4 ms·

Here in NZ, a lot of work on your own property is legal - even some relatively complicated stuff - but the catch is that you need to find a qualified inspector

Here in NZ, a lot of work on your own property is legal - even some relatively complicated stuff - but the catch is that you need to find a qualified inspector to sign off on it. The reality is that unless someone knows you and your work personally (friend, relative, w/e) it can be really difficult to find an inspector who is willing to sign off on some random persons work as there is a liability component (nowhere near as large as there is in the US, we have publicly funded "accident insurance" called ACC) in doing so. That being said, anything I can legally do myself I do and I am sure to maintain good relationships with the inspectors I know.

propogandist 5y ago
laws requiring a third party to sign off on things you can do to your own property sounds like a violation of freedoms
- NegativeLatency 5y ago
  The prior owner of my house was very free with his exposed wire nuts and other sketchy wiring practices then. I’ll take some level of safety that my house won’t burn down or electrocute me over absolute freedom.
  - pessimizer 5y ago
    You should have a house inspected before you buy it. It's not necessary to monitor and restrict all owners to protect possible future buyers who don't want to inspect a house before buying it.
    - TheCoelacanth 5y ago
      No inspector in the world is going to open up all of the electrical fixtures and look at the wiring inside.
      - gogopuppygogo 5y ago
        Mike Holmes would.
      - NegativeLatency 5y ago
        There were some splices from the 60’s that were completely inaccessible in a sealed attic that weren’t in junction boxes. There were also some hot wires just dangling out of a box in the basement, and a couple fried plugs, so I and I assume the inspector knew that there were bound to be more fun surprises. It’s not like the inspector is going to say “well we better open up this wall just in case” Ended up rewiring one of the bathrooms after what started out as “change a couple of switches and add a GFCI”
    - NegativeLatency 5y ago
      It was inspected and specifically called out by the inspector in the visible areas, but there’s no way to know the full scope of the issues unless the inspector were to rip open walls and stuff. Either way we got a good deal on the house and I’ve been learning a lot about how to fix it the right way.
- rob74 5y ago
  You can do anything you want on your own property, but if said property burns down because of incorrect electrical work you did yourself, you might not get money from your insurance...
  - franga2000 5y ago
    Where is this notion of "you can do anything on your property" coming from? A similar one is also "it's my car, I'll do what I want with it", etc. But all modification to both your house anr your car have a big possibility of puttinf others in danger. If you mod your car in a dangerous way or screw up your house electrical wiring, other unrelated people may get hurt - you don't have the right to do that!
    - erikerikson 5y ago
      Physics allows it? This in the same way one can commit crimes or at least that's how I read it. Clearly one can not do the things physics doesn't allow. As you point out there are likely punitive consequences but those are after the fact.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
- pjerem 5y ago
  Or they are just needed to ensure you are not accidentally making a future giant « why would I need a fuse here ? » barbecue that you may possibly sell to another person.
- franga2000 5y ago
  What "freedoms"? That term is used everywhere and rarely defined well. The freedom to "do what you want with your own property"? That doesn't exist - anywhere! You need to follow the rules and the only way to make sure someone is doing things properly (or at least know how to) is either to have them be certified in what they do or have someone who is certified check their work. If you screw up your electrical wiring, your house can catch fire. If a house is on fire, the neighboring houses are rather likely to also catch fire. Once you have a handful of houses on fire, all bets are off - the entire neighbourhood might burn. Still think you should have that "freedom"?
  - mox1 5y ago
    So do you have any data to back this up? Do home-owner repaired house catch on fire more often than houses repaired by licensed contractors? My insurance company has never told me I can't repair my own house. Easy to say things like this, but once you get out into the real world you notice a lot of America doesn't want to pay $150/hour to change a light switch...and has the knowledge to DIY it.
    - franga2000 5y ago
      Back what up? I never made any claims about whether DIY is more dangerous or not. But the fact is that DIY or not, certain regulations must be followed when doing repairs - this is written into law in most countries. You're not allowed, for example, to hook up an oven to a 30A breaker using speaker wire. Because we can't trust that everyone will know not to do that, certifications have been designed to ensure correct knowledge and skill and those certifications are often mandated by law. You have two options - either get certified, so you can be trusted to carry out the work yourself, or get someone who is certified to at least look it over. Seems entirely reasonable.
      - AnthonyMouse 5y ago
        > You have two options - either get certified, so you can be trusted to carry out the work yourself, or get someone who is certified to at least look it over. Seems entirely reasonable. That it seems entirely reasonable is most of the problem. Because people imagine that getting certified is a two week safety course, and that getting inspected is paying someone $10 to spend ten minutes looking over your five minute job. But then the licensed professionals capture the regulators and the licensing requirement stops being about safety and starts being about gatekeeping, so getting licensed becomes impractical for anyone not full-time gainfully employed in that industry. And the gatekeeping and bureaucracy cause the inspection to require weeks to get an appointment and the payment of $150 over the replacement of a $10 light switch. Then, you notice that the light in your living room flickers sometimes. You would be inclined to have your buddy the electrical engineer come have a look except that he's not a licensed electrician and you're not convinced that the lights flickering once in a while is a problem whose solution is worth $150. Two months later the light switch with the bad connection finally overheats and your house burns down. Or you're willing to pay the money but it takes 15 days to get an appointment and the amount of time you had before the problem became a fire was two weeks. Making repairs to safety-critical things less accessible is dangerous.
- tjpnz 5y ago
  As a Kiwi I tend to see it more as common sense. What freedom does one have with half a house lying on top of them?

