Part P - Building Regulations Electrical Safety 

Thanks for making these videos John. They're probably some of the most useful stuff on RU-vid if not the whole internet. I wanted to install some downlights in a hallway to replace a single ceiling rose type light. From what John says, I can. Without notifying anyone. It's not a new circuit. And not in a bathroom etc. It's a new build home and just adding a few downlights ... John, your videos are to the point, very clear and concise. I highly recommend them. Please keep it up mate! Absolutely brilliant.!!!

Thank you for all your help. You put my mind at rest. I sort of knew I could do it without belonging to any scheme but I was never 100% sure. You have been smashing all the way. Your videos are excellent and very concised. Sincerely you are doing and amazing job. Many thanks again and all the best john

Great video John - very clear! Many thanks for making it so quickly.

Excellent videos John, extremely clear and informative. Thank you for putting them together.

I love this guy's English. Crystal clear. He knows so much.

I have watched a number of your videos and found them very usefull and whilst I assume part P will have changed now the information is still usefull. My home was rewired many years ago by a "Qualified" spark and all I will say is i'm glad I am bright enough that I have been able to sort his mess out over the years. So registered cometant person sticks in my teeth.

Brilliant video and talk through. Thank you.

excellent in depth explanation. thanks again john :)

Hi, John. Something I’ve been unsure of for a while now and not particularly seen any answers directly reference is whether it is acceptable to replace a cable which is connected to the MCB of a consumer unit, as opposed to one in the middle of a ring or radial circuit, without any notification occurring. For instance, I have a simple circuit where an FCU is connected directly to DB and the cable requires replacement. If I replace the existing cable with one of an identical rating, is it still out of the scope of being regarded as ‘the installation of a new circuit ‘? Thanks for any advice.

Very interesting, this was a very useful clarification.

John you are amazing thanks for your help.

Great discussion on a confusing topic. Thank you for the clarity

Big help as always. Thank you very much.

So adding some sockets to an existing ring is not notifiable? Wow! Thanks for the info.

hi john i am a domestic appliance engineer in scotland i sometimes get asked to replace a cooker or an electric hob like for like for customers . i have a city and guilds 2240 in electrical and electronics .can i wire in a new hob or cooker , or do you need to be a qualified electrician i was thinking about doing one of these courses ie part p .. but as your video says it doesnt apply to scotland anyway ?

thanks for the videos im wondering, can i install a solar powered array with battery storage myself to power the goods and sockets in a self built home that is not tied to the grid?

Hi JW - just discovered your channel and have watched those videos (including this one, the termination of SWA and running power to a shed cable sizing and earthing considerations) that I thought relevant to help me formulate a plan for running power to my new shed/workshop. I am a much better informed chap now and have captured the key components of the system design. I am meeting with an electrician tonight (PartP) to discuss and my aim (if he is willing) is for him to check over my design and amend where necessary then for me to do the installation grunt work and then for me to call him in for inspection/test and final connection to the consumer unit and provide me (and notify the relevant authority) with test certification - I hope he is up for it. I am totally confident on doing the grunt stuff but I do not have the relevant test equipment to consider going down that route. I really hope he is up for that - it will be an easy fee earner for him.Anyway - thank you for your time and expertise in putting these many videos together - now I will go and watch some others.

Excellent suite of videos - keep them coming! Small point about "Part P". These parts are NOT the building regulations - they are "Approved Documents" (AD's) and are only one way of complying with the building regulations. The building regulations for England and Wales are now "functional" rather than "prescriptive" and there may be many different ways of complying - the AD's are merely an acceptable way of complying but there may be many more convenient/cheaper options which are perfectly acceptable!

Hi John, I note that these regulations apply specifically to England and Wales. What regulations if any apply to Scotland?

Nice 1 John!

There are a lot of Myths amongst the trade surrounding part p,Thanks for clarifying John.

Thanks , indeed to appreciate deep and perfect knowledge, you are master on subject, thanks for video upload.

i am a qualified electrician 40 years experience, C&G JIB apprenticeship and inspect/test C&G, have worked on commercial and industrial work{ and domestic pre 1992} but my local authority insist on a design qualification to enable myself to carry out an upgrade of my consumer unit to a high integrity type

Lovely explanation

Thank you John for your reply. In this case I assume I can periodic inspection as well, can't I ?

