Rewire - leaving installation temporarily un-RCD protected

[DNS1]

Hi chaps,

Got a rewire to do for a friend, but having to do it in various stages due to the house being occupied and VERY full of "belongings"!

Was planning on doing the job over several weekends. The priority is both lighting circuits. I had to disconnect them a while back when I went to replace a light fitting and found everything was wired in rubber singles which fell to bits in my hands.

I was planning on running all the new circuits, testing, connecting to the existing DB (15th Edition I think) and when the rewire is done, fit a new DB.

However, this would mean I was installing new circuits, which in the meantime will not be RCD protected. Obviously it would be very handy to be able to use the new lighting circuit in the meantime, but I'm aware it wouldn't be compliant.

Ideally I'd install the new CU straight away and connect the new circuits to that when they're completed and tested, but it's not really an option as it's got to be installed in a small cupboard.

What does everyone think?

 

[telectrix]

if that's the way you need to do it, then i can't see a problem. even without RCD, it's safer than it was before, and it's only temporary. or, you could fit an up front RCD to ther old CU until you are ready to fit the new CU.

 

[nickpearson88]

Personally if it was me I would terminate the new circuits into the exciting board temporarily ( if its only going to be a couple of weeks) if your really concerned you could install a small 100A 30mA rcd unit to feed to board from the main incoming tails. When u install the new board you can keep the rcd unit for future jobs like this one

 

[Octopus]

Hum, does the existing house with dodgy old wire have a RCD? If not your "plan" over the length of the project will make the house compliant in the end.

Elecsa say you have to do the bonding before you can touch the old fuse board - are they mad? where do you fit 2 x 10mm GY in an old BS3036 board??

 

[KAS1]

Wouldn't the 10mm cables go to the MET not the old board?

 

[paul_h]

Stop worrying and just do as you plan. As long as the End result complies then your fine IMO. N as telectrix said even just rewiren it makes it more safer.....

 

[trev]

On rewires I've temped many a new circuit into an old board. Admittedly not for a few weeks but as long as everything is compliant in the end then it's like the rest of the guys have said, if you're worried temp fit an upfront RCD and jobs a goodun.

 

[amlu]

use a small temporary board, it will give you power for the time of the works, when you done installing and testing a new one you just swap the tails.

 

[DNS1]

Cheers for the tips guys.

Did partial rewire at the weekend and left it in a better state than it was before so happy to argue that if anything goes wrong!

In a couple of weeks it will be a 17th edition compliant install, in the meantime it complies with the older regs, but I've just replaced the old rubber singles with modern stuff.

Was very interesting working on a 1900s house! We found a load of lead piping under the floor from when it was lit by gas lights! Dragged out a fair bit of it, reckon that's got to be worth something at the scrappy!

 

[ETradesmen]

It was wired in rubber... Anything is an improvement!!

Buy the fuse board for the job > take out the RCD and temporarily use it in the 15th board as a main switch. (If you're concerned)

 

[Guest55]

an installation without rcd !!!!???

wait till the feds hear about this !

;-)

 

[rattlehead85]

You'd count yaself very unlucky if god forbid somebody was injured from the installation before you installed an RCD seeing as the existing state has been there years already. Having said that trying to say that the installation would have been compliant in two weeks from when you started and you had already connected up circuits without the correct bonding or protection would certainly not aid your defence in a court of law especially with a Mr 'know it all' H&S officer spouting the normal 'after the fact' bull.
Cover ya back and install an RCD unit at 30mA before the board until you do the swap over and do the protective bonding first.

 

[Dave 85]

Just do what you gotta do. You've gotta use a little common sense from time to time in life else you dont get very far.