how can people be so carp?????

kme · Aug 22, 2012

Call tonight from a local chip shop owner - 6.30 p.m. He`s got environmental health in the shop, wanting to shut the premises unless immediate action is made.

Guy is in his 60`s - nice bloke, very pleasant, amenable sort of guy.

Here`s the background:

He bought the shop, house, and "extension to shop" 15 yrs ago. Used the extension section as the potato prep room, until the floor caved in!!!!! Turned out that, as far as the council were aware, it was a roofless tin shed. The guy he bought it from "converted" it (i.e. plasterboarded, and second skinned it), without tieing it to the main building, and encroaching onto the street by 6" - no planning, no building reg, no nothing. Current owner is sueing previous owner over this.

Anyway......They couldn`t use the "extension", so the potato peeler is outside the back door, on an extension lead. TN-S; not an RCD in sight. Out of the blue, these 2 guys from the council turned up, and had the owner almost in tears, because they wanted to shut off power to the shop there & then. So he called.........

Now, the install HAS got issues (1.4A leakage down the earthing conductor, no RCDs, DB is a hodgepodge of different breakers, and the lid doesn`t fit (though it IS in a locked box), and no main bonds to gas/water.) They were more worried about the potato peeler, cos it doesn`t have a rating plate, the strain relief bush is knaffered, and its on an extension lead.

The environmental guy had a suggestion of drilling a hole in the wall, and bringing the cable inside to a socket...................until I said that there would be no available way to switch the machine off (PUWER) - my idea (in the short term) is for the guy to build a "lean-to"; and we put a weatherproof socket & switch on the wall.

They were happy to let him stay open then, and actually thawed a bit after I`d spoken to `em a bit - but FFS! All I had to do as an "emergency" was re-gland the cable entry; and replace the plug with an RCD plug - the bonding and leakage need to be sorted in the next day or two..........all because some plonker did a p155-poor job of an extension, almost caused the guy to lose his business........AND meant I was there until 9.30 tonight :red card

Stevie h · Aug 23, 2012

Id say that's worth free chippy meals for a year at least.

apprentice87 · Aug 23, 2012

Hi KME,

I will tell you why..... Because you are a highly qualified electrician, that is able to do a useful job of work, you know, constructive things, whereas, all they can do is to find fault with out peoples stuff.

Ask them if they think extension leads are illegal...Are they going to sue B+Q for selling them?? I doubt it..

As for the extension to the building, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING they can do about it, as it is all exempt from planning after 4 years from the date it is substantially completed.

Present owner might as well forget about suing people, he is merely wasting money..

As for encroaching on the road, have the council got deeds showing the EXACT dimensions of their land?? I doubt it, and they can forget the land registry maps, as they are all plus or minus a metre......

Besides, once the thing has been there 12 years, he owns the land anyway through "adverse possession"

john...

steptoe · Aug 23, 2012

****ing desk jockeys trying to justify their existence

binky · Aug 23, 2012

Hi KME,I will tell you why..... Because you are a highly qualified electrician, that is able to do a useful job of work, you know, constructive things, whereas, all they can do is to find fault with out peoples stuff.

Ask them if they think extension leads are illegal...Are they going to sue B+Q for selling them?? I doubt it..

As for the extension to the building, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING they can do about it, as it is all exempt from planning after 4 years from the date it is substantially completed.

Present owner might as well forget about suing people, he is merely wasting money..

As for encroaching on the road, have the council got deeds showing the EXACT dimensions of their land?? I doubt it, and they can forget the land registry maps, as they are all plus or minus a metre......

Besides, once the thing has been there 12 years, he owns the land anyway through "adverse possession"

john...

sounds like you been there before ....

kme · Aug 23, 2012

I was referring to the pratt who did the building work, then sold it on - the council environmental guys are only doing a job, like the rest of us (though they could possibly have been a bit nicer about it.......)