(edit title) Bathroom Conversion Question - Tradesmen? Carpenter or Tiler? Options

[Yorkshireman]

There is a huge amount of Urban myth surrounding laws about what you are allowed and not allowed to do. However if you go into any hardware or builders suppliers you will find ... (show full quote)

There is a huge amount of Urban myth surrounding laws about what you are allowed and not allowed to do. However if you go into any hardware or builders suppliers you will find pamphlets giving advice on this. I would reckon many of these myths are perpetuated by the tradesmen themselves. ... (hide full quote)

Yes, there are Urban myths, but as with almost everything there is a verket for this kind of things, and laws that go with it. Here is the quick guide to what you can do yourself from Elvsäkerhetsverket ...for further info You can always get their publications:

http://www.elsakerhetsverket.se/sv/Din-els...v_med_el_hemma/

...Your not even supposed to change a light switch from a switch to a dimmer!

And You will probably find in the law when you look closely, to be formally approved if someone else draws cables other than the electrician, it actually states that that person must be employed with the same company, contracted by the same company etc...

Often it is about interpretation, if one happens to take a tough interpretation (which does happen sometimes in the even of claims against the work) as an unauthorised person You cannot even put the cable channels into the walls etc...

[skogsbo]

You cannot win but you sure can fight city hall. (useless busybodies that have nothing better to do but tell you how to live your life)

In the UK, all the law abiding folk pay for planning permission, but these are also the same people who would conform to the regulations anyway. The more dodgy folk, don't apply just build. Then the local council decides if it is worth the cost of enforcing the law, as basically they are skint and can't afford big legal bills. If the local builder has largely conformed with the regulations, with just a few deviations, they won't go to court to enforce it, as they can't afford the risk of loosing and facing a big legal bill.

There is a huge amount of Urban myth surrounding laws about what you are allowed and not allowed to do. However if you go into any hardware or builders suppliers you will find ... (show full quote)

There is a huge amount of Urban myth surrounding laws about what you are allowed and not allowed to do. However if you go into any hardware or builders suppliers you will find pamphlets giving advice on this. I would reckon many of these myths are perpetuated by the tradesmen themselves. ... (hide full quote)

Much of it is generated by trade associations. Some of it is good stuff, but trades make a lot of fuss about certain things then laws and regs seem to ignore others.

Like showers/bath/washrooms in Sweden, so much hype about follow the guidelines for floor construction, but then they put electrics in! It's probably been in UK regulations, that you can't have light/fan switches inside any style of wetroom for at least a decade. They are all zoned, for different distances from baths or showers, with specialist fittings for each zone, double sealed from water ingressed etc. I've seen many such rooms in Sweden that are only a few years old, even with many 240v sockets inside etc. not just a shaver socket.
In the UK , any internal light switch would have to be a pull cord, the same for a manually switched extractor fan. Pipes need to be earthed in the bath/wet room as well, as at source like the boiler, heater tank etc. You just don't see that here. With pipes earthed directly in a wet room and everything in there protected by a RCBO the power would trip much faster than a Swedish system, but no lets worry about the damp!

[Bender B Rodriquez]

Like showers/bath/washrooms in Sweden, so much hype about follow the guidelines for floor construction, but then they put electrics in! It's probably been in UK regula ... (show full quote)

Like showers/bath/washrooms in Sweden, so much hype about follow the guidelines for floor construction, but then they put electrics in! It's probably been in UK regulations, that you can't have light/fan switches inside any style of wetroom for at least a decade. They are all zoned, for different distances from baths or showers, with specialist fittings for each zone, double sealed from water ingressed etc. I've seen many such rooms in Sweden that are only a few years old, even with many 240v sockets inside etc. not just a shaver socket.
In the UK , any internal light switch would have to be a pull cord, the same for a manually switched extractor fan. Pipes need to be earthed in the bath/wet room as well, as at source like the boiler, heater tank etc. You just don't see that here. With pipes earthed directly in a wet room and everything in there protected by a RCBO the power would trip much faster than a Swedish system, but no lets worry about the damp! ... (hide full quote)

Actually, the electric installation in bathrooms are highly regulated, with different wet-zones calling for different water-proofing grade of the outlets and switches, and of course everything has to be protected by a RCBO.

The Swedish rules used to be like the UK rules, but with modern equipment such rules are quite outdated.

