Planning on DIY Electrics – Is It Even Legal?

2. Introduction DIY is ranked as the No 1 money saving hobby, which shouldn’t be surprising because most hobbies are expensive. Nonetheless DIY can save on many household upgrades and repairs like laying new flooring, wallpapering the living room, fitting a new kitchen or in an extreme cases building a new patio. Indeed DIY hobbyists thrive on the challenge of learning new skills and techniques - the more difficult the task, the greater the challenge. This can-do attitude is of course an important ingredient in the DIY hobbyists DNA something sadly lacking in us mere mortals that baulk at the sight of flat pack furniture. After all to the DIY hobbyist the learning and developing of the necessary skills while on the job is not just part of the pleasure it is practically the whole point. But even to the most experienced and accomplished DIY hobbyist some household tasks should be considered out-of- bounds – and electrical work tops the list. This is not just because unlike tiling a bathroom or painting a bedroom meddling with electricity is downright dangerous. Of course that isn’t likely to temper the enthusiasm of the hobbyist it may actually make it all the more appealing. But what should certainly cool their ardor is that it is probably not legal.

3. Table of Contents Is DIY electrical work legal? Variations in Regulation in Canada. The Insurance companies make their own rules. Insurance is a two-way contract. Legally, what you can and cannot do. You must be the owner-occupier. Only the permit holder can carry out the work. Types of work that don’t need a permit. Why you should get an Approved Electrical Contractor. What to look for in an Electrical Contractor.

4. Is DIY electrical work legal? There is no straight answer to that question as regulations vary with regards nations, states, provinces and even cities. However the variations are merely minor deviations from a common theme –the need for permits to undertake any work and inspections after work is completed. As an example of how regulations and laws are dependent on local interpretation let’s look at Canada.

5. Variations in Regulation in Canada We can demonstrate how different perspectives around a common legal issue arrive at vastly different regulatory requirements by considering Vancouver, Ontario and Quebec. In Vancouver the regulators have taken an accommodating position towards home-owners doing DIY electrical work. Most likely they have taken the view that the homeowners are likely to do the work with or without a permit if the regulations are too strict. As a result Vancouver actually runs training course to assist the homeowners with their electrical projects so that they can get their permits and then do the work themselves. Quebec on the other hand takes a completely different view to homeowner’s performing DIY electrical work. Their stance on DIY, while reflecting on the same principle of law, is that homeowner’s shouldn’t be allowed near any electrical wiring. Ontario occupies the middle ground where it allows homeowners to undertake some minor electrical work without training but with the required permits.

6. The effectiveness of these different reflections on the law is difficult to gauge as far more electrical wiring, sockets and equipment is purchased in DIY stores across Vancouver than the number of training courses being undertaken. Similarly, in Ontario where minor electrical work is permitted with a permit but no inspection the number of light switches sold far exceeds the number of permits issued. Indeed in Ontario because there are no inspections carried out on the minor electrical work allowed by the permit the scheme is considered by homeowners as pointless. Quebec’s very rigid stance of forbidding any DIY on electrical wiring on the other hand could only have working if they had managed to push through a law forbidding the sale of electrical wiring, switches and other electrical infrastructure equipment to consumers

7. Quebec failed in court to suppress the sales to only registered professional electricians and DIY home stores were allowed to continue selling electrical wiring, switches, fuse-boxes and all other electrical infrastructure goods directly over the counter to the homeowner. The problem now was that because Quebec had no legal concept of homeowner electrical DIY there were no permits or inspections. Just like in Vancouver and Ontario sales of electrical DIY equipment flourished but the homeowner was left with a predicament. If they went down the DIY route they couldn’t get a legal certificate for the work carried out. This was a big problem because it was primarily the pressure applied by home insurance companies that had forced Quebec regulators to take the heavy handed stance in the first place. This effectively meant that any DIY electrical work – because it could not get a permit or certificate – would invalidate the home insurance in the case of a fire.

8. The Insurance Companies Make their Own Rules Insurance companies exist to make money just like any other business. They do not exist to recompense you for any foolhardy endeavour that results in your home burning down. Indeed the insurance companies got so fed up with the number of payments that they were making to homeowners for fire insurance that in many countries and states they have applied pressure to tighten up the laws regarding DIY. To understand the view point of the insurance underwriters expert studies were showing that almost a quarter of house fires were due to faulty electric wiring and almost all of them were avoidable. As a result there may be other countries, states, provinces or municipalities with regulations as strict as Quebec. But insurance companies don’t just have to rely on the law they can write their own rules.

