Worlds gone bonkers

[Carol]

Well have known that for quite some time now, but heard it all at a meeting tonight that we are not allowed to change a bl**** light bulb now unless we are a qualified electrician.   Whatever next.......   ::) ::) ::) ::)

[Carol]

[tim k]

it is a funny world we live in ??? ;D

[valmarg]

Yep, we are returning to the dark ages thanks to the EU!!

[kitten]

No wonder this country is going to rack and ruin  >:( ! Utter madness!   ::)

[ACE]

Because of the new electrical regulations, you will need to use a qualified electrician to put a socket or light in your shed.

I expect a few of  you are like me and DIY, but a word of warning, use the old coloured wire not the new.

If you have a fire in your shed even if it is nothing to do with your electrics, the insurance companies will not pay out, unless you can prove the work was done by an electrician and the new wire is a givaway.

[manicscousers]

good tip, sneaky but good  ;)

[Barnowl]

This thread is a bit of a coincidence - I have just been standing on a desk changing a light bulb in the office.

I'm not sure that this is actually illegal but, if anything were to happen to me, my employers would have no defence since they've ignored the"Health'n'safety" regs. But as I'm a Director I'd be one of those held responsible so could I have the fun of suing myself? ;)

[saddad]

I completely rewired my first house... everything this side of the meter! What a fuss about nothing... where can you still get old wire?
???

[mc55]

we're not allowed to change bulbs in projectors either ...

[katynewbie]

 >:(

Yep, absolutely bonkers! I work with the elderly, when I turned up to an old ladies house the other day her electricity had "gone".  I checked the trip switch and hey presto there was light and a boiling kettle! If my manager knew I would probably be b*******d, but I was not prepared to allow the lady to sit in the dark!

Ho Hum...

;)

[grawrc]

What are these new regulations then and where can we view them? I know about the legal requirement to have wiring etc done by a qualified/ registered electrician and quite frankly, having inherited houses with DIY electrics I'm actually quite glad. Light bulb changing however is just silly.

BTW I don't think the country is going to rack and ruin! :P
And I'm also pro European :P It's a young institution but there's a lot of smart cookies all over Europe so we'll learn and get better.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I can well understand needing a qualified electrician for any sort of electrical installation, but needing one to change a lioghtbulb is ridiculous,. Can you imagine having to call out an electrician every time you had a bulb blow?

[ice]

They're call the Part P regulations

http://www.niceic.org.uk/partp/partpindex.html

[Yellow Petals]

Can you imagine having to call out an electrician every time you had a bulb blow?

With the silly little lights we have, it would be every week or so they blow so often.

[Busby]

We'll really have to stop blaming the EU for everything.

Even if such a law did stem from the EU it is meant to save lives.

But, there is c ertainly no law saying you have to get an electrician to change a light bulb. You have to get an electrician to replace feeding wires - for safety's sake.

Europe by the way is forging ahead, leaving poor old GB floundering in the mud.

[cornykev]

:)Yes madness the oh won't let me use the electric iron she has to do it , EU REGS or something drives you bloody mad just got to sit and watch her do it crazy I know.  :o :o :o ;D ;D ;D :-X ;D ;D ;D ;D

[Melbourne12]

....
Europe by the way is forging ahead, leaving poor old GB floundering in the mud.

Gosh, I never knew that.  Just goes to show.  ;D ;D ;D

[redimp]

The new building regulation Part P, effective since 1st January 2005, requires most electrical work in the home to be carried out by a government-approved electrician, such as one registered with the NICEIC. Its aim is to stop the rising number of deaths from faulty electrics, much of which is undertaken by over ambitious DIY enthusiasts and cowboy electricians.

Under the new law, homeowners are still able to replace accessories such as light switches and sockets to an existing circuit, although there are exceptions for locations such as kitchens and bathrooms. An electrician registered under a government-approved scheme must undertake all other work. The alternative, for DIY'ers, is to notify a local building control body before starting any work and pay the appropriate fee for an inspection and a certificate after work is completed.

Sounds to me like the rumour mill has read the Daily Mail's interpretation of the new regs and spread them round like wildfire.  Please note that when it comes to the EU, there are many people anti for purely nationalistic reasons and will deliberately misinterpret new regs and spread this through sypathetic media (Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph, The Times) as being the absolute truth.

Amazingly, electricians have never been regulated despite faulty electrics causing an average of 12,500 house fires, 750 serious injuries and 10 deaths each year.

Sounds pretty good if you ask me.

[beejay]

Just about to post the same thing Redclanger. Of course you can still replace bulbs & even replace existing sockets etc in most circumstances. Essentially the regs apply to new electrical work!

[saddad]

Which is slightly logical... as the older stuff done pre new regs is most likely to start those problems... but we have to start somewhere!
::)