Are they trying to kill off DIY?

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JohnD
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Are they trying to kill off DIY?

Post by JohnD »

The latest regulation this bloody government is going to bring in starts on 1st January. From that date, we are forbidden to do electrical work in our own houses. During the lifetime of the present lot, we've been banned from doing our own gas installations and virtually stopped from fitting replacement windows. How long before we've got to get rid of our paint brushes and spanners?
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Post by Stuart McB »

'How long before we've got to get rid of our paint brushes and spanners?' If my Mrs was in charge it would have been done already
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Post by bxbodger »

There's nothing to stop you doing your own gas installation- I replaced my house boiler with no problems 6 months ago. It's frowned upon because of political pressure from CORGI, who would like a monopoly to charge what they like for doing the installation. They are basically a gas installers pressure group and there are a lot of very good installers who have worked in the industry for years who have basically been forced to join because the public are scared of anyone who is not a CORGI fitter.
I just walked into Wickes and bought one off the shelf, fitted it that day and it's been fine ever since!!
Some people may be paranoid about doing this sort of thing, but the way I saw it there's only one gas pipe going into the thing and its only connected by a compression joint with a bit of PTFE- not difficult. The rest of it is down to common sense.
Car DIY is virtually dead now, anyway, for two reasons-one is that modern cars are so much better than even 10 only years ago they need very little in the way of servicing. There's no slipping and arcing points gaps now, no failed condensors, no grease nipples, no valve clearances, none of those old jobs. My first car was an Allegro- when new balljoints were fitted you had to shim them and then regularly grease them, and they still didn't last as long as modern sealed ones.
The second reason is the complexity of the management systems-there's no room for mixture screw fiddling any more, but then they just don't need it like they used too!!!
I have a whole load of stuff that just doesn't need using on a modern car-take dwell meters for example, when did you last use one of those?, not to mention the grease gun or the colourtune......
My wifes Kia needs one service every 10000 miles and it costs about £130.00 at the dealers to have done, you book it in, collect the courtesy car and go back for it later- for that price its not worth getting the spanners out while it's under warranty!!
Having said all that, its still fun sorting the old BX!!!
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Post by DervDonkey »

I'd heard about this one.
What I'd like to know is: just exactly who is going to enforce this latest nonsense? Will we have armies of busybodies requiring entry to our houses to check our wiring - or maybe an annual "MOT" type test...
One thing for sure - it'll take more than some petty regulation to stop me. My only worry is that the supply of parts/cables etc. might dry up. Then I might have to book some evening classes :-)
I think that the law banning painting is due soon, on environmental grounds.
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Post by JohnD »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by bxbodger</i>
I just walked into Wickes and bought one off the shelf, fitted it that day and it's been fine ever since!!
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
And I did the same - but no Corgi stamp on the registration card - no guarantee!
martyhopkirk

Post by martyhopkirk »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by bxbodger</i>


I just walked into Wickes and bought one off the shelf, fitted it that day and it's been fine ever since!!
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Got mine from Grahams plumbers merchants 10 years ago it was £800 cheaper than british gas wanted for the same item, service it myself and moved a gas pipe to the fire in the living room when I built the extension a few years ago - did everything except the plastering - cos i am carp at that - passed the building reg inspection[:D]
And Im a nurse! (OK I did get a B-Tec in electrical engineering back in 1988, but that was a looooong time ago)
This new regulation seems pure idiocy and nannying - blow that Ive still got the pyro to lay to the sheds, and thats not getting done now till <i>AFTER </i>January
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Post by Homer »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by JohnD</i>

The latest regulation this bloody government is going to bring in starts on 1st January. From that date, we are forbidden to do electrical work in our own houses. During the lifetime of the present lot, we've been banned from doing our own gas installations and virtually stopped from fitting replacement windows.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Eh, what?
Banned from doing gas instalations? I just replaged the burner on my boiler, got the part with no questions asked and the bobby over the road didn't seem to mind. I certainly won't be having a bl00dy electrician in every time I want to move a socket.
How will they stop us anyway. Maybethat's what ID cards are all about?[:0]
On the other hand I had to call at the chemist on the way back from the supermarket because some jobsworh decided I couldn't buy two packets of paracetamol <b>and</b> a pack of lemsip (yes I know they have parecetamol in as well, they weren't all destined for the same house).[:(!][:(!]
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Post by tomsheppard »

Trade pressure groups finding an easy target in this Government of nannying nitwits. Soon fixing your own car will be illegal. THose who know one end from the other of a spanner have much to fear from these Luddite, Technically illiterate, no, make that mentally subnormal "representatives". May they be FORCED to install their own gas and electricity that we may be rid of the BasXXXds!
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Post by nick »

I get a horrible feeling this is just the start of it, they are trying to make it illegal to do DIY plumbing too. Yet another of John Prescott's wonderful ideas !
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Post by dnsey »

If I understand correctly (and I'm open to correction), any new electrical work will be subject to Building Regulations, like the majority of other construction work.

