Phil L wrote:
Mike Lyle wrote:
Phil L wrote:
Mike Lyle wrote:
[...]
You have to be a qualified electrician to do electrical work
and be a member of 'FENSA' to replace glass...

Where? Since when? By whose rules?


In the UK. since April 2002. Building regulations.
http://www.fensa.co.uk/homeowners.html

Others have commented already, but here's my twopennnorth.

There's nothing new about Building Regs. I've looked at the site,
and I can certainly replace a pane of glass myself without being
a
member of anything. What's involved here is _replacement
installation_, not repair. Replacement windows and doors have to
meet new requirements, that's all: and that's a very good thing.
A
sample from the site:

Where a window or windows is/are completely replaced (as opposed
to repaired) in existing dwellings, they must comply with
Approved
Documents Parts L1 and N (safety in relation to impact).


It's not just replacement windows (IE frames) it's glazing in
general, the actual frames are never going to fall out and kill
someone, but if you install ordinary glass (as opposed to
toughened)
below a certain height and someone falls into it and cuts
themselves
or worse, you can go to jail, unless of course you are a member of
FENSA, pretty much like the members of CORGI, they are covered,
both
insurance wise and from those above who carry out 'investigations'.

Sorry: didn't see this before posting my last. No, I can't
necessarily go to jail for it: nobody mentioned the criminal law. I
can be sued, of course, and serve me right; but that costs money, not
liberty.


And you don't have to be a qualified electrician to do electrical
work. You have to meet the regs, that's all. It's been true all
my
life, give or take a detail or two.

It seems the FENSA thing is just a hassle-saving measure you
should
approve of: as I read it, some installers will be allowed to
self-certify instead of waiting for Building Control to come out
and check.

What I'm saying is that these pieces of legislation are in place
for
no other reason than to line the pockets of those who pushed to get
them introduced.

I see no pocket-lining mechanism here. If anything, it may be a
tax-saving measure by reducing the need for building inspectors; so I
suppose it lines your pockets and mine a little bit.

On music copyright, no, it isn't just a free-for-all: there are
rules, and everybody in the business knows them.


But the general public just download whatever music they like
without
fear of the law.

No doubt, and the industry doesn't like it. But start selling pirate
discs on a market stall, and things may get more exciting.

--
Mike.