Having had the document sitting on my disk for nearly a week, I've finally gotten around to reading through it!

Overall, I have to say that it comes across as a fairly good DIYer's guide to general domestic wiring, within the obvious limitations of its size, of course. It's certainly better than many guides of similar length that I've seen here.

With the regard to the switchboard issue:

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1.1.7 You are NOT permitted to gain entry into the back of any live wiring or switchboard enclosure or meter-box. The wiring installation of any switchboard or meter-box must be carried out by a licensed electrical worker.

I can understand why many people will disregard these rules and say "Why shouldn't I be allowed to connect my cables into my switchboard?"

Despite increasing government interference, I think most people in this country still very much hold to the motto of "An Englishman's home is his castle," and wouldn't take kindly to bureaucrats telling them that they can't carry out whatever work they like on their own property. We have rules about planning consent and notification for certain works, but (as yet!) there is absolutely nothing to stop a person doing any or all of the work on his own house.

Anyway, some points arising:

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1.5.1 All new lighting and socket-outlet circuits installed in a new
electrical installation must be protected by one or more RCDs.....

1.5.2 All new lighting and socket-outlet circuits run from the main switchboard in existing electrical installations will require an RCD.....

I think demanding RCD protection on all lighting circuits is a little extreme. At present, the U.K. Regs. only require RCDs for sockets which could be "reasonably expected" to feed equipment used outdoors.

If the current proposals for the 17th edition go through that will change to specify RCD protection for all sockets, except those fitted for dedicated uses, but still not for lighting circuits (bathroom excepted).

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2.1.2 Switchboards are not allowed to be located:

{.....}

(f) Not less than 1.2 m from the floor and not more than 2.0 m from the floor or ground.
I think they've got a little confused with double negatives there, but I assume that was meant to say switchboards must be between 1.2 and 2.0m above ground/floor level. Quite a narrrow permissible range.

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3.1.5 For the purposes of this Code cables above 1 mm2 must have stranded conductors.
As noted before, the U.K. equivalent of your TPS domestic cables are solid up to and including 2.5mm. The old Imperial-sized (pre 1970) cables were stranded in all but the smallest size (1./044).

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3.3.2 1-way lighting circuits (i.e. lights that have only one operating switch for each light), see Figure 3 (Page 22),
Interesting that running power to each switch location seems to be the recommended/usual method for new work there. That's a perfectly acceptable method here as well, of course, but loop-in by far the more common in domestic wiring.

Speaking of "loop in," figure 4 (2-way lighting) seems to suggest that your 2-way switches have a separate "Loop" terminal provided for the neutral. That would be handy. We just have to connect neutrals in the box with a separate connector on U.K. switches.

On figure 5, socket outlet wiring:

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All socket-outlets are required to have a switch as part of the unit, the switch is not shown on the drawing.
Switched outlets are by far the most usual in domestic wiring here, but not required (switches were required on D.C. mains in the past, but not A.C.).

How about your permanent connection units? Presumably you can use unswitched versions of those for things such as alarm panels or other devices where you don't want power to be shut off accidentally?

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4.1.3 The main earthing wire must be at least 6 mm2 in size.

4.1.4 Run your main earthing wire from the main switchboard location to the earth electrode position.

O.K., for a moment that main earthing lead size seemed small, but then I realized that in N.Z. this isn't the same as in British parlance, what with you having the main neutral-earth bond in the panel itself. And as I think you know, where PME / TN-C-S / MEN is used as the earthing method here our Regs. don't require a separate ground rod.

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4.2.2 The main equipotential bonding wire must be at least 4 mm2 in size.

4.2.3 Run the main equipotential bonding wire to the earth electrode position.

Now we definitely have a significant difference. The main equipotential bond here has to be a minimum of 10mm where PME is in use (although 6mm was permitted some years back).

And is it in your rules that the bonding conductor has to be connected to the ground rod itself, or is this just the guide's suggestion? Over here the main bond would normally be connected to the earth bar in the panel, or to an earth block alongside if the latter was between the panel and the earthing point to the supply neutral.

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5.5.3 When you are connecting the switch for a cooking appliances, only the active (phase) red wire of the supply
cable, see Figure 11, needs to be connected into the switch.
Such switches here are double-pole, but then not all systems are PME/MEN, so the Regs. here have always assumed that to fully isolate an appliance the neutral must be broken as well. Except on 3-phase when the neutral doesn't need to be switched. Go figure.

Re bathrooms:

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6.4.3 In Zone 2, socket-outlets must:

(a) Have automatic switching and be incorporated in a shaver supply unit; or....

What is meant by automatic switching? Operated by inserting a plug?

Finally, in figure 22:

[Linked Image]

That "Kantark" fuse drawing looks like the types which were once common here in some MEM switchfuse units. (The typical MEM "consumer unit" of the 1950s/60s era used the other type shown as MEM in that figure.)