Minor works etc

Carpediem · Jan 6, 2013

Hello all, i'm new to the forum and new to the trade.

My dilemma goes as so... I'm currently in a rented property and after seeking the permission and money for parts from the landlady I am getting ready to install
a shaver socket in the bathroom (correct zone of course) and a second light switch for the lights in the lounge.

I've got a handful of C&Gs certificates after newly qualifying as a sparky and am more than happy with the jobs at hand but don't know were to start on what permissions or if i need to do any paperwork?

Thanks in advance.

Deleted member 26818 · Jan 6, 2013

If the shaver socket is to be installed in any zone, you will need to notify the LABC.
If it is not in any zone, you will not have to notify, unless you intend installing a new circuit.
The second light switch in the lounge doe s not require notification.
Yes paper work will be required if you wish to comply with BS7671.
Either two MEIWCs, one for each circuit, or an EIC covering all of the work.

HandySparks · Jan 6, 2013

spinlondon said:
If the shaver socket is to be installed in any zone, you will need to notify the LABC.
If it is not in any zone, you will not have to notify, unless you intend installing a new circuit.

Think you're jumping the gun here, Spin. The new edition of Part P doesn't apply until 6 April 2013.

Carpediem · Jan 6, 2013

Thanks for the prompt reply.

To clarify the shaver socket will be "Outside Zones" as i per the On-site guide but it will be a spur from the circuit for the boiler (which is part of the downstairs mains).

Curse BS7671, i'm gonna have to invest in a 17th edition tester before undertaking any work, am i not?

It was so much easier as a DIYer.

Deleted member 26818 · Jan 6, 2013

HandySparks said:
Think you're jumping the gun here, Spin. The new edition of Part P doesn't apply until 6 April 2013.

As far as I'm aware, although the Approved Document neglects to mention, the Statutory Instrument refers only to the zones, and has done for some time (at least since 2010).
Here's the relevant part of the schedule:
4. For the purposes of this Schedule--
"kitchen" means a room or part of a room which contains a sink and food preparation facilities;
"self-contained" in relation to a fixed building service means consisting of a single appliance and any associated controls which is neither connected to, nor forms part of, any other fixed building service;
"special installation" means an electric floor or ceiling heating system, an outdoor lighting or electric power installation, an electricity generator, or an extra-low voltage lighting system which is not a pre-assembled lighting set bearing the CE marking referred to in regulation 9 of the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994(1);
"special location" means a location within the limits of the relevant zones specified for a bath, a shower, a swimming or paddling pool or a hot air sauna in the Wiring Regulations, seventeenth edition, published by the Institution of Electrical Engineers and the British Standards Institution as BS 7671: 2008(2).

HandySparks · Jan 6, 2013

Do you have a link to this, Spin?

I can't find anything which currently limits the area of the special location to inside the zones of a room containing a bath or shower.

As you say, the current version of the Approved Document defines the whole of a room containing a bath or shower as a special location.

Edit: In fact it says (in note d to Table 2): 'In large bathrooms, the location containing a bath or shower is defined by the walls of the bathroom.'

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/BR_PDF_AD_P_2010.pdf