Which Electrical Course? I'm NOT going be an electrician

[dontknowitall]

I do not wish to become an electrician!!! Nor do i want to be an apprentice. I'm a plumber and happy with that!!!

I've had a trawl through some threads and looked on a few training websites but can't really find what I'm looking for. I'd be grateful for some ideas please!

My wife and I are thinking of buying a small house to renovate. Between us we can do plumbing, flooring, dry lining, plastering, carpentry, tiling, decorating, curtain making, etc, etc. (We can't/won't do building work on the structure or drains and stuff like that - just internal work.)

I passed the Part P Defined Scope about three years ago but have forgotten most of it as I've used my electrician when required during my plumbing jobs (anything to do with the consumer unit or installing new cables, switches, etc.) (I can wire and diagnose/fix faults on S-Plan and Y-Plan systems.)

However, despite the above I'm looking for a short electrician's course to learn and re-learn about wiring, first fix, replacing the consumer unit, the boring earth bonding stuff (I have a mega meter but forgotten how to use it) and so on. I believe that the LABC can test and sign off work or if not I think my electrician will probably be happy to test and do this for me.

Which course would you recommend? Any answers gratefully received!

 

[Mr.Si]

Tinkering with electrics in the home is dangerous. In fact it has and will continue to cause death because of people mistakes. If we get a professional in to do a professional job the risk is reduced to almost zero. Maybe I am mis-understanding your need for learning this but it seems you want to do the electrics and have someone else test it. I am not sure any professional will want his name on work that someone has done after going on a course to learn a bit of theory behind it. Still follow?
Why not just pay a professional and get a good job?

Have to agree i am afraid. Electrics is no longer a DIY thing. It's great you have all those skills. I never will have all of them, that's for sure. However you are a plumber if i read that right. Are you a Gas Engineer too? If not i bet you are aware of the dangers... Electricity is the same and majo jobs such as re-wires and cu changes require a LOT of training, not a short course.

If you want to do electrics in your home... You may aswell do the c&g 2357 course. Or don't do it.

A "part p" course will not give you enough.

I hope that isn't too unfriendly for you but we on here have been concerned for far too long about people doing quick courses in order to do some electrics. It is then that shorts or bad habits or mistakes can happen and then death is all too common an outcome.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S II via Tapatalk

 

[dontknowitall]

I wouldn't expect my electrician to come and test my work on the basis that I'd put in all the wiring and then ask him to come round and test it. That is unfair and could put his livelihood at risk. I was thinking much more about the LABC route (we are going to be doing more than one house.)

The question still stands: Which course?

 

[dontknowitall]

Mr.Si

Thank you!!! Hugely!!! 2357. Or not, of course! :46:

Your post was not at all unfriendly and I have read it as you meant it to be read - advice given with good intention.

Being in the construction world, I know that electricity's dangerous and not a DIY thing. This is why I was asking how I could better myself.

 

[Octopus]

I wouldn't expect my electrician to come and test my work on the basis that I'd put in all the wiring and then ask him to come round and test it. That is unfair and could put his livelihood at risk. I was thinking much more about the LABC route (we are going to be doing more than one house.)

The question still stands: Which course?

So the truth is out "we are going to be doing more than 1 house"

So if you're going to be doing houses up to make money why do you think that taking chances on the electrics is going to help you.

Thats a bit like ordering a £10K kitchen and then keeping the 1950's cabling and socket fronts.

Daft.

Now on a positive note why don't you work with a sparky, offer to do the back box bashing and help him/her with the cable pullling etc - that would save you money and get the job done correctly.

 

[dontknowitall]

Surely the fact that I want to improve myself and learn more shows that I'm not taking chances on the electrics?

I have not dismissed working with my electrician. In an earlier post I said: "It could be that I work with the sparky but I want to learn more about the theory beforehand."

What is wrong with trying to learn more? It's not all about saving money. Or is there a law saying we cannot learn?

 

[OllieNotts]

How quickly do you think you will learn enough to start wiring up houses? To do the new 2357 you have to be in the trade to complete it as there is an NVQ involved so if you arent a sparks mate or whatever you wont get on it anyway.

 

[Octopus]

I'm still not believing your intentions.

I refer you back to my post #7

And if I have issues with our plumbing I pay a plumber to fix it. I don't know enough about plumbing and that's something you can see!

 

[morph]

local fast track training centre would offer you a short course that would probably fufill your needs

 

[Adam W]

Is there a course I could do as an electrician to learn how to plumb my own house if I didn't want to be a plumber?
I don't know about plumbing but with electrics you should be aiming to wire the odd house every now and again on a casual basis to the same standard as if you were making a career out of it; therefore the 2357 would be the best course, regardless of the scale on which you use the knowledge.

Other than that you'd be looking at some kind of domestic installer '6 week wonder' course. There are plenty of threads on the forum on the matter of those....

 

[dontknowitall]

Thanks Morph. That's the sort of thing I was looking for but wanted to ask here first rather than being hood winked into something I didn't really need.

 

[dontknowitall]

Is there a course I could do as an electrician to learn how to plumb my own house if I didn't want to be a plumber?
I don't know about plumbing but with electrics you should be aiming to wire the odd house every now and again on a casual basis to the same standard as if you were making a career out of it; therefore the 2357 would be the best course, regardless of the scale on which you use the knowledge.

Other than that you'd be looking at some kind of domestic installer '6 week wonder' course. There are plenty of threads on the forum on the matter of those....

Yes! Plenty of fast track courses "6 week wonder(!!)" around which will give you the basics. Plenty of threads on the plumbing forum about those as well - in a similar vein to the threads on here (believe it or not!) That is, might teach you the basics but you need the experience.

 

[Adam W]

There's your answer then - you could spend a fortune on a fast track course with the intention of learning the basics, but not many people here would recommend them.

 

[telectrix]

personally, i think your best bet would be to involve your electrician, help him with the installation, thereby learning the some of the practicalities, saving him paying out for labour, and , as he will have been involved with the job from start to finish, he will be able to certify it, saving you a LABC fee of around £300.

 

[dontknowitall]

personally, i think your best bet would be to involve your electrician, help him with the installation, thereby learning the some of the practicalities, saving him paying out for labour, and , as he will have been involved with the job from start to finish, he will be able to certify it, saving you a LABC fee of around £300.

This is probably the route I will take but I do find it amazing at the flak I've received from others for daring to consider doing a short electrician's course despite the fact that I have a Part P qualification and some experience in electrics.

Many thanks, Telectrix!!

 

[alarm man]

This is probably the route I will take but I do find it amazing at the flak I've received from others for daring to consider doing a short electrician's course despite the fact that I have a Part P qualification and some experience in electrics.

Many thanks, Telectrix!!

to be honest mate,i dont doubt your a decent bloke and tradesman ,but your part of the problem,not the solution.