I made a lot ofmoney out of it as well. What I am against is the cavalier attitude ofcompanies like B&Q towards the selling of electrical installation productsto none qualified, barely competent members of the public. The selling of CU'sand various other items of electrical accessories/equipment to people who havetrouble fastening their shoe laces, or deciding what undies to put on in amorning is a little bit more than a concern I would say, wouldn't you?

 

[imago]

Well this thread is some read!

So in essence we have the 'people should only be able to buy equipment which they are qualified to use and fit safely' and the 'they should be able to buy whatever they like' camps.

Hmm, restricting sales of good to only suitably qualified people is a non-starter for many reasons, quite a few of which have already been posted. To be honest that suits me just fine, long may it continue. You can't legislate against people being stupid and/or getting out of their depth so it's just not possible. Nor should the Government or any other body try to as the safety arguement doesn't stack up statistically.

Many more people (DIYers) are killed or injured using ladders than working with electricity, more are killed or injured using garden equipment, more are killed or injured in cooking/kitchen accidents, and so on. So from a purely safety related stand point there are far more urgent areas to restrict use and sales for than electrical goods. Restricting them for any other reason is a churlish attempt at restrictive practice.

 

[Des 56]

These threads about sheds selling consumer units always seem to get paired into two camps

Once the discussion gets into gear,domestic electrical work by the Diy guy brings out the "Only by the profesionals" opinion

To be fair,the vast majority of home electrics is pretty easy and well within the capability of the Diy er who can handle a screwdriver and knows his way around a house
If it was so complicated and difficult, these schemes would not have a quarter of the numbers they currently enrol

It is a skilled job,but we are not superman tradesmen and neither are we professionals,we are tradesmen.craftsmen,manual workers with a bit of common sense,but not in a profession

 

[imago]

neither are we professionals,we are tradesmen.craftsmen,manual workers with a bit of common sense,but not in a profession

What about a teacher who retrains as an electrician? He or she would be a professional, a tradesman and a Electrical Trainee. That would trump the lot I reckon.

 

[VoltzElectrical]

Well this thread is some read!

So in essence we have the 'people should only be able to buy equipment which they are qualified to use and fit safely' and the 'they should be able to buy whatever they like' camps.

Hmm, restricting sales of good to only suitably qualified people is a non-starter for many reasons, quite a few of which have already been posted. To be honest that suits me just fine, long may it continue. You can't legislate against people being stupid and/or getting out of their depth so it's just not possible. Nor should the Government or any other body try to as the safety arguement doesn't stack up statistically.

Many more people (DIYers) are killed or injured using ladders than working with electricity, more are killed or injured using garden equipment, more are killed or injured in cooking/kitchen accidents, and so on. So from a purely safety related stand point there are far more urgent areas to restrict use and sales for than electrical goods. Restricting them for any other reason is a churlish attempt at restrictive practice.

Totally. Where does it stop (this controlling of people's actions) once started? Licence to use a step ladder to purchase one? Licence to use a lawn mower?

People need to have the freedom to exercise common sense and judgement AND bear the consequences of making bad decisions.

Also, can these '17' day/week wonder (whatever) register for FULL SCOPE electrical works with the schemes? Remember that the Competent Person Scheme has two tiers of membership.

I disagree that someone has to have a fully indentured apprenticeship behind them to carry out basic electrical tasks in a domestic dwelling. Come on, it's not rocket science and let's stop pretending that it's that hard.

The phrase 'competent' is correctly worded in my opinion. As has been stated, there are enough people carrying out electrical work with the 'qualifications' but either they are not competent, or choose to not work competently to not make this requirement enough in it's own right.

Bring back good old 'pride in your work', 'conscience' and a sense of personal responsibility, i.e. the values that a decent society is built on.

Government cannot legislate against the downward spiral of the moral conscience that allows people to operate with a despicable attitude towards everyone around them.

- - - Updated - - -

What about a teacher who retrains as an electrician? He or she would be a professional, a tradesman and a Electrical Trainee. That would trump the lot I reckon.

Actually I was a teacher before I retrained. Took me a bit longer than 5 weeks mind you! More like 5 years!

 

[imago]

Government cannot legislate against the downward spiral of the moral conscience that allows people to operate with a despicable attitude towards everyone around them.

Sad, but true.

If you aren't a Electrical Trainee then you've only got two of the three most popular labels on the forum. That's still good, but you need the full set to be top tier.

 

[Octopus]

Time to get my coat.....

 

[VoltzElectrical]

Sad, but true.

If you aren't a Electrical Trainee then you've only got two of the three most popular labels on the forum. That's still good, but you need the full set to be top tier.

Expand on this please.

 

[imago]

My tongue is firmly in my cheek.

There seems to be an ever growing trend of labelling people and then stereotyping them based on their qualifications, trade background, time taken to train etc etc both on this forum and generally. It's over simplifying in the extreme to say you can only be a 'good' electrician if you have sevred a five year apprenticeship. Likewise to suggest that everyone who engages in DIY is an idiot.

So I was following on from Des 56's post which was aimed at deflating a few egos whereby people consider themselves a cut above and use a label which they feel is appropriate to their status.

I wasn't having a go at you, if anything you prove my point. Books and covers etc.

 

[sedgy34]

Time to get my coat.....

Have you pulled?

 

[Octopus]

Have you pulled?

No, simply lost interest in this thread. Maybe I'll log into DIYnot!

 

[sparks1973]

makes you laugh dunnit...all this..lol...
arguing about Electrical Trainee....17 day wizzers whatever...lolffs....
i mean, come on:...
whether its Electrical Trainee or 17 dayer`s....doesn`t matter does it....
THEY AIN`T ELECTRICIANS!!!

 

[sedgy34]

makes you laugh dunnit...all this..lol...
arguing about Electrical Trainee....17 day wizzers whatever...lolffs....
i mean, come on:...
whether its Electrical Trainee or 17 dayer`s....doesn`t matter does it....
THEY AIN`T ELECTRICIANS!!!

Your right there sparks I mean sparks 1973

 

[Silly Sausage]

Time to get my coat.....

He's scored with Harness69....

Your right there WHO mean sparks 1973

Shhsss....edit your last post!

 

[VoltzElectrical]

My tongue is firmly in my cheek.

There seems to be an ever growing trend of labelling people and then stereotyping them based on their qualifications, trade background, time taken to train etc etc both on this forum and generally. It's over simplifying in the extreme to say you can only be a 'good' electrician if you have sevred a five year apprenticeship. Likewise to suggest that everyone who engages in DIY is an idiot.

So I was following on from Des 56's post which was aimed at deflating a few egos whereby people consider themselves a cut above and use a label which they feel is appropriate to their status.

I wasn't having a go at you, if anything you prove my point. Books and covers etc.

TBH mate, perhaps it's me, but I still haven't got a clue what you are alluding to. Two out of three of what? I am being thick here? Books and covers? Speak plainly my friend.