Electrical safety in the home – is of prime importance, yet it is probably something that we give little thought to.
When you consider that every year around 6700 fires are reported as having an electrical source, you can see just how important electrical safety really is. This statistic includes fires started by faulty or inadequate wiring. Accidents involving electric shocks are also a cause of fatality and serious injury. Some 43 fatalities and 2900 serious injuries occur from electrical faults every year.
We tend to forget that cables, switches, socket-outlets and other equipment can get worn over time and that it is important to get them regularly checked and, if necessary, replaced by a qualified electrician.
Many people are not aware that new Building Regulations came into effect on January 2005 which, if you are carrying out electrical work in your home or garden in England and Wales, you now have to follow. This is a new area for the Building Regulations and is called Part P (electrical safety). These give clear guidelines as to the kind of work you can carry out for yourself and those which must be carried out by a competent, qualified electrician. Be aware that you may need to use a competent person to comply with Building Regulations.
The main things that you need to consider are:
It is important that any electrical work is only carried out by those with the necessary knowledge, skill and experience of the type of electrical work to be undertaken.
You should not attempt even the simplest of electrical work if you have any doubts whatsoever about the task. You will have noticed that these days most appliances come with moulded plugs already attached along with the appropriately rated fuse. This is to stop the keen novice from wrongly wiring or rating the appliance and to help prevent cowboy installations. You would be amazed at the number of people who do not know how to wire a plug properly!
For the average DIYer things become even more confusing as from 2006, new a colour scheme is being introduced for cabling.
The colours of the live and neutral wires in electrical cables are changing from red to brown and black to blue. This is now the same as the wires in flexible leads to portable appliances.
As from 31 March 2006, all new wiring must be in the new colours.
Why have the rules been introduced? The main of the rules is to reduce the number of deaths, injuries and fires caused by faulty electrical installations. It is also intended to make it harder for ‘cowboy builders’ to leave electrical installations in an unsafe condition.
If you do not follow the regulations, you run the risk that:
The electrical installation might not be safe.
You will have no record of the work done.
You may have difficulty selling your home if you do not have the right electrical safety certificates.
There is the added risk that your local council’s Building Control Department may insist that you put right faulty work. Involving you with even more expense.
It is important to know when you need to notify the council about any intended electrical work.
You will not need to tell your local council’s Building Control Department about any repairs, replacements and maintenance work. Any extra power points, lighting points or other alterations to existing circuits (except in a kitchen or bathroom, or outdoors).
You will, however, need to tell them about almost all other work!
If you are not sure about this, ask your local contractor or Local Council’s Building Control Officer.
Remember – do not try and save money by skimping on electrical installation works. It could end up costing you a lot more money in the long run – or even your life! Use a registered installer.
The benefits of using a registered installer are that members of schemes can deal with all the new rules for you. They will be qualified to carry out any electrical work. They will give you a certificate to confirm their work follows the new rules.
You will not have to pay building control charges.
In most cases, you will have the option of taking out an insurance-backed guarantee for the work.
In the unlikely event of any problems, you will have access to a formal complaints procedure if you are not happy with the work.
If you need to find a competent person to undertake electrical work, the following organisations run registration or ‘competent person’ schemes:
BRE Certification
British Standards Institution (BSI)
ELECSA
The National Association of Professional Inspectors and Testers (NAPIT)
NICEIC Certification Services
These schemes are designed to ensure that traders who sign up are fully qualified to do electrical work and provide a proper complaints procedure.
Remember – always use an installer who is registered with a competent person scheme as mentioned above.
Article by Philip Ray
©
Whilst this article endeavours to contain up to date and accurate information, the article can only be considered as a guide. The author would always recommend that you take local independent professional advice.
After many years working in the construction industry, Phil now teaches in the UK. He has written many articles for web sites like Householders Guide, ukhomeonline.co.uk and yourhomeonlineuk.co.uk. His wide knowledge of the Construction Industry and Housing Markets makes him a popular author on Buying Real Estate.
