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[Cuttingsky]

We have recently had an extension built and the new electric wiring was connected to the existing house wiring. The builder arranged for someone to run the cables etc, we know the person knew what he was doing but was not qualified, and the building inspector checked that he run the wiring in the correct places. When the build was completed the builder brought a qualified electrican in to sign the work off. He stated that he couldn`t as the circuit was not RCD protected in accordance with current regs. He gave us the choice of either putting RCD`s on the affected circuits or replacing the entire fuse box to current 17th edition regs. We opted for the later. We have now been told that we have been done as the 17th edition only relates to new builds, as in complete new builds not an extension, and because our house is earth bonded we will start having problems with persistant tripping. Does anyone know if what we have been told is correct?
We await your reply. Thanks.

[BLAKEY1963]

CUTTING SKY
I don t think as u call it that , u have been told u have been done. u will not have problems with earth tripping , as all wiring would have been tested , and any problems put right. u would have agreed this when your mains board was changed . upgrading the the whole board was the right advice . although rcds can be prone to nuisance tripping , the current regs have addopted them , and safety for u and your family is the top priortity.
BLAKEY1963

[Cuttingsky]

Thank you Blakey1963.

I was confident that we had made the correct decision but just needed the reasurance.

[sparx]

Cuttingsky,
You were incorrectly informed as 17th regs. DO apply to ALL work carried out since they came in force last year, new or extensions.
The electrician called in was perfectly correct.
All houses are 'earth bonded'!!!
If your wiring is in good condition and wired correctly you will not have any problems, if you get 'persistant tripping' it's because you have a fault which the new RCD is showing up!
It may have been there a while without you being aware of it, so if the RCD does trip it needs investigating and correcting for your safety.
Pity you didn't use a registered electrician in the first place!,
Don't know who the builder found to sign off the other blokes work as it's not allowed, unless the first leckie signed for 'design & install' & second one bravely signed 'inspect& test' part of the test sheets which legally should have been provided by first leckie.
regards

[Cuttingsky]

Thank you to you also sparx.

The lecky who installed the new box certainly did a good job. His tests thereafter showed a fault on one of the rings. He found it in no time and fixed it. Loose wire in a light switch socket.

I would certainly recommend him to others. I only doubted the work because it was another `lecky` that planted the seed of doubt in my mind. I only raised the questions to satisfy myself. Being a lay person I don`t understand these regs.

I can only do one finger typing. No doubt the 18th edition has come into force during the time it has taken me to type this.

Thanks again.