propogandist 5y ago

laws requiring a third party to sign off on things you can do to your own property sounds like a violation of freedoms

NegativeLatency 5y ago
The prior owner of my house was very free with his exposed wire nuts and other sketchy wiring practices then. I’ll take some level of safety that my house won’t burn down or electrocute me over absolute freedom.
- pessimizer 5y ago
  You should have a house inspected before you buy it. It's not necessary to monitor and restrict all owners to protect possible future buyers who don't want to inspect a house before buying it.
  - TheCoelacanth 5y ago
    No inspector in the world is going to open up all of the electrical fixtures and look at the wiring inside.
    - gogopuppygogo 5y ago
      Mike Holmes would.
    - NegativeLatency 5y ago
      There were some splices from the 60’s that were completely inaccessible in a sealed attic that weren’t in junction boxes. There were also some hot wires just dangling out of a box in the basement, and a couple fried plugs, so I and I assume the inspector knew that there were bound to be more fun surprises. It’s not like the inspector is going to say “well we better open up this wall just in case” Ended up rewiring one of the bathrooms after what started out as “change a couple of switches and add a GFCI”
  - NegativeLatency 5y ago
    It was inspected and specifically called out by the inspector in the visible areas, but there’s no way to know the full scope of the issues unless the inspector were to rip open walls and stuff. Either way we got a good deal on the house and I’ve been learning a lot about how to fix it the right way.
rob74 5y ago
You can do anything you want on your own property, but if said property burns down because of incorrect electrical work you did yourself, you might not get money from your insurance...
- franga2000 5y ago
  Where is this notion of "you can do anything on your property" coming from? A similar one is also "it's my car, I'll do what I want with it", etc. But all modification to both your house anr your car have a big possibility of puttinf others in danger. If you mod your car in a dangerous way or screw up your house electrical wiring, other unrelated people may get hurt - you don't have the right to do that!
  - erikerikson 5y ago
    Physics allows it? This in the same way one can commit crimes or at least that's how I read it. Clearly one can not do the things physics doesn't allow. As you point out there are likely punitive consequences but those are after the fact.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
pjerem 5y ago
Or they are just needed to ensure you are not accidentally making a future giant « why would I need a fuse here ? » barbecue that you may possibly sell to another person.
franga2000 5y ago
What "freedoms"? That term is used everywhere and rarely defined well. The freedom to "do what you want with your own property"? That doesn't exist - anywhere! You need to follow the rules and the only way to make sure someone is doing things properly (or at least know how to) is either to have them be certified in what they do or have someone who is certified check their work. If you screw up your electrical wiring, your house can catch fire. If a house is on fire, the neighboring houses are rather likely to also catch fire. Once you have a handful of houses on fire, all bets are off - the entire neighbourhood might burn. Still think you should have that "freedom"?
- mox1 5y ago
  So do you have any data to back this up? Do home-owner repaired house catch on fire more often than houses repaired by licensed contractors? My insurance company has never told me I can't repair my own house. Easy to say things like this, but once you get out into the real world you notice a lot of America doesn't want to pay $150/hour to change a light switch...and has the knowledge to DIY it.
  - franga2000 5y ago
    Back what up? I never made any claims about whether DIY is more dangerous or not. But the fact is that DIY or not, certain regulations must be followed when doing repairs - this is written into law in most countries. You're not allowed, for example, to hook up an oven to a 30A breaker using speaker wire. Because we can't trust that everyone will know not to do that, certifications have been designed to ensure correct knowledge and skill and those certifications are often mandated by law. You have two options - either get certified, so you can be trusted to carry out the work yourself, or get someone who is certified to at least look it over. Seems entirely reasonable.
    - AnthonyMouse 5y ago
      > You have two options - either get certified, so you can be trusted to carry out the work yourself, or get someone who is certified to at least look it over. Seems entirely reasonable. That it seems entirely reasonable is most of the problem. Because people imagine that getting certified is a two week safety course, and that getting inspected is paying someone $10 to spend ten minutes looking over your five minute job. But then the licensed professionals capture the regulators and the licensing requirement stops being about safety and starts being about gatekeeping, so getting licensed becomes impractical for anyone not full-time gainfully employed in that industry. And the gatekeeping and bureaucracy cause the inspection to require weeks to get an appointment and the payment of $150 over the replacement of a $10 light switch. Then, you notice that the light in your living room flickers sometimes. You would be inclined to have your buddy the electrical engineer come have a look except that he's not a licensed electrician and you're not convinced that the lights flickering once in a while is a problem whose solution is worth $150. Two months later the light switch with the bad connection finally overheats and your house burns down. Or you're willing to pay the money but it takes 15 days to get an appointment and the amount of time you had before the problem became a fire was two weeks. Making repairs to safety-critical things less accessible is dangerous.
tjpnz 5y ago
As a Kiwi I tend to see it more as common sense. What freedom does one have with half a house lying on top of them?