Any one familiar with certificates given for electrical work ?

sskc

Hi everyone,
I have recently had a large extension done. The builders electrician has tried to to overcharge for some of the extra work done to the tune of £800 this was soon rectified once I requested an itemised bill. The electrician is part p registered and has done all the wiring, lighting and heating controls for the house. Now the house is finished I know that I should have some certification but I am unfamiliar with what this entails and do not have confidence in the electrician. I asked my builder when I would get the certificate and he said that the electrician would post it. I still have a small amout less than £1000 to pay the builder, should I withhold it until the electrical certificate is received? I am worried that that the electrican might try to charge or not give a certificate after the builder has received the final invoice. Is the electrician not meant to doing some checking etc b4 issuing a certificate.

Any advice on the above would be appreciated

jonnysparks

hi
you should be issued with a electrical installation certificate
if your not in scotland you should also be issued with a building control notification certificate for the electrical works.
if you know which body the electrician belongs to you should be able to check on there website if they belong to that body
hope this helps

Tucker

Don't pay until the cert is with you. Without it, the extension can't be signed off by building control and you will have no proof it's been built compliant with building regs. Pretty important really and a big reason to keep the builder on top of things.

If the cert doesn't come through, you will have to pay another electrician to check and certify the work, so keep the money for that possible added expense.

zax47

Funnily enough my Terms and Conditions state that I don't provide the customer certificates until I've been paid.

Impasse? Maybe, but I have very few non-payers!!

Has he done the work? Does it work? Are you happy?

Then pay up and get your paperwork.

Not happy? Don't pay - ask for it sorting, get it sorted, pay, get your paperwork

The choice is yours.

zax47

Tucker wrote: »

Don't pay until the cert is with you. Without it, the extension can't be signed off by building control and you will have no proof it's been built compliant with building regs. Pretty important really and a big reason to keep the builder on top of things.

If the cert doesn't come through, you will have to pay another electrician to check and certify the work, so keep the money for that possible added expense.

Not quite - you don't instruct another electrician to come and test, {even if they would} it is of no value for building control purposes. {Farcically} Only building control can instruct a 3rd party to inspect/test your electrical installation on their behalf and certify it as being compliant. If the whole extension job is already notified to BC then they can't charge an additional fee for this inspection either!

stef73

When we had our extension built 3 years ago we were issued with a NIC certificate to show to building control to have the house signed off . In with the certificate was a fridge magnet and this has the web address and phone number for NIC , Its https://www.niceic.com , 08700130382 . Might be worth contacting them ?

sskc

jonnysparks wrote: »

hi
you should be issued with a electrical installation certificate
if your not in scotland you should also be issued with a building control notification certificate for the electrical works.
if you know which body the electrician belongs to you should be able to check on there website if they belong to that body
hope this helps

Hi,
Thanks alot for the info, it is very helpful to know exactly what to ask for. I have payed the builder most of the money(60,000); there is just £600 outstanding which to be honest I would rather pay sooner rather than later. As it is because of the final invoice inaccuracies I think it would be more prudent to wait till I get the certificates. I have asked the builder to personally hand them to me b4 I pay the final £500.
Your tips were greatly appreciated.

sskc

stef73 wrote: »

When we had our extension built 3 years ago we were issued with a NIC certificate to show to building control to have the house signed off . In with the certificate was a fridge magnet and this has the web address and phone number for NIC , Its https://www.niceic.com , 08700130382 . Might be worth contacting them ?

Thanks for taking the time to read my query and give advice, i certainly will ring to get more information.

sskc

zax47 wrote: »

Funnily enough my Terms and Conditions state that I don't provide the customer certificates until I've been paid.

Impasse? Maybe, but I have very few non-payers!!

Has he done the work? Does it work? Are you happy?

Then pay up and get your paperwork.

Not happy? Don't pay - ask for it sorting, get it sorted, pay, get your paperwork

The choice is yours.

Hi,
Thanks for your response. I take your point and certainly do understand that as a tradesperson some people unfortunately lack scruples and you are in deficit. So this is in a way an ace up your sleeve. In my case I have paid for the majority of all the work including electrical work (approx £60,000), but in the final invoice I was overcharged by £800.00 (for additional work) had it gone unchallenged I would have been duped in paying the above. Did some research on this site to get general prices (many thanks to my fellow money saving experts). After doing my own calculations could not see where the figure came from. After requesting an itemised bill the amount was vastly reduced but still no explanation was given for the original figure. I am not sure who the real villain is the sparky or the builder but I have lost confidence in them.

sskc

zax47 wrote: »

Not quite - you don't instruct another electrician to come and test, {even if they would} it is of no value for building control purposes. {Farcically} Only building control can instruct a 3rd party to inspect/test your electrical installation on their behalf and certify it as being compliant. If the whole extension job is already notified to BC then they can't charge an additional fee for this inspection either!

Thanks again for this additional bit of advice. I might give building control a ring.

baldelectrician

sskc wrote: »

I am not sure who the real villain is the sparky or the builder but I have lost confidence in them.

I usually find builders get a decent price from me and then double it and pass it on to the customer
It looks as this may have happened to you

As far as certificates go;
Minor Works Certificate - for alteration of existing circuits, not new ones
Electrical Installation Certificate- for new circuits and new consumer units
Periodic Inspection Report (for existing installations) - report on an existing electrical installation

Landlords Certificate- work of fiction, but asked for by various letting agents. They should be asking for a PIR plus appliance testing (see above).