Part P and the law

[Dylan242]

Hi All
Im new here, have seen alot of good advice on here so am hoping someone can help clarify some questions I have about part P
I'm aware that a very small amount of work can be done with out having to get approval from the local authority, but am i breaking the law if, hypothetically I was asked to connect up a new shower for a freind, but it turns out the existing cable is 6mm and the 8.5Kw shower requires a 10 mm cable, so if the new cable is run and a suitably sized RCBO (40A 30 mA) is fitted in the CU is that breaking the law? And what can/would the local authority do about it?

Sorry if this post is a bit long winded, but to me this part P thing seems a bit of a farce really.

Thanks

Dylan

 

[telectrix]

why does it need a 10mm cable. is it covered in insulation?

 

[Dylan242]

Max load would be 36.95 A, and about 5m of the run is under 6" insulation and the bathroom wall is insulated too, so to be cautious i've gone with 27A being the max safe currnet (reference method 101) and have gone for the 10mm option.

 

[telectrix]

bloody insulation.

 

[Dylan242]

tell me about it!

 

[StuSpiers]

Yes you need to notify.

Will you get in trouble if you don't - no.

Will you be liable in court - debatable but I would say no if you provide a BS7671 cert.

Your call.

 

[telectrix]

by not notifying, you are technically breaking the law. if nothing goes wrong with the job, it's unlikely that you'll get any comeback.

 

[Spazz]

If your installing a shower in the same place and same rating as the old one then its not notifiable.

If you installing a new shower or one which is of different rating then it is notifiable.

Personally I always put 10mm on any new shower because you never know what the home owner is going to do in the lifetime of that shower. - they might upgrade it, cover the cable in insulation, etc, etc, etc.

For those of you above saying you might get away with it - you are ment to be a qualified professional so why on earth are you saying you might get away with it - its like saying you might get away with killing someone!

If it falls into the category above of notifiable then do it youself by all means but notify it to LABC.

 

[Spazz]

Have you got any test equipment Dylan? you should not be installing anything unless you have test equipment unless you can prove that the work you have done is safe!

Also make sure that the shower has an RCD protecting it and all bonding is inplace!

 

[AndyL]

Max load would be 36.95 A, and about 5m of the run is under 6" insulation and the bathroom wall is insulated too, so to be cautious i've gone with 27A being the max safe currnet (reference method 101) and have gone for the 10mm option.

Would it not be easier to move the insulation off of the cable?

 

[Spazz]

the issue here clearly is not the size of the cable. The issue here is can Dylan install a shower without notifying LABC - answer no he cant!

the size of the cable is a personal opinion - as long as he installs a cable which has the right current caring capacity - which a 10mm cable has - so the size of the cable is not an issue here

 

[Farmelectrics]

no install new cable as the insulation will be put or knocked back on at some stage when people are getting in and out of loft area

 

[AndyL]

the issue here clearly is not the size of the cable. The issue here is can Dylan install a shower without notifying LABC - answer no he cant!

the size of the cable is a personal opinion - as long as he installs a cable which has the right current caring capacity - which a 10mm cable has - so the size of the cable is not an issue here

But what i am saying is if he moves the insulation the cable may not need to be renewed so he is therefore just replacing a shower which is not notifiable

 

[Spazz]

I see what you mean - but remember that if a mouse goes in the insulation then there is high chance that the insulation will move - also as the insulation settles it will move.
The only way to be 100% that the gap is right is to pin the insulation back far enough from the cable.

Then because you have got the wall down you might as well do a proper job and install a new cable anyway!

Dont take short-cuts just to save a little bit of cash - it will come back and bight you later!

Plus he will have to please LABC - you dont want to do the work - issue an install cert and they com out to test it and see the insulation on the cert and a 6mm cable - they will fail it and tell him to redo it again!

 

[Spoon]

Doing an extention, modification or new circuit in the bathroom is notifiable. As you are modifying the shower then you should inform LABC