Moving the electric meters, 17th edt. cu and rewire (Absolute noob-Please be patient)

[onfire_82]

Hi,

I've just bought my first place, and it needs a bit of work, well kitchen, bathroom, replastering, central heating and rewiring (hence the post), oh and i'm trying to get a cloak room under the stairs, hence the meter move.

I've got EDF coming out to give me a quote to move the meter. Currently its mounted on a wooden board, thats screwed to the back of an old lader/pantry. The plan is to move it so its on the on the actual solid wall of the house still under the stairs (internally of course) it basically means moving it by 90 degrees. There seems to be enough length in the tails to move it without a huge amount of hassle. The house currently has a set up from the 1930's or so, and needs overhauling, which means i need to get an upto date CU fitted. Is it feasible that the EDF guy, can connect upto both the new CU (which i believe they have to do anyway, at some point) & old fuse board, which will overtime become redundant and can then be disconnected once the rewire is complete?

Lastly the rewire - I'm fairly happy to chase out for new back boxes/sockets/switches, and run the chase for the cables. The plan being that i lay conduit to the sockets/switches, and get the plasters in asap. That way the sparky i eventually get in to complete the rewire should be able to feed cables as he needs. Is this a logical approach? I know part M doesn't apply as its not new build, and i'm not going to be making the current set up any worse in doing what i'm proposing (sockets at 450mm above FFL, but swtiches will be staying at their existing position circa 1500mm above ffl)
Also do i need specific conduit, or will the normal PVC stuff be sufficent? It wont be burried 50mm below the plaster, i'm just confused as to what i need to do to make the sparky's life easier, and what i can do to keep costs down.

I'm probably going to be asking a lot of questions (if i can't find them on the forum alreads) over the next 3-6 months, so thanks in advance!
D.

 

[roukel01]

Re: Moving the electric meters, 17th edt. cu and rewire (Absolute noob-Please be pati

EDF wont connect into a Consumer unit. Ask them when they move the meter to fit an isolator, that way the supply can be turned off and an electrician can connect tails into CU's as necessary.

You will not be making an electricians life easier by chasing in some conduit and then plastering over it Before any cables are installed, in my mind this would be a big mistake. By all means, try and find an electrician who is willing to let you do some labouring, but have him there at the same time so that cables can be installed as the chases are made out.

 

[marky sparky]

Re: Moving the electric meters, 17th edt. cu and rewire (Absolute noob-Please be pati

get an electrician in before you do any work . i dont think anyone will want to try and get cables in already buried conduits

 

[Des 56]

Re: Moving the electric meters, 17th edt. cu and rewire (Absolute noob-Please be pati

He would probably need access directly over every switch or socket drop,so mountains of traps would need cutting

Your plan is not the usual way the procedure of installing cables is done,2 fixes are the norm
The plasterer follows the spark, who then follows the plasterer

 

[pw2374]

Re: Moving the electric meters, 17th edt. cu and rewire (Absolute noob-Please be pati

Hi,

I am just in the process of getting an electrical meter moved and hopefully I can give you some advise so you can avoid the pitfalls I've had.

I knew nothing about this process - I am just a poor novice so tried to sort this out himself by following the advice and guidance given by the distributor and provider companies – big mistake. The people in the offices you speak to haven’t got a clue – and they advise you wrong.

NOTE: Previously, your electrical distributor could undertake the entire job, including moving the meter etc. Not anymore – some kind of competition ruling was made so now your distributor is not allowed to mess with your electric meter – that has to be done by your electrical provider. But wait for it – you have to co-ordinate the two companies and manage them – they can’t talk to each other.

Some hopefully helpful notes:

1. They will not install or re-locate your meter internally (at least they don't in my neck of the woods, Midlands - Central Networks). They insisted the meter has to be installed outside the property (to allow for ease of access for meter readers).

2. You need to buy the external meter housing box and supply wire covering (hockey stick) yourself. In my case Central Networks or British Gas were not prepared to provide it - which wouldn’t have bothered me as they are cheap enough to buy! It would have been nice to be told in plain language “You need to go and buy these and get them fitted ready for us” but alas neither company could do this – Central Networks just said “We don’t supply it, talk to British Gas when British Gas were asked "Do I need to buy any parts or items for this job" responded "no we bring everything with us" - turns out you do. Be warned: call handlers in the office you speak to will not have a clue – make sure you speak to project managers or senior engineers – they will advise you correctly (wish I had insisted on talking to one!!!). British Gas defence of this despicable lack of knowledge on the part of their staff is “They wouldn’t have expected to need to clarify that ‘parts’ didn’t include the box and wire covering”… I don’t know, perhaps they are right and I am stupid for not knowing this – who knows.

3. You will probably be told you have to have your distributor, your electrical supply company and a qualified electrician on site at the same time – or they won’t do the work. Rubbish. Ideally they should be all together so all the work can be done at the same time and you are quickly re-connected with electricity but because neither company will give you a specific booking time, only a booking slot (i.e. 9 to 12 or 12 till 5) if you book both companies for the same slot you can guarantee - the one who needs to do his work first will turn up last - and the other company engineers will not have the time to do their work.

