Electrical trade

**AndyD** · 19-Dec-13, 10:40 PM

Originally Posted by pmbguy

He jumped in and within 10min found the fault and later replaced that section of cable, works perfectly now.

If he hasn't added or altered the design of any circuits then he doesn't need to be a registered electrician, he just needs to be competant. Replacement of existing cables that have been damaged wouldn't require a CoC be issued either as far as I know.

**Sparks** · 21-Dec-13, 01:59 AM

Provided he did not replace a 2.5 surfix cable with .75 ripcord where a weedeater damaged it!

**AndyD** · 22-Dec-13, 05:09 PM

Originally Posted by Sparks

Provided he did not replace a 2.5 surfix cable with .75 ripcord where a weedeater damaged it!

I guess the key phrase is 'like for like' but there are gray areas. There may be other issues as well such as if there's been a change in the regs for example, a competent person may not be aware of additional requirements even though on paper they could be replacing like for like perfectly legally the end result may still be non-compliant.

**Sparks** · 23-Dec-13, 08:08 AM

As you say Andy, "a lot of grey areas". Personally I do not like the "like for like" phrase. I am not aware of it being in the regs and the reason I don't like it is because of experience. Just because the previous guy who worked on the geyser did not earth it when he worked there does not mean that when you replace the element or thermostat you are entitled to leave the earth off and then claim that it was left off by that guy, you never touched it. I have in a previous post pointed out this exact standard of incompetence by a contractor on the SA Homeloans panel.

**Dave A** · 23-Dec-13, 10:14 AM

There really is a strong case for a record of maintenance work being maintained for each installation. The number of times we go back to an installation and find it not as we left it is truly scary.

When you ask "who did the work?" you get a blank stare.

Then ask "Did they issue a COC?"
The typical answer - "No. We've got yours."

**AndyD** · 23-Dec-13, 11:04 AM

A maintenance log book would be ideal, we instate a log book as part of the installation for the control systems we install, obviously whether it gets kept up to date or not is down to the customer so in a domestic environment you're unlikely to be able to hold the customer any more liable than they already are with the Coc system you already have. They're already the responsible party so whilst it sounds great, unless something else changes it's not really changing the deck, it's just shuffling the existng cards which probably won't improve your chances of winning the game.

Originally Posted by Sparks

As you say Andy, "a lot of grey areas". Personally I do not like the "like for like" phrase. I am not aware of it being in the regs .....

The 'like for like' phrase isn't in the regs, I just made it up

It's basically just the line between where an unlicensed/unregistered guy or competant DIY'er can do electrical work and where a licensed electrician must be used. There's lots of gray areas around this line with plumbers connecting up a replacement HWC or homeowners replacing light fittings, both these scenarios wouldn't require a CoC to be issued so could in theory be performed by an electrically competant person but may result in a non-compliant installation because of earthing and bonding requirements.