I was shocked to read in The Spectator (Letters, 20/11) that from January 1 next year, Britons can no longer do their own electrical wiring or repairs. Apparently, this will become a criminal offence, with fines of up to 5000 Sterling. This seems to be another extension of EC tentacles into a realm perfectly regulated to date by common sense...
By coincidence, I read Sue Doughty's letter as I dug up my old copy of Home Electrics by Geoffrey Burdett (Newnes Technical, 1977) since I intended to finally wire up a beautiful wood and cane ceiling fan that hung decoratively over my home office desk without stirring for several years - something that is of course illegal in this land of Oz (the wiring, that is, not the whirring).
But my supply authority informed me some years back that, while I had to employ licensed electricians for any electrical work, I was myself ultimately responsible for the consequences of any such work.
As an inveterate neocon, I of course regarded this as a challenge, and - having initially helped an electrician to place and connect underground electricity to my burgh in the bush - I henceforth proceeded to do all my internal wiring from the distribution board myself, aided by Mr Burdett's clear instructions, augmented by a copy of the relevant Australian standards.
I approached this quite rationally, even to the point of using Borland's ObjectVision program to construct 'decision trees' showing graphically and in colour how multi-gang switches would switch when actuated from various points on the one circuit.
Furthermore, most circuits are protected by residual current detector/miniature current breaker-type safety fuses at the consumer unit, and I'm alive to state that nothing has gone wrong in the past 10 years... So I had high regard for Mr Burdett's work, and the felicitous state of electrical affairs in Britain.
Mr Burdett states (p.20) that in Britain, "If you own the house, bungalow or flat you do not have to seek permission from any person or organisation to rewire it or to carry out any electrical work on the consumer side of the installation. However, if you are a tenant you must inform the landlord of your intentions. In either case, you do not have to ask the electricity board or the local council for permission to rewire."
By a further coincidence, I had started on the fan installation one day before a sudden heatwave jacked up the mercury to 41.5 Centigrade! The next day it plunged to an icy 19 degrees and I sat at my computer in a faux-fur jacket! So I had some time to complete the installation of my Casablanca fan, and to get the maker to fax me a wiring diagram - complete with the advice that I didn't need to understand it, as my electrician would...
Cheers,
Carioca
P.S.: Now, what's the state of affairs in the motherland as far as plumbing is concerned?
Don't tell me: it's been closed-shop since the year Dot, same as in Oz! Between you and me, this old journo could give you an expose on sanitation that could threaten your sanity...
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