Re: >>Electrical
Some other posts
delaneyd159
Registered User
Electrician for re-wiring
I have bought a small 2 bed house in Drumcondra which needs to be re-wired. Would anyone be able to recommend a good electrician which will quote a reasonable price. The cheapest I have come across is € 4,500.00 approx - and that didn't include plastering etc.
I know for a fact there is better value out there - but I can't seem to find it...
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
David.
Sparky
Unregistered User
Quotation
Hi there, I have no doubt you will recieve a good lead from this board.
As a little bit of advice before calling the person for a quotation, spend some time with a pen and paper detailing exactly what you want done.
A4 sheet per room. Rough plan drawing. Indicate cooker point, lighting, sockets and type. Indicate if you want an outside light and where. Indicate if you want an attic light, doorbell, sacred heart lamp.
Many tradesmen price with a large contingency for uncertainty and change of mind "oh I didn't want that socket there." "did I not tell you I wanted an electric shower?"
When agreed, get them to sign all the sheets. If they don't want to agree this route, then don't bother with them.
delaneyd159
Registered User
Re: Quotation
Very helpful piece of advice, thanks a million. I can see how that will help me a lot.
heinbloed
re-wiring
Sparky gave you good advice.Once you have an electrician willing to do the job ask him if he would give you a discount if you do part of the labour yourself(chasing,setting the cables in to the chasing ducts,backfilling the ducts). These things are not to difficult, with the help of "Collins DIY manual"-or some similar book- and 2 or 3 days time it might safe you a third of the costs, or even more.
Sparky
Chasing/Plastering
I totally agree. Most electricians hate chasing walls out and would be reasonably unprofessional at plastering/skimming.
They may price heavily for same as they can't foresee the irritations they might encounter....hidden pipes, returning to skim and sand down etc.
However, it would be best to clarify the depth of each chase with the electrician (sample pieces of conduit and boxes).
Bosch supply a nice drill with a hammer chisel attacment for chasing c.160€. Excellent for DIY chasing and professional drilling. Goggles and mask 20€.......divorce proceedings, shop around!!
Paddy
rewiring
I bought a two up two down house and bought all the boxes,switches,lights,cable and main board ie everything for 210 euro!Then i went to a library and got a collins diy wiring book and did it all myself!it took about a week to do, a few hours every night and the weekend.Then got a reci approved electrician to check it.150 euro.Thats what id suggest.its not as hard as it looks and it beats paying 4500 euro!
Sparky
DIY
........done me own wisdom tooth recently, can't get a dentist to approve it!
"boxes,switches,lights,cable and main board ie everything for 210 euro"
Could you please share with us where you shopped!
davelerave
Frequent poster
Re: DIY
reci electricians aren't allowed to certify anybody elses work never mind diy jobs
elderdog
Registered User
Think it through, Plan it out
Sparky is right about drawing up what you want
The same idea applies to all works in a building project
Think it all through and draw it up before starting the project. It always saves a bundle when it comes to execution.
In a kind of a way this is where Luas went wrong ( on a grand scale )
eDog
paddy
wiring
Thats what you think dave!
N&d electrical in rathfarnham!
heinbloed
certifying
-
Hi davelerave !
I don't know the exact meaning of a "reci" but I did ALL my wiring incl. fusebox, switches,sockets etc.and got it certified by my local electrician . He meassured all the cables conductivity and resistance, fixed the meter, filled in the forms and the ESB happily accepted and connected me.No problem.
sueellen
Moderator
Re: Electrician for re-wiring
For explanation of
www.reci.ie/
Paddy
Getting your electrics checked out.
Obviously Dave doesnt know what he's talking about.
davelerave
Frequent poster
reci
i've been a reci member for 10 years.we're allowed to certify our own work or an installation that needs to be reconnected to the esb supply or tested for compliance with wirng rules but not 'other peoples work' .very strict rule with reci.esp. someone's diy job -serious enough to get kicked out
0
Frequent poster
Posts: 3670
Re: reci
Obviously Dave doesnt know what he's talking about
Going by his past contributions on these (and other) sort of topics I, for one, would certainly trust him...
sueellen
Moderator
Re: Electrician for re-wiring
Would have to agree with 0 there on Dave's many helpful/informative posts over a long period now.
heinbloed
reci
Hi davelerave !
"Tested for complying with wiring rules"
that is exactly what an electrician has to do before he certifies anything like a domestic wiring circuit .And that is what my electrician did when he certified my work , is there a contradiction in the rules?One question that occurs to me is what a "reci" electrician has to do when he is asked to certify some work that he has not done himself- lets say a TV set-will he rip out the entire electronic and build it up again ?
