amazing, almost on topic

I got the impression he did his best to avoid them, hence the
ludicrously long working hours.

 

I'm more interested in how the HID bulb trial is going. I expected a
full tech report by now. Gotta say I don't envy the boy working in the
wonderful topsy turvy world of Vodafone.

 

I looked at doing a C&G in electrical installation a couple of years
ago.
Two parts, 36 weeks and 12 weeks, as either day release or evening
classes. Day release wasn't going to happen, but the evening classes
were 6-9 mon-weds, which would have taken some serious dedication on top
of a full time job.

 

Oh is this so true!

One case springs to mind where the council sent their electrical
inspector[1] to check out the wiring for a stage show run by an amateur
dramatic group I know.

He didn't know the difference between power and signal and video cables.
He insisted that 15 amp metal plugs and sockets behind some 3 kw
electric removable wall mounted fires were replace by 30amp plastic[2].

It went on and on. The electrical guys who were responsible for the
light sound etc were both ex RAF electrical aircraft fitters who did
know what they were doing.

The part P thing is a way for raking in a lot of money each year by the
NICEIC and forcing Mr Average to use cowboys who have got a certificate
and think they can now charge what they like.

[1] Cheapest contractor on the list who was doing *bad* house wiring
before he became "a professional".

[2] These are now very close to melting. Plus he charged a fortune to
install them as the council insisted he did the work.

 

?

 

Because you should in theory, care more about your house than he does.
There are loads of jobs where there are several ways of doing it - the
"best" way (invariably the most time-consuming or complicated) and
several other layers of "perfectly acceptible but not ideal". All other
things being equal, a pro would most often take the route that involves
the least hassle. If it's *your* house and you care about it, and you'll
be the person who has to undo the shortcut in the future when it's time
to do another job, then you're much more likely to choose the "best"
route.

It's the same as motorbike mechanics - would you rather trust your bike
to a random bike shop, or one of the spanner-wielders from this group
(piss-taking aside)? Tales of bodged or just imperfect maintenance jobs
by professional outfits are rife, and it's no different at all in any of
the trades.

Then you're obviously not really cut out for DIY. Which is fair enough.
I'd probably choose to get a man in myself if I thought I was likely to
deliberately bodge stuff myself. That's why I don't do my own work on my
bike.

 

Very droll, but nobody said that. I have a copy of 16th edition IEE
regulations and On-Site guide here, and my work conforms fully to it and
I'd be happy to have it inspected by anyone competent (as will almost
certainly happen when I move house). But, yes, there are many
professional and ex-pro tradesmen, Building Control Officers, electrical
engineers, etc. in uk.d-i-y who are willing to discuss the merits of the
different ways of doing a job and it's an excellent resource.

Tell me, do you also believe that all Microsoft Certified Professionals
are better programmers than those without? Would you trust your bike or
car to any random person with an appropriate City & Guilds
qualification, or would you rather seek out someone who actually knew
what they were doing?

 

A clever thief obviously left it. They're waiting for him to fill it
with all his garden tools, then they'll come back and collect
it in the middle of the night.

 

Fair enough. I enjoy the sense of achievement, and producing a tangible
end-product that I can stand back, admire, and be proud of. It's an
entirely different sense of acheivement than I get from my day job.

I'm not suggesting you shouldn't trust it to professionals at all if you
want. I'm just suggesting that an amateur with the right knowledge and
the right approach is likely to do as good or better a job than a
professional.

If you **** it up (unlikely if you've gone to the trouble of learning
how to do a job properly in the first place), then do it again. Most of
the skills aren't actually very difficult to learn; I remember
practicing making soldered end-feed joints on a bit of scrap pipe a year
or so ago. From the first one, they were all perfectly watertight and
all looked a damn-sight neater than the existing joints in my house that
were done by a professional. The physical acts of wiring and plumbing
aren't, for the most part, skills you need to finely perfect and hone
over years. The knack is in having the right knowledge and information
available to do the job properly before you start. And the same books,
guides and regulations that are available to professional tradesmen are
also available to the public.

Anyway, it seems like we are just going to have to agree to disagree on
this. I will concede that many people have an attitude or approach
that's not conducive to doing this sort of work competently. But there
are very many people who do. Horses for courses.

 

Because people like yourself won't want to trust the fact that I've done
extensive rewiring work myself in the past, and won't want to/be able to
judge it's competency. So either they'll have to pay for an independent
inspection or, depending on how desperate I am to sell my house to them,
I will.

 

but how will anyone buying your house know that you or anyone else has
done any rewiring work?

I'm moving house at the moment, and viewing a lot of properties. Not
once has it occured to me to check the wiring of any of them (and most
of them are 80-110 years old).

 

Because from 2007, you'll have to tell them (part of the "Buyer's
Information Pack" thingie that is begin brought in). I could lie and say
the work was carried out by a pro, or I could possibly get away with
saying it was done before I bought the house. But there's no real point
in telling porkies if the work is up to scratch.

The surveyor might suggest you get the wiring inspected after you have a
survey done. Ours did when we bought our place, but I didn't bother as I
knew I'd be replacing the shonky old 60's fuseboard with a shiny new
consumer unit anyway.

 

Gentlemen, please, this *is* usenet. You can't agree to disagree.

<ding ding>

Round Two.

 

good point. I'd forgotten all about that.

Luckily I'm hoping to move in 2006.

 

Acksherley, you don't have to tell them whether it's been rewired or not.
The HCR will look at visible wiring defects and status, but there's no
questions on the vendor forms about same. However, if you have had work
done, and you have guarantees or warranties for same, then these should be
included in the HIP.

Why yes, said she, I do work in the industry and can bore for Britain on the
subject.

Ali

 

Really? That's brilliant news, that. Ta. TBH, I thought it was going to
be a right pain.

 

Post at the bottom love and do you have any naked pictures on the net?

 

Right you are; A fight to the death it is. I hereby nominate Bear as my
champion.

 

Have you actually seen that Gladiator?

 

Good point, best forget that idea then. Welease Bear. And Woger.