Installation and the law

In 2006 Part ‘P’ was added to Building Regulations to try to reduce the dangers of cowboy electrical installations and the DIY electrician . It is now against the law to carry out an electrical installation outdoors, including additions to an existing garden lighting system, with out either informing the local Building Control department, for which there will be a significant charge, or have the installation done by a company registered for self certification. This is the case no matter how qualified or experienced your electrician is - if he hasn't registered as a "competent person" in compliance with Part P then he can't give you the Part P certificate which you should keep with all the other building approvals which will be required by your purchaser's solicitor when you come to sell your home. And can you really do without the peace of mind of having employed a fully registered electrician. Many electricians will have achieved certification through registration with the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting or the Electrical Contractors' Association, details of whose members are listed in Yellow Pages.

My tip is to ask for details for their experience in installing garden lighting systems - how many projects have they installed in the last 6 months, do they work regularly with local landscapers and garden designers, do they have photographs of systems they have installed. Read up on Part P at the NICEIC website so you can quiz them about having done your homework first. Or you can ask us to recommend an installer for your system, or a design associate who can design a creative garden lighting system for you as well. He can also ensure that the equipment used will comply with regulations, be suitable for purpose and have the levels of design achievement and production quality to make sure your garden lighting will be reliable as well as creative.

And for the customers who tell me they have a degree in electronics or electrical engineering and can handle their own installation, I can only ask - have you really got the experience and the test equipment to match your academic qualification, do you really want to responsible for an illegal installation in a garden which could be dangerous to your pets or your family if you get it wrong? And do you really think John Prescott wasn't talking about you when he introduced Part P to save lives in gardens. Put away your stetson and six-guns and get it done properly.