And is it necessary to be a member of "reci" to certify any electric good at all ? That would be a breach of EU legislation where anybody has the freedom to a.)work within the EU (a Spanish electrician in France for example)an b.) not to become member of an organisation ( the freedom to choose which society one belongs to).
Don't get me wrong davelerave,I appreciate good quality work.But is one actually forced to become member of an organisation before taking up a job ?That would look a bit like protectionism .....Would you think it to be o.k. if
one installs street lamps as an contractor for a builder in the whole of the world to be forced to become a member of 186 different national organisations ? What for?Physical laws are the same everywhere.If the fuse blows than it blows....
Is there something like an international pilot license ?Or an international car mechanic ?
I know it sounds a bit polemic , but is this really good for the safety or economy if we fall back to medieval times when a baker from one town wasn't allowed to sell his bread in the other just because he wasn't member of the local "club"?
Lots of questions,davelerave,but important is only one to me : Is it really necessary here in Ireland to be a member of "reci"to certify an electric circuit or are there other legislations more important (for example "ECSSA registered").
Thanks.
Sparky
RECI and ECSSA
RECI and ECSSA were and still are contentious organistaions. You basically need to have a cert from one or the other to gain permanent connection from the ESB.
Insurers are now requiring certs from the above for commissioning of rented properties etc. I personally have seen some atrocious standards of work on recent properties which would have had to be RECI/ECSSA approved, but all in all the standard of electrical installations has improved in the last 10 years, because of Insurers requisites of which they use RECI/ECSSA as a standard (heaven forbid if they set their own one up!!).
With regards to your eurostandards, as someone with electrical knowledge, I consider the UK/Irish standards to be the safest. In a eurozone, who would we base the template on?
Your Q.
"Lots of questions, davelerave,but important is only one to me : Is it really necessary here in Ireland to be a member of "reci"to certify an electric circuit or are there other legislations more important (for example "ECSSA registered").
Thanks.
Answering for myself: RECI and ECSSA are the best we have.
davelerave
Frequent poster
testing
'testing' means testing with all bulbs removed and appliances disconnected .appliance testing as in tv's is another task.
as far as certifying goes we are allowed to certify existing installations for insurance or sale purposes ,or for reconnection (if supply has been disconnected for a time,house vacant etc.).but certifying other peoples 'new' work for connection to the esb is a big no-no,they must get reci or ecssa out to do that.
Elcato
Moderator
Re: testing
So is the issue here that re-wiring is not classed as 'new' work just checking the old renovated work ?
davelerave
Frequent poster
certs
no.,re-wiring is classified as new work,any work that requires a cert must be certified by the registered contractor who does the work or if the work is done by a non registered person ,must be certified by reci themselves ,they provide this service for a fee .
a registered contractor can issue certs for 'existing'(ie t newly re-wired etc.) installations to certify compliance for insurance purposes
or disconnected installations(where the power has been off for a while) to verify safety before they are switched on again.what's the point of having registered competent electricians if anyone can do a job and simply pay a registered contractor for a cert,standards would suffer
heinbloed
certs
Hi davelerave!
Why would standards suffer if a competent/registered electrician certifies an installation?
Is there a legal binding law which would help us further with this discussion-who is entitled to certify ?
davelerave
Frequent poster
Re: certs
reci certify new work by non-registered people. a system where reci contractors supply or 'sell' certs to non-qualified people to cover their work is open to abuse with contactors profiteering by selling the certs without carrying out the proper tests because they are too busy etc.,you would have contractors competing on price to supply certs.what happens is a person who needs a job doing buys the materials himself and gets a mate to do the work ,the mate then gets a cert off the reci man.nobody's insured ,the reci man is open to being sued for the work done by the mate and the economy suffers as the job is usually done by the mate for cash etc. .this has been happening in practice which is why reci supervise this side of things
heinbloed
reci certs
Thanks davelerave!
I like the idea that blank certs are not for sale,but as you said in your last post (26/3/04) : reci members do certify new work done by non-registered people.
In an earlier post you said that reci members don't certify others people work -?
davelerave
Frequent poster
Re: reci certs
no i didn't .i said reci certify new work by non-registered people.thats reci themselves, they will send out an inspector who will check the job ,point out any remedial work and then issue the cert,rather than a contractor feeling obliged to issue the cert without enforcing the rules ,which is what happens in practice
regfnotloh
Registered User
paddys electrical work
glad i dont live next door to paddy. bad idea to wire a house with no knowledge. very scary stuff