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[Gaffers]

In my soon-to-be new living room there is an electric fireplace.  I hate them, they waste space in a room and in my view unless it burns wood or coal then it needs to be got ridden of.

In that space I am going to e installing the TV, Freeview box, PS3, soundbar etc with a cabinet/wallmount combination.

My question is about the wiring for the fireplace.  Am I right in thinking that I can turn it into an additional socket (for all the AV) or should I just isolate the wires and put a blanking plate on it? 

[Lazydocker]

Officially you can't do anything with it, you have to get a Part P spark to do it

In reality, I see no issues with your plan. You may well find it's already a socket, or have you looked closely already?

[Gaffers]

I won't know until I get the keys and take it off the wall (just 4 screws holding it in place)

Do sparkys have to do anything with electrics nowadays?

[mantahatch]

I believe you are allowed to fit a spur socket yourself. So if changing it from a flex plate to a socket will not be a problem. (following obvious safety precautions)

Anything more than that you should have a part P qualified electrician as said above. That said some of the electrical work I have seen by these "people" is of such low quality I cannot believe it.

I will do any electrics in my own house that I am confident enough to do. The really ridiculous bit is I work with, and repair 3 phase equipment in my job. But I am not allowed to work on my house 

[Andy B]

....
The really ridiculous bit is I work with, and repair 3 phase equipment in my job. But I am not allowed to work on my house 

Incredible isn't it!! 

[tunnie]

Think you will be in similar area to me? If you find a good sparky let me know, as I suspect I'll have a few jobs lined up at my new place.

Ohh your inbox is full 

[Gaffers]

Think you will be in similar area to me? If you find a good sparky let me know, as I suspect I'll have a few jobs lined up at my new place.

Ohh your inbox is full 

Again!?!?! 

Very close to me.  I will be Hawley area, not far from Frimley.  I do know of a sparky but as he has just undergone major surgery I will be leaving him be (for now  )

[jonathanh]

I'm waiting to get shot down here but generally speaking, as long as you know what you are doing, just get on with making the changes.  nobody polices this and anyone have the temerity to tell you what you are doing is wrong/illegal etc, I'm sure they can be pursuaded to remove themself from your vicinity promptly.  That's the approach I tend to take and it seems to work ok

[scimmy_man]

The insurance companies jump all over any DIY electrics etc if you have a claim,

I have seen some frightning things done by builders nevermind DIY bodges, like a spur socket wired with bellwire, and sockets moved where the extra wire was added by twisting together,

[AndyRoid]

Changing from a spur to a socket changes the circuit designation, so testing would be officially required.

In reality, if you were to swap the faceplate yourself then no-one is going to know.

[tigers_gonads]

Matt, when you get in ............ switch the fire on then start pulling fuses / turning off breakers untill you find out which circuit the fire is on then report back 

Pound to a penney its just plugged into a single socket on the ringmain 

[omega3000]

The insurance companies jump all over any DIY electrics etc if you have a claim,

I have seen some frightning things done by builders nevermind DIY bodges, like a spur socket wired with bellwire, and sockets moved where the extra wire was added by twisting together,

 

[Kevin Wood]

The insurance companies jump all over any DIY electrics etc if you have a claim,

I have seen some frightning things done by builders nevermind DIY bodges, like a spur socket wired with bellwire, and sockets moved where the extra wire was added by twisting together,

 

I had that in a previous house. Immersion heater circuit too.

Was crawling across the loft, and was just about to put my hand down on something when I noticed that "something" was a "live" charred mess of T&E twisted together.   Clearly a junction box was far too much to ask.

That house also had the 30A cooker spur repurposed to feed some form of star circuit heading off to all the extra sockets this muppet had added over the years - using pretty much anything that would conduct. At the centre of this star, in the loft, he found that he couldn't cram the 6mm T&E feed into the bit of terminal block he was using to connect everything together, so he dropped it down to a bit of 1mm T&E.

That house would have burnt down or killed somebody if it had sold to anyone who was ignorant of the state of the electrics. So, when you complain that you can't do anything in your own house any more (and you can still do most minor works that you'd want to) you know why that is, not that I suspect that would have stopped this cowboy.

[tigers_gonads]

To be honest, Part P is a load of shite (all imo of course) 

You can't tell me that you can stick some inbread muppet on a 4 1/2 day course with a open book exam at the end, blag your way into join a organisation like NAPIT and have 3 jobs inspected then say he is a sparky is right 

[Kevin Wood]

To be honest, Part P is a load of shite (all imo of course) 

You can't tell me that you can stick some inbread muppet on a 4 1/2 day course with a open book exam at the end, blag your way into join a organisation like NAPIT and have 3 jobs inspected then say he is a sparky is right 

Absolutely correct.

I suspect it was conceived under pressure to leave enough holes in it to allow a lot of the real cowboys in industry to completely ignore it instead of getting a proper electrician in too.