Thank you John for this clear concise explanation. I was going to notify the council about moving an existing circuit into a new detached garage from the existing house, this is not a new circuit as it already exists as an outside supply socket to a shed, so therefore not notifiable?

Great video!, i've got a question for you.... is an electrical water heater without the earth dangerous or is it already grounded via the water pipes? Thanks!

Hi John excellent videos. I have a question on part P. New circuits are notifiable. How is new circuit defined, is that one connected to the costumer unit? If I add a spur socket to an existing ring is that notifiable. If I add a spur out to a new outbuilding such as a shed or garage (through the appropriate armored cable) is that notifiable ?

Hi JW great vids. Very informative. I have one question if you dont mind. Who is ultimately responsible for notifying building control? The installer or dwelling owner? I have seen so much contradicting information. You mention its the installers responsibility to notify before starting work however I have seen email replies from my local building control stating its the owner of the property who is responsible. Seems to be a gray area in which every experienced sparks I ask is still not sure. If you could bring some clarity to this it'll be much obliged. Thank you

Hi John, very useful video, thank you. I have one question about what classes as a "new circuit". I'm looking to take out a traditional single light in the centre of the room with a set of LED downlights. This will use the same switch and go to the same CU but obviously it will be mostly new wiring, at least from the switch. Thanks, Tom

Hi John, with regard to non-notifiable work, it's worth mentioning that any alterations would still be subject to meeting the requirements of BS7671, so unless you have a good understanding of BS7671 and are competent to test and inspect your work in order to issue the required certification I would argue that any work carried out could never be classified as "safe". It seems Part P does not require, by law, the work to comply with BS7671 so perhaps this is the work around on this issue. I've never been sure on where BS7671 stands with the statutory requirements of electrical work but I would imagine if any work you did later lead to a claim for damages the court may well ask to what standard the work should have been done to, this being BS7671. If the work was not done to BS7671 then I would imagine there would be a strong argument for the claim to be upheld.

So if I understand correctly as a DIY am I allowed to put a spur in from a ring as this isn't defined as a new circuit provided I follow Part P (it's safe, properly done etc and not in danger of setting on fire) as this is not a notifiable set of work?

Hi john great vid please advice if you can. I'm in the process of registering with one of the schemes mentioned how ever they need me to show them a job Iv done I.e a fuse board changed and put my results on a blank cert do I need to let bc know or can I just self certify once I pass my assessment And help would be most appreciated

Very useful and clearly explained, thanks a lot.

the part P qualification is not a bad course if you have no idea, it covers installation and testing and does tell you what you can't do, it was however set up as a bit of a con and linked to hip packs where they were trying to get you to spend 2k every few years to have your house MOTd the only one I am aware of staying is the energy rating part. the HIP scheme essentially failed so the part P has been watered down. originally the way it was implimented was that a qualified electrician could design and wire a house but without part P he would not be allowed to alter that wiring afterwards which was a bit daft and many electricians were annoyed at having to do part P as well at the time. part P just meant that you could alter add and replace existing circuitry but not design so you could rewire your own house provided you pretty much stuck to the original plan but you could not drop a single 10mm radial in for a shower. which was a bit daft IMO. I understood why it was brought in but the way it was done was a bit daft. but a good little earner for those running the courses, the exam at the end even though multiple choice was sensible and quite hard if it was a first exposure to electrics and consumer units. as a kitchen fitter I did part P just to cover me incase the legislation went haywire, dad was a sparky so I grew up with it. still got my fancy tester, not sure if I ever needed it.

We are building our own house and my father is a retired electrician who used to self certify and will be doing the work. What would you suggest is the best route for us to follow as presumably my father us no longer "current" to self certify and if third party certifiers are so hard to find?

I am renting social housing I have a detached garage the electrical board is above the front door. what can I do to run a mig tig stick welders also a band sawand a pillar drill they are all single phase my welders are using some fifty amps on max I have also been told to run armer cable on the outside of my house to the garage using 10 mil cable is this OK .

Hi John, I must have read and re-read part P a dozen times and I'm still not clear on one big question: if choosing option C for notifiable work (inspection by a building control body), is there any requirement to be 'competent' i.e. qualified? From my reading, only the person inspecting it (the building control body) must be qualified. I've contacted my local building authority and they've basically fobbed me off as I don't have formal qualifications, but I'm wondering if they're permitted to or if they're obligated to inspect notifiable work? Thank you for all of your videos.