Contractors will be able to obtain a certificate allowing them, as 'competent persons', to self-certify their work as compliant with the regs. That doesn't stop anyone else doing the work, but it should be certified by a competent person before commissioning.
Since electricity supply authorities 'require' (but rarely enforce) most work to be inspected anyway, there should be little difference in practice. Besides, if the work is done according to the current IEE regs - or presumably in any other safe manner, which is how things already stand - the local County Surveyor could not complain anyway.
Does anyone know any better?
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Post by dnsey »

BTW, the overwhelming majority of current professional new work doesn't strictly comply with the regs anyway (eg cable runs in airing cupboards are rarely derated to allow for the higher ambient temperature), but is quite rightly passed as being perfectly safe in practice.
martyhopkirk

Post by martyhopkirk »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by dnsey</i>

BTW, the overwhelming majority of current professional new work doesn't strictly comply with the regs anyway (eg cable runs in airing cupboards are rarely derated to allow for the higher ambient temperature), but is quite rightly passed as being perfectly safe in practice.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
And how many of us have cable buried under inches of insulation in the loft (again regs state it should be layed loosely on top - aye right, course it is!!!!)
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Post by alan s »

It's easy to see you guys don't live in the Colonies.
They brought the first ones out in chains and they've kept them there ever since. They are crafty though; when I was younger, it was a common saying that "it's a free Country" that was because they didn't know any different.
In later years, particularly since we've had the fascists in power, it seems that there's even less freedoms.
Out here we can't:- Do electrical installations, repair appliances, instal plumbing, instal drainage, play a radio loud after 9pm, recharge a fridge with gas unless you've had a young academic with a degree take you through a 2 year course on the safe handling of the gas even though you may have been handling it safely for 40 years, instal anything associated with gas including LPG, cut down a tree unless you pay for a permit, own a firearm unless you pay all kinds of fees for "licences" (remember, we live in an area where there can be some pretty dangerous critters wandering around slaughtering animals/attcking people day or night), fish in certain areas, access the beach in certain areas, connect to a water mains supply in some areas due to lack of availability of water yet can be charged not only water rates (tax) but can also be charged an imaginery water useage charge as though you were connected & using it, operate a business in your own name without registering it as a business name, and if you're a young driver, they are talking about imposing curfews on drivers, making it illegal to carry passengers. Over your way, that mightn't seem like a big deal, but over here, where I am, the nearest bus stop is about 10 klms away and the bus runs twice a week so it's totally impractical.
It seems that as Politicians and their senior advisers are totally devoid of any imagination or common sense (which is usually why they are Politicans and senior advisers; can't hold a job down anywhere else) that they work on the "MSMD" principle to justify their existences and to appear as though the occasionally do something.
What's the "MSMD Principle?" Well it's the 'Monkey See - Monkey Do' attitude.
All they do is copy off each other and whatever is the most stupid but "politically saleable" that's what they do. After all, it for our own good; it must be, a Politician told me so....and they don't lie do they????????
Alan S (from the Penal colonioes)
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Post by tomsheppard »

Yes, Alan, good rant. Just one flaw in the argument, mate.
Things might be bad for you ex cons but Poms willingly emigrate to Australia, despite our criminal part in its criminal past and the time and hassle of getting papers!
How bad d'ya think it is for us? We have so much to whinge about and still we aren't happy!
Newsflash! Government to ban shaving. Sharp objects to be outlawed.
(Politicians'll be all right then.)
Jon

Post by Jon »

Just to add, the reason that that the Government wants us to stop doing electrical work in our own houses effective 1st January is.........this is true:
From 1st January 2005 wiring installations in the UK will be harmonised with Europe. Now as we DIY fans know, when you're carrying out domestic wiring, Red is Live and Black is neutral, right? Not in the EU folks. From 1st January:
LIVE is BLACK
NEUTRAL is BLUE!
So, some person will pop down to Wickes, buy a roll of twin & earth (if the EU let us keep the earth) and confidently wire the black in the cable to the black in their existing circuit. Bang!
They couldn't make it up etc etc etc. Sadly, its true.
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