Excuse of the day ....................

[Octopus]

A while back I changed a CU for a customer - and knowing she was going to have building works I installed a CU with plenty of spare ways .......

Yesterday I was doing a small change to the socket circuit - and before I changed it I checked the continuity readings .......... these showed a break in the neutral.

So I asked the client to see what the builder / spark had put on their certificate ............. it turns out that they hadn't done any (changes were made to at least 3 circuits).

In the reply they stated:

"Dean said it wasn’t essential as it’s a new circuit board but they will come out and do it for me"

Lazy ................

They don't believe in using wago boxes - a turn or 2 of insulating tape will do ................ nor having earth connections from back boxes to the metal fittings ............. and that's what I noticed without looking!

 

[Toneyz]

What you also have to remember that there is a lot of electrical work that can be undertaken that is not required to be notified and therefore no need to belong to a scheme. Another question is when work is done by unscrupulous so-called electricians even when an EICR is done dodgy joints etc hidden away does not come to light until something happens.

 

[Octopus]

How do you mean about membership numbers, do you think it will make a difference? Why would it?

When some people work out all the costs of getting the 18th they may think again - if they are "other" trades, they may not feel its worth while ............

 

[sparksburnout]

When some people work out all the costs of getting the 18th they may think again - if they are "other" trades, they may not feel its worth while ............

I might be one of them, am I missing something? Why is it going to make such a big (expensive) difference?

 

[telectrix]

£300 for the 18th. £150 for new regs. etc. that's 3 months supply of beer.

 

[sparksburnout]

£300 for the 18th. £150 for new regs. etc. that's 3 months supply of beer.

Are we saying that there will be an actual 18th qualification required now then? As in a C&G's exam?

 

[telectrix]

of course there will. although 17th will still be recognised for a while, you'll see vacancies advertised demanding 18th within months.

 

[Octopus]

What you also have to remember that there is a lot of electrical work that can be undertaken that is not required to be notified and therefore no need to belong to a scheme. Another question is when work is done by unscrupulous so-called electricians even when an EICR is done dodgy joints etc hidden away does not come to light until something happens.

They should still be installing to the latest version of the regs .......

 

[Octopus]

Are we saying that there will be an actual 18th qualification required now then? As in a C&G's exam?

Just google BS 7671 and see what 's listed!

 

[westward10]

£300 for the 18th. £150 for new regs. etc. that's 3 months supply of beer.

Pair of shoes for me

 

[sparksburnout]

Just google BS 7671 and see what 's listed!

I just did. As a side issue, one of the top results was an advert for "Landlords Certification". On the associated website was the following:
"We are highly regarded as one of the best for consultations with landlords and handling landlords electrical certification and valuable information regarding their properties we take great pride and we are in are prime growth stage to deal with all issues that landlords occur with electrical diagnosis repair and inspection our engineers will solve any issue and give a landlord paperwork"

I just despair to be honest, these wonderful people are not even capable of basic English. I wonder what nationality they are.

 

[HappyHippyDad]

Are we saying that there will be an actual 18th qualification required now then? As in a C&G's exam?

I really don't think you need to start worrying. It took my scheme 3 years before they asked me to take the 17th. In addition, there's going to be lots of talk for the next few months about the 18th and all the changes but until it happens we won't really know how it affects us. Also, if we are required to make any bigger changes (which I personally don't think will happen, i.e like metal consumer units) then I would like to think there will be an overlap between the 17th/18th to allow us time to adapt.

As for the 18th edition exam/course (if there is going to be one), then like the 17th, you just do a bit a revision with the new BS7671 to make sure you can work your way around the book and then you pay to take the exam only (approx £100), rather than approx £300 for a course.

 

[NDG Elecs]

Hi Murdoch,

A few of your posts mention that you get a bit disheartened and question the point in doing it well when you see so much crap. I've felt like this once or twice already in the 5 years I have been in the electrical business but I expect you have been doing it a lot longer so have seen a lot more poor quality work.

I know it sounds a bit hippy, but part of your payment is going home knowing you've done the best you can (it feels good), so whenever I feel like cutting a corner because 'everyone else does it', I remind myself I'll regret that decision as I know I'll feel bad about it later.

And good on you HHD. I remember my lecturer at college saying that with electrics the job "will take as long as it takes", and don't let anyone make you cut corners.

The main thing that p15se5 me off with part p is the change 2-3 yrs back when the range of notifiable works was reduced rather than increased. When that happened I did mutter to myself what's the ©¢=#ing point....

 

[Toneyz]

What you also have to remember that there is a lot of electrical work that can be undertaken that is not required to be notified and therefore no need to belong to a scheme. Another question is when work is done by unscrupulous so-called electricians even when an EICR is done dodgy joints etc hidden away does not come to light until something happens.

They should still be installing to the latest version of the regs .......

Of course, any electrical installation should be.

 

[StephenRowley]

I think a lot of the time it's not that people feel hard done by paying for electrical stuff it's two reasons
1. There Builder tells them they know what they are doing and they beleave
2. They just dont know what certification they need or what qualification they need from the electrian.

 

[Squid]

Pair of shoes for me