Building Work – Electrical Installation Article

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Building Work – Electrical Installation

Author: Carolyn Clayton

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Within the UK when building work is carried out it must comply with the set out building regulations and as of the 1st January 2005 this includes all electrical work that is carried out within a domestic setting.

The new regulations that were introduced for electrical installation as part of the building regulations are known as Part P. The Part P of the building regulations are legally enforceable. The Part P of the building regulations was introduced to reduce the number of deaths, injuries and fires which are caused by faulty electrical installations. These new regulations mean that electrics won’t be left in unsafe conditions.

When the Part P of the building regulations were first introduced in 2005 there was controversy surrounding some of the work that was carried out by non-professional people such as people who wish to carry out work themselves. This is because it stops people from doing DIY work as under the new regulations the commencement of any work other than simple changes has to be notified to the local building control authority. What is meant by ‘more than simple’ is any work that is more than merely adding extra lights or sockets to an existing circuit.

In order to ensure that you are able to get any electrical work done in a timely manner and to coincide with the new regulations, the government approved several professional bodies to award "competent persons" status to individuals and this allows them to "self-certify" work they carry out. So what exactly is a competent person? It is a firm that has been approved by one of the government approved part p schemes. It should also be noted that these registered firms do not have to notify a building control body of any proposals to carry out electrical installation work.

As previously mentioned, one of the main reasons as to why the Part P regulations were brought about was to cut the amount of people who are killed and injured as a result of electrical installation. Every year on average ten people die and around 750 are injured in accidents involving unsafe electrical installations in the home. Also around 2,336 house fires were caused by faulty installations in 2003.

Some of the main risks associated with deaths and injury caused by faulty electrical installations include electric burns, shocks and injury arising from electrical fires. Installations that are properly designed, fitted, tested and commissioned in accordance with British Standard BS 7671 (a requirement of Part P) will help minimise these risks.

In 2006 the Part P of the building regulations were amended to make it clear to people that the responsibility for issuing the necessary certificates (a Building Regulations Completion Certificate) and any inspection required to safely issue that certificate must be determined by the building control authority. Also all of the inspections that are carried out that are carried out by the building control authority are paid for by the building control authority.

If you do have any electrical building work that needs to be carried out then it is important that you hire the help of a professional in order to ensure that all of the work is carried out in a professional and safe manner.

About Author

Helen is the web master of ARCH Building Solutions, home of all your building Regulation and Electrical Installation needs.

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