House Rewire Via Building Control Route

Yes

 

It can be done as a diyer route, the word they use is 'competent'. You will need to inform the council, as long as the electrics get tested by someone on one of the schemes.

 

Expensive

 

Agree with Eric, DIY is a possibility, but the council will charge a fortune to test the installation and issue certificates and I don't think many private electricians would be interested in testing and issuing certs for work they have not done. Would be safer in the long run to get a sparky in who's already registered with one of the certification schemes.

 

It varies from council to council. Liverpool was great, Chester were a little more picky, Flintshire were very picky and also were wanting higher qualifications before they would let me start.

The rules changed to start with the councils could not charge for third party testing but it seems now they can. Also with third party testing you have to stop and wait for it to be tested which is really not what you want if you are living in the house you want power back on at the end of the day.

In Wales the fees are fixed by the Welsh Assembly but in England it is each council who fixes the rate. In Wales a full re-wire is not too bad but small jobs have the same charge.

The installation certificate is split into three sections design, installation, and inspection and testing and with LABC what you put down on the design is important. If you submit a detailed design and you follow the design then once they have passed the design that's it. But if the design is not detailed they can visit and ask for corrections. Do say what hight you are putting sockets for example.

In Wales it was £100 plus vat for first £2000 worth of work. I don't think that has changed. But nothing says if first £2000 at cost of material or cost of labour as well and if they say using an electrician it would cost £4000 then they can raise their fees. Liverpool and Chester allowed my son to inspect and test his own work. He had at that time a C&G 2381 and 2391 (before 2008) but Flintshire would not allow him to inspect his own work. They would however allow me to inspect and test with a degree in electrical and electronic engineering. And they never visited to check the work they just trusted my results.

If they get a third party electrician to test then you pay. But if they test you don't. So cost can vary a lot with that. My son did inspection and testing on house re-wires and typical would visit around 10 times during the re-wire. If an electrician was to visit your house 10 times with a minimum charge of £50 per visit then £500 + £100 + vat becomes rather expensive.

So unless you have the skill to complete your own installation certificate then really a non starter. Although you in theroy can re-wire yourself the provision is really for some one like me who is an electrician but not a member of a scheme.

But as I have said the Councils do vary a lot, so it is worth visiting them in person and asking them the cost. If they are unhelpful then it's a non starter, but often they are very helpful what makes a huge difference, if the inspector working for the council can inspect himself, that will really drop the price.