Part P should be more like Gas Safe
with Corgi, now Gas Safe... and before anybody argues, it has been checked with Gas Safe.. and not just me, others have previously checked with them and surprisingly its true.
Homeowners, are allowed to do gas work in their own home.. providing it is the homeowner carrying out the work, and no money is exchanged.
I.e cant get your "mate" in to do it, a family member, or do work around other peoples houses, without being gas safe registered and no money must be exchanged.
But, as a homeowner, in your own house, you are allowed to do gas work, and by doing so accept responsibility.
Condition is, you have to show competency by doing the job to the most recent set regulations, and it must be fault free.
If something goes wrong, then you have demonstrated your not competent and are liable for prosecution, therefore up ****s creek... and to be honest you only have yourself to blame.. because if you dont have adequate knowledge prior to doing the job you shouldnt be doing it.. most people wouldnt touch their cars without knowing what to do.
but the process of doing the job to regulation, and fault free is deemed proof of competency for that particular job carried out.
Of course, they dont disclose this and as far as most people are aware you need to be gas safe registered... and they arent going to tell you otherwise!
but the reason why most people are less willing to play around with gas is because the risks and dangers are more clear cut, most people know.. gas leak, explosion risk, fire, carbon monoxide poisoning.. death, and they know if theres a gas leak they smell it.
but people dont think so much.. electrics, fire.. electric shock.. stops the heart... the dangers to a homeowner arent so obvious.. and they will draw a link between a gas leak and fire.. but not.. bad connection, fire.. to them a bad connection just means it wont work or the lighting might flicker a bit... certainly wont smell it like gas unless its burning.
But part p should be more like gas safe in the respect outlined above because .. ok ... most of electrical work.. ok fair enough it should be tested to be able to say its safe generally, and you have to have a knowledge of the regulations.
However for a homeowner who is willing to educate themselves, buy a copy of the regulations, ask for advice... use a bit of common sense.. it is possible to a homeowner to do a job to a safe standard, and to regulation.. just as it is for somebody to do gas work to a safe standard... and at the end of the day, as a homeowner.. anything goes wrong your liable for prosecution so the risk is yours..
and I think a lot of people have the feeling.. my house.. I do what I like... Its my hard earned money, whos the government to dictate what I can and cant do.. whether thats right or not to feel that way its probably the feeling of a lot of home owners..and some people simply dont earn enough to keep paying people to do small jobs.. all money.. and Gas Safe, previously corgi takes that into consideration and gives the homeowner the leighway to do things themselves without it costing huge amounts of money by paying people or the lengthy and costly route of involving building control..which quite frankly is a faff.
because to be realistic, not having a certificate for something like a consumer unit change should not prevent you from selling your house.. you should be able to have a PIR done.. that demonstrates the electrics are safe, and will highlight any problems... you should be able to get a PIR to say the electrics are safe and what remedial work is required.. and that should be the end of it... to say you can have a PIR that says your electrics are safe.. but you cant sell your house because you lack a certificate for a socket addition or something is ludacris.
What the government needs to do is,
Take the route of Gas Safe with Part P,
- allow homeowners to do electrics.. providing its done to regulations and fault free
- tighten up with prosecutions when things do go wrong, and take an iron fist approach.. because simply put, if people start seeing others getting prosecuted for dangerous electrics it will put people off doing it in the first place without proper knowledge and advice... where Gas is concerned you would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law if your house had a gas explosion.
- dont publicise actively you can do it yourself
- educate the public better on the risks of electrics, possibly with startling adverts showing how a fire can develop from a loose connection.. scare tactics.
The above would minimise bad DIY electrical work, whilst allowing those who are competant to carry out work.. and because Part P registration is required just as it is with Gas when working in other peoples houses.. route out cowboys.
at the moment Part P is nothing short of a joke, the law says you cant as a homeowner do electrical work, homeowners pretty much ignore it, no homeowner has been prosecuted for dangerous electrics... was a case I read about the other day, Romanian Family.. moved from spain or italy to Romford in Essex,
The husband fitted a heater in a bathroom, so presumebly that included a socket as well... heater fell in the bath killed his wife and 3 year old child.
Presently the police are investigating it as an accident, but it should be nothing short of manslaughter he should be prosecuted for... has part P stopped this kind of thing going on by homeowners? NO
So why try and regulate homeowners in this way, however if he was prosecuted for manslaughter to the full extent of the law it would be an example to other people why you dont mess with electrics without knowing what your doing... that would cut back the dangerous electrics.
PIR should be required when selling a house, but that should be all that is required.. because to be honest if you can identify faults with house wiring, and whether a rewire is required with a PIR.. then if there is anything wrong it will pinpoint it and allow for rectification... then when complete that should be enough to say the electrics are safe... make that a requirement.
And introduce PIR as a condition of home insurance every 10 years... Businesses have to have it every few years, so it wouldnt be un-reasonable for it to be required every 10 years for the homeowner.. bearing in mind most electrica systems only have a life of 20-25 years before upgrades should be carried out to maintain safety.
Regulating the trade, great.. like Gas Safe, Educate the public on the dangers, prosecute homeowners who cause injury, but allow homeowners a bit of leighway like Gas safe... because also, the more the government tries to regulate this area the more people will rebel against it.
how many people come on places like this "pretending" to be electricians just to get help.. surely thats worse than them just coming out and saying look, im a homeowner, ive got a bit of knowledge but need some help and advice.
but they dont come out and say that, they pretend to be an electrician because they know they arent supposed to be doing it, which in many ways is more dangerous, than if they came out clean.
Other cases ive seen on other forums when electricians flat out criticise somebody for having lack of knowledge.
Sugest they get an electrician by all means, and dont give out information in an irresponsible manner.
but ive seen on other forums.. electricians shout and complain get an electrician.. flat out refuse to help... and in the end the person just does the job without the help and advice, which could of been the difference between them doing the job safely or dangerously... lol if the person ignores the advice to get aan electrician.. then shouting at them to isnt going to change that.. they will just do it in a dangerous fashion anyway.
