DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

Hi All,

I have a house which has got a seperate flat but it has one consumer unit i am wanting to make another consumer unit out of this so put the main consumer unit and another extra consumer unit, Will the electricity supplier have to do this or is this a job for an electrician, if so how would they do it and what is the procedure I want to know as my son is training to be an electrician and isn't sure what the procedure would be.

Thanks for your time

Mohammed Ommar

Hi to father & son I think?
It does not need to involve electricity supplier, but it would need to involve a registered Part P electrician, as new circuits &/or consumer units are controlled works under bldg regs.
However to assist you in preparing a 'request for quotation', here are some point to consider;
If your existing con.unit has a spare 'way' in it or you can gain one by disconnecting the Flats power or lights if on seperate circuit already.
Then your man could fit say a 40A fuse/mcb & run a 'sub-main to the flat, (via a local check/credit meter if reqd.) in 10mm2 cable to a local consumer unit in flat, reconnect flat wiring to it, if power is part of house ring then some work involved in disconnecting/ seperating & RECONNECTING ends of existing house ring together again, (Most Important!)
Lights can be seperated quite easily at first point in flat, old feed made safe, idealy by also disconnecting from last light in main house, & feed from new c.u. to light in flat.
hope this helps in knowing what's involved, these jobs always seem easier than they are,
regards SPARX
N.B. for more info on bldg regs/law see under 'Projects section'