Notifiable Or Not?

[Skint Eastwood]

Brief description of prospective work:

Domestic garage, replacing 2 x GLS bulb lights, each with their own separate switch, with one fluorescent light with two-way switching.

Complications:

One of the existing switches is a 2-gang, and the 2nd switch bizarrely is part of two-way switching of a porch light, which is nowhere near the garage. This needs to be removed and the porch light switched by existing front-door switch only.

Also considering adding PIR sensor to this circuit, which can be isolated so that the light operates as normal by the two-way switching (may need advice on this in separate thread).

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So would this count as a "partial re-wire" and therefore notifiable under Part P ?

Or could it be considered non-notifiable, as per:

"Work that is not in a kitchen or special location and does not involve a special installation (5) and consists of:
- adding lighting points (light fittings and switches) to an existing circuit."

Or could it be classed as just replacement of one circuit, also non-notifiable? (technically of course I would be replacing 2 circuits with 1, and modifying another.)

If this work is indeed notifiable, as I suspect, I could simplify it to just replacing one of the current lights with the new one, but it would look crap, and kind of defeat the whole object of the exercise.

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About me:

I have C&G 2330 Electrical Installations, and about a year's experience as an electrician's mate, mainly industrial sector. I would consider myself a 'competent person' and comfortably able to carry out the required work, but if it was notifiable I don't think I can sign it off as I'm not 'fully-qualified' and am not registered to any scheme such as NICEIC.

 

[telectrix]

if the work does not entail a new circuit, but is an alteration to an existing circuit, it's not notifiable. but you will need to verify earthing and bonding, maybe add RCD protection, etc.

 

[Richard Burns]

Unless you are in Wales you appear to be reading an out of date Part P document, the current one is more relevant.
You are only modifying a single circuit (lighting) and not in the zones of a bathroom so not notifiable.
A new circuit is a new protective device in the consumer unit and new cabling to new accessories.

 

[Skint Eastwood]

Unless you are in Wales you appear to be reading an out of date Part P document, the current one is more relevant.
You are only modifying a single circuit (lighting) and not in the zones of a bathroom so not notifiable.
A new circuit is a new protective device in the consumer unit and new cabling to new accessories.

Thanks, that's good news.

Maybe I'm a bit dim but seems to me some of the Regs are open to interpretation unless you are familiar with how they work in the real world. For example, I was wondering whether the garage lighting is considered one circuit, when actually of course the whole lighting circuit, i.e. whatever is connected at that way in the DB is the one circuit.

And of course I should definitely familiarise myself more thoroughly with the latest documentation (rather than a quick Google search!), and get my tester re-calibrated. I certainly intend to find out exactly what I need to do before I go ahead with this project. Thanks also 'telectrix'.