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I have been told that you are not allowed to do any electrical work yourself in the UK and need a qualifies sparkie to do it all.

  • Is this true?
  • What can you do yourself?
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I'm always amazed at how many things you are not supposed to do at your own house because of permits. I get that the laws are there to protect the next owner but it's crazy when you feel like it's your house but you need a permit for the simplest thing. And the worst part is that it's so hard to figure out what is okay to do and what's not. – tooshel Aug 17 '10 at 19:17
@tooshel - the laws are there to protect you as well - or at least that's the theory. I don't know if there were lots of people killing or injuring themselves or starting fires through botched electrical work, but I think that's one of the reasons given for the change. – ChrisF♦ Aug 17 '10 at 20:42
@ChrisF The reason I say it's to protect future owners is because we (as free people) shouldn't allow laws that take away our freedom UNLESS that freedom imposes on someone else's freedom. That's a discussion for a different site though! – tooshel Aug 18 '10 at 20:05
Part of the problem was people burning down their neighbors' houses when theirs went up from shoddy electrical work. – nstenz Aug 26 '10 at 3:08

1 Answer

up vote 4 down vote accepted

You can still do electrical work yourself.

What you do need is to get a registered electrician to verify that what you've done is safe apart from some "minor" jobs like changing sockets or moving them a short distance.

What you might find is that a lot of electricians won't verify your work, so you end up having to get them to do the job.

I've found a check list on DIY Doctor of what you can do yourself and what jobs need to be notified and checked.

Installation of an additional socket - Notification not required

Installation of a new shower circuit - Notification required

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+1 - Most electricians won't sign off on someone elses work for liability reasons (at least here in the states). Plus, for a small job, getting them out there to inspect and sign off won't cost you much less than just paying them to do it. – Eric Petroelje Aug 17 '10 at 11:28
@Eric - I suspect that that's the reason here in the UK. The certificate only becomes a big issue when you come to sell the house. – ChrisF♦ Aug 17 '10 at 11:44
@ChrisF - again, much like in the US especially when it comes to local code – altCognito Aug 17 '10 at 15:04
@ChrisF - I would have thought that the insurance company would probably want to see the certificate, too - anything to get out of paying a claim :-) – pm_2 Aug 19 '10 at 17:52
@pm_2 - I hadn't thought of that! – ChrisF♦ Aug 19 '10 at 19:32
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