MattN

Having moved in to a new house all he lights are just a bit of flex and a bulb. Not nice to look at and bit bright.

Saw some lights I liked but my mate who was with me at the time said I'd need an electrican to install them as all electrical work requires certification. PAR 5 or something. I've never heard of it but then again I don't normal read up on this sort of thing.

I'd hve thought changing a light fitting in your home was up to you.

Anyone know the truth?

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

AFAIK, changing a fitting, light, or socket etc, can be done by the homeowner.

Alcazar

kingofturds

iTrader: (1)

think the new rules came in last year,however if you started the work before the date its perfectly legal.......

hades

From memory - someone more familiar may be along in a minute:

Part P (IIRC) of building regs is relevant. Things such as light fittings your are allowed to do yourself unless they are outside, in a kitchen or in a bathroom. If you want to do anything more major, or anything external/kitchen/bathroom - you can do it yourself, but you have to get it checked by a qualified electrician.

Of course, if you want to do something yourself - who's to know? As long as you are competent enough to not risk yourself / you house, there is no reason you couldn't. Would be fine right up until the time you come to sell the house again, where you either lie on the legal documentation and hope to get away with it, or pay a sparky to check it all out.

MattN

Part P that's it.

I know some competent people (I'd set fire to something!) who can do it but thought if it's law, may as well get a sparky in to save hassle in the long run.

RON

If you can find a spark who'll turn up for such a small job.....???? someone competant will suffice..... i did the entire electrics in my new house...... no problem... oh, and i'm an upholsterer by trade....

ewanrw

Any electrical work done in the home must be done by an electrician or inspected by an electrician.

Got any mates that are electricians ??

ewan

Chip Sengravy

What a load of old bollocks this part P is.

Things you need to check:

earthing is sufficient, if your new fittings have any metal, and there is no earth ( possible if your house is a 60's jobbie and not rewired) then you can forget it.

your new fittings will just have a connection for live, neutral, and earth. The ceiling roses you will be removing have more connections than this, there is a lighting loop running round the ceiling, and off this will be switch feeds and switch wires. The cables will not be identifiable other than what terminals they go into, if you dont have a basic grasp of a ceiling rose, or are a cabbage in general, then I would say get a sparky in. The chances of you frazzling yourself are minimal ( you will kill ALL thy power ), but the chances of fire or not having any lights untill you can get a spark out are quite high if you dont know what you are doing.

speye91

Part P .... sounds like old wiring thats needs renewing.Just had a re-wire done had to get building reg inspector in and he laid down all the regs that had to be complied to .If u do a rewire u will need a part p certified electrician and he will give you a certificate that u produce if u ever sell the house on 2 n.. e.. body or they can sue u if any thing goes wrong.. best contacting local authoroty and asking about part p and they will direct u in the right direction .IE mains smokes and earthing and new cabvle regs ie colors sa the standard blue/brown/earth ,dont compy now

mick

speye91

its called the ring main and there is 2 cuicuits running on it upstairs and down and these r both the sane coulor ...red and black with earth(yelllow and green)

Chip Sengravy

No it's not, it's called the lighting circuit, and it's a radial. Don't bish-bosh out spurious electrical advice *****-nilly mate, if you are not qualified to do so.

logiclee

Totally wrong.

As has been said lighting circuits can be radial, a live switched return maybe balck or red. The existing wiring will probably be black and red but the new harmonised colours are blue and brown, you can have a mixture.

Changing a light fitting is OK, anything more isn't worth risking a shock or a fire.

Cheers
Lee (Electrical Engineer 20 years)

Chip Sengravy

you will need to replicate the wiring in the circle above, and include an earth to the circle underneath, more than likely with connector block in the new fitting, 4 terms. forget 5A stuff, use 15A, it's bulkier but more durable, make sure you double over the copper where neccesary to fill the terminal, and dont go mad with the screwdriver as this anneals the copper and makes it brittle where it enters the terminal block :



red is now brown, black is now blue, and if the above is rocket science, get a spark in

G00ner

Thanks for the advice, I'm just off to rewire all the lights in my house with my new found knowledge.

Should I keep a bucket of water near me in case of fire?

MattN

Thanks chaps.

Should have mentioned it's a new build so all wiring should be bang up to date/spec. I'm pretty confident I can do it found some useful infor and had a look at one the lights and it lloks easy enough.

Thanks again.

PG

LMAO! The Scoobynet advice bureau at its best.

ODB

iTrader: (1)

Part P only really kicks in when you are having rewiring done or additional add ons onto the original Fuse Box. Mind you though from the numbers of failures in regard to Part P compliance I've heard about I'm not sure that most electricians know what they are doing either.