Why considiring the ROI?

[johnb2713]

there's bad tradespeople in all walks of life, and this in turn leads to people wanting to do works themselves. Personally, I think no one should be able to trade as anything unless they can demonstrate proper training. If you can't have confidence in employing tradespeople, then why wouldn't you DiY. As it currently stands a hairdresser can buy a van and write sparky on the side and sell his services as an electrician. Likewise, I could decide to be a hairdresser tomorrow - that would definetly end badly

But if someone can read up / study / understand how to wire a plug, why shouldn't they? I have known people with all the right credential that I wouldnt trust to wire a plug yet others that have required a house perfectly (IMHO) but are not qualified sparkies.

Are you suggesting that you shouldnt be able to replace a tap washer, tighten a screw in a door hinge, paint a ceiling etc unless youre a plumber, joiner, painter & decorator respectively? Where do you draw the line?

 

[binky]

Are you suggesting that you shouldnt be able to replace a tap washer, tighten a screw in a door hinge, paint a ceiling etc unless youre a plumber, joiner, painter & decorator respectively? Where do you draw the line?

far from it, but I am suggesting those trading as a sparky, plumber or whatever else should be properly qualified and trained. A friend of mine runs a PA testing company, he put his employees through the electrical inspection and testing courses and now sends them out doing Electrical Inspections. He passed on some follow on work to me a while ago, half the things they had listed as faults were actually just older ways of doing things and not a problem at all. Learning from books is all right, but experience needed to test properly can only really be learnt from working with experienced tradespeople and actually installing electrical equipment. We see this issue a lot with newly qualified sparkies failing older systems because they don't comply with their training to today's regs. It's costing people money unnecessarily.

DiY is fine if everything is relatively up to date, and there's no real issue with changing a socket or the like, but the online resources do not show how to deal with older installations, and very few DiYers have test equipment to prove their work is good.

 

[johnb2713]

In that case, I totally agree, I thought you were suggesting DIY shouldn't be allowed.

 

[binky]

In that case, I totally agree, I thought you were suggesting DIY shouldn't be allowed.

definetly not, that would also stop me doing a lot of things, although I would ban any memeber of the Institute of Electrical Enginnering every touching electrics - worst things I have found have been done by them, like clear bellwire running down a wall to 240V light fittings, fixed to wall with panel pins inserted through the middle of the cable

 

[johnb2713]

definetly not, that would also stop me doing a lot of things, although I would ban any memeber of the Institute of Electrical Enginnering every touching electrics - worst things I have found have been done by them, like clear bellwire running down a wall to 240V light fittings, fixed to wall with panel pins inserted through the middle of the cable

I know what you mean, you can always tell a skilled craftsmen, take fuses for example:-