[skogsbo]

Actually, the electric installation in bathrooms are highly regulated, with different wet-zones calling for different water-proofing grade of the outlets and switches, and of ... (show full quote)

Actually, the electric installation in bathrooms are highly regulated, with different wet-zones calling for different water-proofing grade of the outlets and switches, and of course everything has to be protected by a RCBO. ... (hide full quote)

maybe rcd, with multiple MCBs, but you don't see RCBO for sale here? I might be teaching you to suck eggs, by they are combined overload and earth leakage detection, rather than having a central earth detection device. Split circuit boards are also regulated practice now in the UK, to separate areas which require greater protection.

In the UK you just would never run a light and socket circuit on the same loop, where as here a 10amp loop is standard for many sockets and lights.

The Swedish rules used to be like the UK rules, but with modern equipment such rules are quite outdated.

The move is quite new and nothing to do with modern equipment, the idea is that you don't touch main electric switches or plugs after using the sink or shower, and certainly not within reach of even the longest arm.

[entry]

In the UK, all the law abiding folk pay for planning permission, but these are also the same people who would conform to the regulations anyway. The more dodgy folk, don't ... (show full quote)

In the UK, all the law abiding folk pay for planning permission, but these are also the same people who would conform to the regulations anyway. The more dodgy folk, don't apply just build. Then the local council decides if it is worth the cost of enforcing the law, as basically they are skint and can't afford big legal bills. If the local builder has largely conformed with the regulations, with just a few deviations, they won't go to court to enforce it, as they can't afford the risk of loosing and facing a big legal bill.

Much of it is generated by trade associations. Some of it is good stuff, but trades make a lot of fuss about certain things then laws and regs seem to ignore others.

Like showers/bath/washrooms in Sweden, so much hype about follow the guidelines for floor construction, but then they put electrics in! It's probably been in UK regulations, that you can't have light/fan switches inside any style of wetroom for at least a decade. They are all zoned, for different distances from baths or showers, with specialist fittings for each zone, double sealed from water ingressed etc. I've seen many such rooms in Sweden that are only a few years old, even with many 240v sockets inside etc. not just a shaver socket.
In the UK , any internal light switch would have to be a pull cord, the same for a manually switched extractor fan. Pipes need to be earthed in the bath/wet room as well, as at source like the boiler, heater tank etc. You just don't see that here. With pipes earthed directly in a wet room and everything in there protected by a RCBO the power would trip much faster than a Swedish system, but no lets worry about the damp! ... (hide full quote)

Building codes are needed. People that do not have experience with load bearing structures, electric wiring plumbing(crap I won't touch the Swedish plumbing it is all different from what I know - didn't even bring my pipe benders the last time I went to the states), welding, roofing, etc should stick with refrigerator magnets that hold notes to call qualified contractors. I play by the rules(sort of) here in Sweden. I am rather pissed that my wife's lava lamp will cease to function in about five years when I have run out of bulbs and I am not certain of my disposition when the last of my incandescent bulbs on my custom wired dimmable ceiling fan units run out!!!

[skogsbo]

I should clarify that you can avoid the need for RCBOs by having a split consumer unit where 1 half is protected by a smaller RCD, you should put stuff like electric showers, wet rooms, and external sockets or garage extensions on this side. The other non rcd side, is your convential stuff, socket and lighting loops, cookers etc.. Split consumer units are the standard new installation practice in the UK and save money on RCBOs (£30+ each so probably 500kr!).

[skogsbo]

Building codes are needed. People that do not have experience with load bearing structures, electric wiring plumbing(crap I won't touch the Swedish plumbing it is all diff ... (show full quote)

Building codes are needed. People that do not have experience with load bearing structures, electric wiring plumbing(crap I won't touch the Swedish plumbing it is all different from what I know - didn't even bring my pipe benders the last time I went to the states), welding, roofing, etc should stick with refrigerator magnets that hold notes to call qualified contractors. ... (hide full quote)

Building regulations and planning permission are different entities though. You could build a structure up to a given size without planning permission, but you might still have to comply with many regulations on how you build and fit it out, even if no one formally comes along to approve your plan before, during or after.

Yes, numpties should stay clear of many aspects of DIY. But there are many good sites to use for technical info, to save paying somebody. I've used some for calculating minimum beam sizees for spans when removing partition walls. They provide all the maths, so you can print out, keep and prove you have done the work within regulations should you sell the house in the future.