Thank you for reading, British Gas Energy Smart
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Just caught the Loaded with Maroon5 on fuse . Fuck yea .
Check out the Global Marathon page and all the other Eweek Activities!
An able person, independent, can do their work.
if you would’ve looked at it more closely, you’d realize that being able to “shrink” a language has been one motivating factor for the development of Newspeak and thus the name does make sense. And yes, the name comes from Orwells 1984.
RT Dude. I live for hotel rooms with obscene amounts of power outlets. This room has over 12 of them! Socket to me!
Nice video
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1 person missed.154 was dead on accurate
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The MEIGaN (Medical Electrical Installation Guidance Notes) document gives healthcare establishments strict and clear guidance regarding electrical wiring and installation. MK Electric – as part of its expanding collection of devices dedicated to healthcare – now offers Isolated Power Supply (IPS) sockets that meet its requirements
More Milemons? No wonder!
Victims of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill should start getting bigger payments faster, the administrator of the fund set up to help them said Saturday. Critics still have doubts.
BP – Deepwater Horizon oil spill – Gulf of Mexico – Business – Oil spill
Either have an electrician run electrical, or tie it in to a cord with a plug and run it to a wall outlet. You can wrap the cord in fabric or something to make it a decorative swag instead of just an ugly electrical cord. Done right, it'll look fine. You will probably still need to get some sort of brace in the ceiling you can attach it to, but at least you don't have to do electrical work.
SIIEEMMMMMMMMMMMMM….. Semana de provas finished com Fatality e tudo o/
Our client is a well established, UK Competent Person Schemes provider and a leader in renewable energy installer registration, energy efficiency and customer service, is offering the opportunity to be part of their assessment and development team a….
Runners love to tell you about their post-workout highs, but they rarely mention the mid-workout delirium that comes when muscles deprive your brain of blood, leading to doubts about how long you’ve been running, what your target heart rate should be, and indeed how to get home again. Garmin’s updated Forerunner GPS watches actually can’t help with that last one, but the larger touch bezel on the new and 410 (above) means oxygen-deprived cardio hounds can easily scroll through data describing things like pace and heart rate, even when it’s raining — or you’re sweating excessively. Once back home and showered this $325 watch automatically syncs to a USB dongle via ANT+, uploading data to Garmin Connect, just like its predecessor the 405. Then there’s the $300 210, pictured below, a follow-up to this spring’s 110 and providing a more simple display of real-time distance and heart rate without a bunch of other confusing data. Both models will be on display at the upcoming Chicago and…
very good example of safe work in trenches and excavations
Interesting to see the adjusting arm being used to change the latching action intensity. I’m personally against the 80 degree set-up because of the extra torque it exerts makes opening the door harder for physically disadvantaged people, even though the torque along provides a silent latch-overcoming energy without the acceleration and slam! Nice video.
one form of energy can be converted into another form
so any of them can be source
It is the same as deadly alliance which is Kitana – Kiss of Doom: D, U, F, F, Triangle
RT Is your neighborhood at risk? A superbug, with a 40% fatality rate, spreads in Chicago and heads to New York:
best video thanks a lot!
This is a very time consuming project, realize you are going to be out of the kitchen a few months even if everything goes smoothly, which it usually doesn't.
Your best bet is:
If you are living in the house during the project – set up a GOOD, FUNCTIONAL temporary kitchen, move fridge, microwave etc. to another room in the house – spare bedroom, basement, wherever there is a functional sink nearby big enough to do dishes in. Get a hot plate to boil water on, tables for your dishes and food, etc. The more functional and user-friendly you make the temporary kitchen the better. Otherwise, you are going to add about 25-30% to your total costs because you are going to be going out to eat & ordering pizza constantly and that will really add up over a few months. Doing dishes in the tiny powder room sink isn't a good choice for 2-3 months. If you don't have anything suitable, take the time to make something suitable in the basement etc. Home depot has cheap, pre-made countertop you can buy in big sections, which is a good idea if you can't salvage the existing countertop for your temporary kitchen. Get that all set up before you start the demo and lose the use of your regular kitchen.