Hiya thanks for the vid, If you have the time I wonder if you could answer a query....no worries if not :-) My Mum has had a new bathroom put in by a builder who undertook the plumbing and electrical work too.He is not a qualified plumber or electrician.A bath and power shower were removed and a shower with pump put in ,an extractor above the new shower was installed that activates when the lights are turned on and new lights put in in a different position. I am happy that the electrical work he has done is non notifiable as the wiring for the extractor is in the loft above and the button on the wall to turn the shower on is low voltage. However, apparently he could not work out how to wire the extractor to run on a while after the lights go out so it just goes on and off with the lights....which doesn't inspire much confidence ........I think the original wiring for the old light was used for the new lights .... running from the extractor to the light unit and a new wire is running from the pull switch to the extractor. I cant see what he has done as regards the wire for the old power shower and the new pump. Anyhow my question is does this non notifiable work require by law to be tested and a safety cert' issued by part P qualified sparky ? Also he put new earthing clips etc on the pipes under the new sink ...do these require signing too? He assures my Mother that all is well and safe and there is nothing to worry about.....just thought I would check though . If there is a problem and any damage is caused would claiming insurance be a problem ? Cheers Dean

Hi John, any ideas how solar system feed/attached to the consumer unit? How the system decides when it should used off grid rather than on grid? Best, H

geeza, i just wanna know why throughout the 'electricians guide' it is referred to as part p but approved document a, it it written by a non English speaker? Do we just change everything all the time to make it difficult to follow. I'm not saying its hard but ive been studying a city and guilds during this lockdown at tradeskills4u on 'Zoom', which means ive practically had to teach myself, and im getting annoyed that nothing has been made clear for me and i take the part p exam tomorrow. i know alot of aspects of the book but you can never find anywhere mock exams with answers to go through to check your mistakes and everytime i find an mock paper it asks me a question i didnt expect which is the reason ive pretty much read the whole book. I find your videos helpful looking for more material as it seems im gonna have to teach the rest of the course to myself too thanks (excuse the rant but highly motivated, and have been messed about tht ive had to learn this course behind a computer screen)

Stumbled across this video and found it very informative. I had my home re wired a few years ago and assisted the electrician by running a lot of the cables chasing walls and lifting floors. At the time he ran a supply cable to my garage and connected it to a small consumer unit in the garage but not connected to the house. At the time the garage was full of furniture and stuff so we intended on doing the garage circuits at a later date. It has remained that way for years. I did fit a lighting circuit that is operated when needed via an extension cable from the house. I assume the garage would be classed as a new circuit and be notifiable work?? My question is can I run my cables for two sockets and the fluorescent lights then have an electrician wire it all into the garage consumer and connect to the house. Or can I do all the circuit in the garage and have an electrician connect the feed to the house.

Do you have to retake part p every 5 years and do you have to retake any other qualifications

JW, As ever a most illuminating article. I currently have a bit of a quandary after having a new spilt load twin RCD 6 way MK CU installed (replacing a 1938 wooden 4 way fuse box) back in Oct 2013. Not being advised to check the RCD's regularly after the new MK CU was installed and previously only having MCB's that I installed to replace the old wired fuses in my wooden "fuse box" I was not aware that I should be performing quarterly RCD checks. Having watched some UTube vids about CU's i eventually carried out an RCD test earlier this year. To my surprise none of the switched sockets were disconnected./lost power to them. Looking at the CU I can see that the lone sockets MCB (whole of houses 56 sockets which are mostly twins are on a single ring circuit/spurs.) is to the left of the RCD (MK CU) and therefore not protected. I am concerned as whether this is a legitimate configuration for a CU. As far as I have understood for Ed17 on the regs - CUs should have the socket circuits protected by RCDs. My CU goes left to right Main switch100A/Sockets B32/RCD63A/CookerB32/Up LightsB6/gap/RCD63A/Down lightsB6/Spareb16. There is no mention on the NAPIT BR compliance Certificate that the sockets are NOT RCD protected. Are there circumstances that would have allowed the Electrician to configure the sockets MCB outside od RCD protection.

