Why bother!!!

[Retroviper]

What chance have we got when we have to do things by the book.

Below is a link from last weeks Times , Check the comment from Keith Welton , He hits the nail on the head dosen't he!!!

Beware: the hidden toll of adventurous DIY - Times Online

Why pay for a qualified Electrician when when you can get people like Mr Welton to come round and put a few sockets in using a old bit of lawnmower cable and connector blocks he found in his shed and he will only charge quarter of the price!!!

No one really seems to care about Part P , The customers just want it cheap or they think you are ripping them off, And it seems loads of people will attempt work without any real fear of reprisal.

 

[acat]

Shows how much value he places on himself and his family pity the ESC didnt give him a free PIR


Chris

 

[Risteard]

“Electrical work, for example wiring new sockets, must be done by an electrician registered with a government-approved scheme such as the NICEIC [National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation].”

What a liar. Pants on fire.

I agree with them encouraging people to use fully Qualified Electricians but to pretend that they must be club members is a downright barefaced lie.

 

[acat]

Ive added my own comments lets see if they have the bottle to publish them.


Chris

 

[mnmwill]

The only way to ensure that joe public doesnt carry out any electrical work in their homes is to deny them access to the materials which would allow them to carry out such works. There was a thread on here a while ago about this where one of the members couldnt even go and buy some cooking oil from a cash and carry without having some sort of trade card but then you have electrical wholesalers and diy chains selling everything you need to rewire a house. So the answer is to ban the public from buying, but who is going to that????

 

[Risteard]

The only way to ensure that joe public doesnt carry out any electrical work in their homes is to deny them access to the materials which would allow them to carry out such works. There was a thread on here a while ago about this where one of the members couldnt even go and buy some cooking oil from a cash and carry without having some sort of trade card but then you have electrical wholesalers and diy chains selling everything you need to rewire a house. So the answer is to ban the public from buying, but who is going to that????

Places like Australia do that. So there is no reason why it couldn't be done.

 

[baldsparkies]

Don't forget there are lots of electrical diy style jobs thet don't come under part P, ie changing a broken socket or light switch like for like, so the diy stores will continue selling with this in mind. Not to mention they are a profit based bussiness. The only answer is enforcement, media coverage and heavy penalties. Part P is like trying to get a woman pregnant after having a vasectomy, although could be fun trying

 

[Retroviper]

The only threat that joe public has is that something will go wrong but even if it does and nobody gets hurt no one is going to do anything about it unless he has charged people for the work and thats the sort of risk that people are willing to take.
We have all met them you know the guy who wired his shower off his ring main or cooker or something like that and just gives you the "Well its been ok for the past 5 years, I used to be a electrician" speech. And thinks you are ripping him off all the time by picking these sort of thing up.

 

[mnmwill]

I agree with the above, but why not limit what the public can buy?? If say for instance they could only buy cable in 5 or 10 m lengths, stop selling CU's, make wholesalers TRADE only so only genuine tradesmen could buy the necessary materials to carry out major works.

 

[Guest123]

I've just tried responding.......I wonder if they'll publish it.....

 

[Risteard]

I agree with the above, but why not limit what the public can buy?? If say for instance they could only buy cable in 5 or 10 m lengths

I would suggest that that might result in a ludicrous number of junction boxes being used. Probably better just to make it illegal for anyone who is not a Qualified Electrician to purchase any electrical accessories/materials etc or to work on electrical systems.

 

[Adam W]

Prohibition rarely works, it tends to just push illicit activity underground - stop the general public from going into B&Q and buying cable, sockets etc and some cowboy with the relevant credentials will exploit a gap in the market by acting as middle man and selling electrical materials on the black market.

The best way of stopping incompetent DIYers would be to stop them from wanting to do the work in the first place, possibly by highlighting the dangers of getting it wrong using real examples of electrical fires and electrocution caused by DIYers who thought they knew what they were doing.

 

[bramboy]

why dont we give the niceic some extra money so they can highlight the rights and wrongs to Joe Public. I might give them all my wage instead of most of it..In the mood for a moan

 

[Retroviper]

Thats the trouble with all the things that you have to include in your price , insurance , calibration NIC membership etc to get it done by the book , its easy for someone who has half a clue to undercut your prices without having any of the above.
I don't really hear about any authority following anything up that has been installed unsafely.

 

[Retroviper]

And Ebay is a great outlet for them too. Red and Black 2.5mm is going for 3 times as much as harmonised.