From what I now know:
1. Get a new meter housing\box fitted into the position agreed with your distributor (in my case Central Networks) yourself.
2. Get your distributor on-site first (AM slot) to install the supply cable into the meter-housing and link it to the points (for me this was Central Networks again).
3. Get your electrical provider to be on-site (PM slot) to either move or install your new meter into the meter box (British Gas in my case).
4. Your qualified electrician needs to be on-site at the time your electrical provider (British Gas) installs the meter so he can connect your internal wiring up to the new meter.

Hope this helps.

 

[pw2374]

Re: Moving the electric meters, 17th edt. cu and rewire (Absolute noob-Please be pati

Also, my advise is to get each company to put into writing exactly what they need to happen (in which order etc), what they are going to do, what they are NOT going to do and what parts they will be brinigng, and what work or parts you are responsible for. If the two letters contradict each other and you can get on the case and get them to clarify exactly what needs to happen.

This is also useful as if it comes to a dispute - they will not acknowledge their mistake and will take the old "Well it says in the Terms and Conditions" line. British Gas did for me which I wasn't impressed at.

 

[smartspark]

Re: Moving the electric meters, 17th edt. cu and rewire (Absolute noob-Please be pati

When a duel rcd 17th edition board goes in, you dont need to protect the cables any more as they are protected with the rcd, so dont worrie about the 50mm depth. As for getting a spark to push 2x2.5 t+e cables down a oval conduit will be a real pain and expect an extra charge. Like others have said, get the spark in to first fix the cables, he can then mark out the sockets and switches for you to chase out, then carry on at your leisure.

 

[Octopus]

Re: Moving the electric meters, 17th edt. cu and rewire (Absolute noob-Please be pati

I'd suggest you get 2 or 3 quotes from registered installers to give you an idea of the costs and hassle etc. Might save you costs and hassle later.

Where are you located? I'm sure that there will be members here that would be willing to pay you a visit etc

 

[Octopus]

Re: Moving the electric meters, 17th edt. cu and rewire (Absolute noob-Please be pati

When EDF call, ask them how long it will be before they will come and make the move? and generally they want their grand up front!

 

[BluSparx]

Re: Moving the electric meters, 17th edt. cu and rewire (Absolute noob-Please be pati

Hi On_Fire

Firstly as previous posts have said get a registered spark in, how would you know if you have taken chases in "safe zones" and met current building regulations with where accessories, cables and all the other bits go.

If this is a job your undertaking it is a big job for a "noob" to take on without any prior experience

Where about in the country are you based if it is local to me I can come and give you a quote and if your happy to do the chasing I will take that part out of the quote and help you keep costs down.

 

[Engineer54]

Re: Moving the electric meters, 17th edt. cu and rewire (Absolute noob-Please be pati

Hi,

Lastly the rewire - I'm fairly happy to chase out for new back boxes/sockets/switches, and run the chase for the cables. The plan being that i lay conduit to the sockets/switches, and get the plasters in asap. That way the sparky i eventually get in to complete the rewire should be able to feed cables as he needs. Is this a logical approach? I know part M doesn't apply as its not new build, and i'm not going to be making the current set up any worse in doing what i'm proposing (sockets at 450mm above FFL, but swtiches will be staying at their existing position circa 1500mm above ffl)
Also do i need specific conduit, or will the normal PVC stuff be sufficent? It wont be burried 50mm below the plaster, i'm just confused as to what i need to do to make the sparky's life easier, and what i can do to keep costs down.

I'm probably going to be asking a lot of questions (if i can't find them on the forum alreads) over the next 3-6 months, so thanks in advance!
D.

If you are really happy to do all the wall chasing and cutting out for back boxes, and providing suitable conduits from ceiling to switch boxes and floor to socket outlet boxes, then do so!! Just a couple of things you need to know here. The conduit will need to be round 20mm PVC (Not Oval Conduit), it needs to extend into the ceiling/floorboard cavity and into the back box, likewise where coming from floorboard cavities, the conduit will need to extend into the cavity and into the back box. Leave enough of a gap for the plaster coat over the finished conduit drops.

This is a good amount of work your talking about here, but should also save you money at the end of the day. You may well also provide floor board trap positions over the conduit drop positions, where floor boards run under partition walls. But it's not necessary over every conduit drop, as the electrician will need to lift floorboards to run his cables in anyway.

As i see it, the mess from chasing these drops and back boxes as well as the plastering will be over by the time the electrician comes to install your rewire. I would in the first instance get the usual amount of quotes from electricians. On finding the right electrician, you can ask him if there is anything else you can do in the way of labouring, both prior to his start date to make his task easier and during.

One thing he'll be very grateful for, is the removal of carpet and furniture from his main work areas, and help shifting around the same, while he is working.... Oh and plenty of coffee or tea!!!