9. Insurance is a two-way contract An important thing to understand is that your home insurance is a two- way contract between you and the insurance company and they make the rules and then hide them in the contract. Therefore before you head to the DIY electrical store check out the clauses in the contract and make sure there are no restrictions on performing any DIY electrical work – there most certainly will be. There is also likely to be requirements for any work to be undertaken by qualified electricians, working with permits and for subsequent inspections and certifications. However even if there isn’t any clauses forbidding DIY electrical work they can still wriggle their way out of paying in the event your house burns down. So make sure you are carrying out work that is legal for your municipality – remember the difference between the legal regulations in Vancouver, Ontario and Quebec – and don’t just take the word of the electrician next-door – you need for check yourself.

10. Legally, what you can and cannot do As we have seen every municipality can differ in their interpretations of national laws and you must find out which regulations apply to you. But if we take Ontario as an example of a middle ground then we can identify some of the ground rules that are common.

11. You must be the owner-occupier One of the first important things to understand is that the rules applying to a homeowner performing DIY only apply to an owner-occupier and not to any work carried out on property that has been rented out or is multi-dwelling. For example it is easy enough to get a permit for some minor electrical work in your own dwelling where you are the only family. But you will not qualify for a permit for DIY work carried on say a renovated basement you are renting out. As a result almost all regulators will require that you are the owner-occupier of the property.

12. Only the Permit Holder can Carry out the Work Permits are granted to the person or the electrical contractor undertaking the work and most regulators are very strict about this. Therefore as an owner-occupier that wished to carry out your own DIY electrical work you must apply for your own permit and you invalidate the permit if you get someone else to do the work. There are a couple of reasons behind this logic the first being that the application for the permit has a questionnaire that allows the regulator to evaluate whether the applicant has knowledge and experience of working to the required local standards and codes. The second is that it aims to try to clamp down on unqualified tradesmen passing themselves of as qualified electrical contractors. The way it works is that any unqualified tradesman would have to get the owner-occupier to apply for the permit on their behalf or they couldn’t get the work inspected and certified. Any company requesting the owner-occupier to apply for such a permit should be an obvious red flag that they are not qualified to be undertaking the work. A genuine certified electrical contractor will always apply for their own permit as they can do their own inspection and certification – though they may undergo random checks. Consequently there should never be a need for a qualified electrical contractor to ask the owner-occupier to apply on their behalf.

13. Types of work that don’t need a permit In general if you are an owner-occupier carrying out any electrical work in your own property you will require a permit. However there are some common exceptions where the risks and the required levels of skill are deemed to be sufficiently low as to not require a permit. The typical exceptions are when changing like-for-like 2-wire to 2-wire swap, for example when replacing a light switch or a new lighting fixture. Just about everything else requires a permit.

14. Why you should get an Approved Electrical Contractor If you are still not convinced - after reading about permits, insurance, inspections and certifications as well as potential future liability - that the DIY approach to electrical work is not a good idea. Then let’s consider some other reasons you might want to employ a qualified electrical contractor. These are less profound but still relevant reasons for calling in a professional. 1. Electrical work is dangerous and around 30% of all deaths caused by electrical work in the home are associated with installing, maintaining, repairing and renovating. 2. Professional contractors have all the necessary safety equipment, test equipmentand tools for the job. 3. Professional contractors are expert on the local electrical standards, codes and best practices and be knowledgeable through training and experience of all the common defects that result in failed inspections.

15. 4. Professional contractors will be expert on local safety codes of practice for example the Ontario Electrical Safety Code, came into effect as regulation on May 5, 2016 with about 200 changes and updates. 5. Running cables down the inside of walls and wriggle underneath floorboards is not as easy as it seems and finishing around sockets and switches can require a lot of skilled finishing work. 6. A little knowledge can be a dangerous think – in the case of electricity it can be deadly. Electrical contractors may be expensive but funeral directors don’t come cheap either.

16. What to look for in an Electrical Contractor First and foremost check that they are licensed Electrical Contractors by the local authority to undertake the electrical work. You should also make sure that they have suitable insurance and references. In addition you should check that they have a good local reputation for employing qualified licensed electricians that are customer-focused, professional, meticulous and diligent in keeping to estimates and deadlines. After all you are paying for their services so you should expect a highly professional job done to the highest standards, quality and timeliness.

17. An example of such an electrical contractor company that covers the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario is GSC Electric. Their mission is to provide their clients big or small with dependable licensed electrical services. In the residential sector they can undertake work that meets the client’s expectations and budgets in a wide array of specialty wiring and lighting as well as other electrical projects such as rewiring and renovation, fuse-box to breaker conversions, pot-light installation and many other services. However they also cover a wide range of commercial electrical services such as splitter-box installation, retrofit lighting and many others. Also whether it is residential or commercial GSC Electrics skilled electrical specialists have a deep knowledge of local jurisdictions codes and regulations. The prospect of working with an honest, reputable, dependable, professional and diligent licensed electrical contractor will surely put to bed any ideas of DIY.

18. The End Find out more, Please Visit- https://csgelectric.ca/ 20/12/2018