Demo out to studs.
Figure out approximately where you want everything to go in the new kitchen, and then do any needed new rough-in for wiring & plumbing moves. (When the studs are exposed, putting in the wiring for all your under-cabinet lighting, adding another outlet, etc. is cheap and easy, but you have to think ahead on those things carefully right now.) If you are replacing the appliances, are you buying ones that are the same dimensions as what you have now, bigger, etc.? Now is the time to figure that out.
Insulate/Vapor Barrier for exterior walls.
Drywall. If you aren't already an expert at this, drywalling is one of those skills where hiring a pro will get you materially better looking results than DIY. It's something I normally hire out, even though I do most things myself.
Once you get the drywall in and have exact dimensions, you can measure the space precisely and order the cabinets. This is something that normally takes a month or six weeks. Cheap cabinets mean shoddy materials that won't hold up and will ultimately make you very unhappy with your new kitchen. You want full extension drawers, solid wood drawers with dovetail joints, etc. This is a place where you need to spend money if you want good results.
I would redo the floor, paint the walls and ceiling while for the cabinets to come in. Be aware that old tile from the 50's & 60's often contains asbestos, so you cannot sand it off and need to be very careful about removing it.
Personally, I think the floor is someplace where you can save a lot of money. Vinyl tile has come up in quality so much that you can get very nice looking floors for very little money. In deciding whether to spend money on the floors or the cabinets, it is a no-brainer – get better cabinets.
When installing the cabinets, finding level and maintaining it over the run of the cabinets is important. Before you start screwing things together, figure out where the high spots in the floor are, where you are going to have to shim, etc. You need buddies to help you hang wall cabinets, it isn't a one person job. Everything you need to do to hang cabinets correctly is beyond the scope of what I am going to cover here, but there are plenty of guides at sites like Ask This Old House that show you how to do it. Make sure you have a lot of shims and a good, 3 foot level. You cannot do this job right with a little torpedo level.
Buying nice, high-end knobs is a relatively inexpensive way to dress up a kitchen. Restoration Hardware and places on line have much better knobs than you will find in the home center.
I don't put knobs that stick out on the drawers front of the kitchen sink, because you will bang your knees against them as you do dishes. Think about this issue when deciding how much lip you want on your countertop.
The cabinets have to be installed before you can even have the counter tops measured for. This again takes several weeks usually, which is why this is such a drawn out process.
When buying a sink, think about what all you want in it and how many holes you'll need. I have an "insta-hot" hot water heater, filtered water, and a soap dispenser in my sink, so that means I needed a 4 hole sink. One thing I didn't get but wish I had bought is a flush-mounted switch for the disposal. That makes for a very nice, clean look.
Install the appliances, have the counter-tops installed, do the final electrical hook ups etc. and enjoy your new kitchen.
It's actually not that hard of a job from a skills perspective, but it will drive you nuts because there are delays inherent in the process – no cabinet order until the walls are in, no counter top template can be made until the cabinets are in, etc. Just accept that about 2-3 month is as fast it can possibly go, and if you aren't working on it constantly, it will take considerably longer.
Good Luck.
"Fatality é um golpe extremamente fortissíssimo, derivado de uma força tirada do CÚ, dado contra um dado indivíduo…" – Desciclopédia?!
First and foremost you will need things that shed light on your creative abilities. Anyone can manipulate a program, but it takes a creative hand to make a good end product.
I would say show them sketches/artwork that you may have (if it is a portfolio based or interview based school). Second most important would probably be to have examples of anything done in a time-based media (film, animation shorts, etc)
You are going to school to learn programs and develop a skill. Creativity cannot be learned, only enhanced, so show them that you are more than capable of using their software, but also show them that you are unique and creative above all.
very funny
thanks for the link
I keep my guard up until that person shows me it's safe to trust them.
You better add some grammar and spelling to that list.
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