Hi John. I don't want to be pedantic, but there are officially recognised 'Part P' qualifications out there, and by the same people who do the other recognised electrical qualifications - City & Guilds. The City & Guilds 'Certificate in the Building Regulations for Electrical Installaions in Dwellings' (up to Level 3 - Qualification code: 2393-10). That's a 'Part P' in all but name, however little it may seem worth, and however short the document itself is. Yes, it does, as you say, aid one in getting into a Competent Persons Scheme, along with other qualifications.

This is very different to here in Ireland where it is illegal for anyone but a registered electrical contractor (REC) to carry out most electrical work within domestic property. Such work requires testing and certification, which must only be carried out by a REC. The only permitted work that a non-REC can perform mainly includes replacing a light switch, replacing/reallocating a light fitting or adding adding a socket to an existing radial circuit. studylib.net/doc/18489649/restricted-electrical-works

If you make videos on wiring from A to Z I’ll be obliged

As a residential landlord, am I allowed to do the electrical work on my property or do I need a certified electrician to do the work? Thank you

A great presentation; thank you.

Thank you for another excellent video, I am looking into getting a qualification as a "Domestic electrical installer" As you mentioned part P seems very straight forward yet some of these course require 1 to 5 days of training just on part P. If you get a moment could you please recommend the most useful/pertinent route for the above qualification. Many thanks Russ.

It's interesting what you have said about Part P courses as City & Guilds 2393 - 10 Part P exam is a recognised certification.

Hi Jhon great job as usual. I have a question if I can get a reply will be much appreciated. I am a qualified electrical with 2391 and 2330 level one and two. I suppose I am considered as a competent person. I also worked with a company who were registered with NIC and I wasn't, doing testing and inspection. My question, can I certify my own work without being register with NIC ECA and so on. I look forward to your reply

Wow I didnt know that in Britain when you make the electrical system someone has to approve it.In my country its not mandatory to have electrical system even if its industrial.The power distrubution company puts the electrical meter and from there on is what you make.No restriction

John, you should have been a news anchor.

An utter scam. After having a house rewired by a so called electrician. CPCs cut off too short then not connected, loose connections throughout the house and I'm guessing none of the appropriate tests carried out as the shoddy work couldn't have passed. He'd cut the seals off the meter and not informed the supply company (the incompetent gas unsafe guy had also removed the meter and neglected to refit the rubber seals!). My background is in electronics and theatre installations so I'm more than competent to carry out my own work and test it. I'm not paying into a gooberment scam to find sub standard work signed off by the incompetent idiot who fleeced me. I even check gas work now as Gas Unsafe can't be trusted any more than the elechickens.

Two questions: 1. I'm currently doing some voluntary electrical work for a charity, I have installed a new distribution board in a former social club. The charity building is used by families. Is this classified as a commercial building? Is the work I am doing notifiable? (I did advise the person who runs the charity to contact the Local Authority, but as this mainly applies to domestic dwellings, I'm now unsure that I needed to). I am a trainee electrician, but I have a JIB card, and a fully qualified electrician is backing me up by helping me, at a later stage, with the inspection and testing as well as checking to see all my work is up to regulation standard. Having volunteers doing the work is helping the charity to avoid costs, as it is currently strapped for cash. 2. At 4.23 on your video, the building on the upper left, looking at the screen, has a green tick next to its ground floor business unit, indicating that the work is notifiable, but the two buildings on the right have grey crosses through their business units, indicating that they are not notifiable. I would be grateful if you would explain this more fully. Thank you.

Cum putem impiedica guvernu sa dea bani televiziunilor.

hi/ if you do the work yourself and opt for building control -- do building control produce a test certificate - or is it just a visual check ? thanks

Has This been updated

Are the building regs statutory or not?

Sweet ass hoodie dowg.

Hi john I am a qualified electrician but the company I work for employs a plumber that says he is part p qualified and can therefor replace electric showers so he is being allowed to replace showers so my question is he allowed to fit showers in tenanted properties with this so called part p qualification ?

you still around john ? )

The whole thing is completely idiotic. The diyer who installs electrical work will never have heard of part P, so how can it serve to protect anyone? The only way to protect such people from themselves would be to only allow fully qualified people (I do not include those who have done a useless short course) to purchase wiring accessories, cables, etc. But as such a rule would almost certainly lead to howls about the nanny state, it won’t happen.

Thank you for awful topic

biggest con ever, glad i am not in it..