I Have Been Advised My Re-Wire Job Is Dangerous

[Steve3948]

The house will need rewiring again under new regs anyway by the time these photo's get posted.

 

[GeorgeP]

I have received two emails but both are blank?

That's weird.  I just checked my sent messages and all the words and photos are there.  I just downloaded the photos to check.  I e-mailed you from my hotmail account. 

The house will need rewiring again under new regs anyway by the time these photo's get posted.

Tell me about it.  This is so frustrating.  Says my photos are too big.  Serves me right for not having an i-phone.

 

[Marvo]

The suspense was killing me. I'm assuming these are the photos

[URL="http://www.diynot.com/network/GeorgeP/albums/15871"]http://www.diynot.com/network/GeorgeP/albums/15871[/URL]

I was going to attach them but there's way too many.

 

[a3]

Tell me about it.  This is so frustrating.  Says my photos are too big.  Serves me right for not having an i-phone.

Can you mail me your photos - see above my email address

 

[GeorgeP]

The suspense was killing me. I'm assuming these are the photos

http://www.diynot.com/network/GeorgeP/albums/15871I was going to attach them but there's way too many.

Them's the ones.  You've rumbled me.

Can I just say that it's not because I doubt any words on the other site - but as a mere housewife - I wanted a second opinion on a site that is dedicated to electricians so that I can really get my head round this. If this work is really shoddy then I need to be really confident in myself about challenging this. I am really appreciative of all the help so far.  ray

 

[Manator]

You have done rightly, first priority is to find out if it is indeed dangerous, you have a 5 year old child that could potentially be placed in danger.

For any electrical installation to be deemed dangerous there has to be a potential for shock or fire, I doubt your installation would meet that criteria however we do need to see the photo's to appraise your situation.Being installed against the regulations does not make it dangerous, but you have the right to a correct install within the regulations.

 

[GeorgeP]

You have done rightly, first priority is to find out if it is indeed dangerous, you have a 5 year old child that could potentially be placed in danger.

For any electrical installation to be deemed dangerous there has to be a potential for shock or fire, I doubt your installation would meet that criteria however we do need to see the photo's to appraise your situation.Being installed against the regulations does not make it dangerous, but you have the right to a correct install within the regulations.

 

[Manator]

OK I have them now from your last email.

 

[GeorgeP]

Oh and I just felt really clever then copying and pasting!  There's always more than one way to skin a cat.... :B-

 

[Manator]

 

[Elmer BeFuddled]

Hee! Hee! Just emailed to Admin 3 and come back to a page full if pictures!

 

[alpha spark]

Cables shouldn't be chased around corners and your consumer unit at present is exposing live parts does he I tend to change this. Lets hope so as the new circuits he's wiring need rcd protection

 

[GeorgeP]

Cables shouldn't be chased around corners and your consumer unit at present is exposing live parts does he I tend to change this. Lets hope so as the new circuits he's wiring need rcd protection

That consumer unit has been supplying power to equipment for cutting wood and mixing plaster.  Is it normal practice to have a consumer unit exposing live parts whilst that is going on?  He has left it like this for weeks and I wondered why he simply hasn't just done all the work required prior to plastering because there has been nothing I know of to stop him from doing that apart from the loft conversion company want him to do a second fix on the loft before plastering and he refused because he knew they'd plaster round our nice new sockets.  

Another question - why shouldn't cable be chased round corners?  I know it may seem daft to ask that question but if I challenge him on this and he says that's okay - I need to know why it isn't so I can tell him!

 

[alpha spark]

I also wouldn't run all them cables down the sides of the light switch

 

[Steve3948]

I've seen a lot worse over the years.

 

[GeorgeP]

I also wouldn't run all them cables down the sides of the light switch

I know.  I had a further look at that - they are all the cables from the loft conversion.  The come directly down from the celing - down via the bathroom light switch, then down through the next ceiling to the groundfloor hallway which is next to the garage that houses the meter etc.  Hence, the hole in the wall with all the wires sticking through it on the pictures. Through that hole is where on of the wires is attached to the double socket workmen have been using for power - and to do that they have used a really long extension cable.  To get those wires from the loft conversion, down to meet the unit in the garage - I can't see another way where they could go.  The house is Akrington brick and they've knocked some right holes in there.  He's knocked a hole right through the wall to put light switches in the dining room adjacent to the kitchen and it's just metal switch gear and you can see from the one room into the other.  Thanks for your posts. 

I've seen a lot worse over the years.

I can understand that.  I can see from quite a few discussion boards that there are some horrendous nightmares and to some extent I am lucky that the actual wiring used looks okay and that it may be the guy has cut loads of corners because he was fed up with going through Akrington brick.  However, it still remains that I don't want to sit in the house and wonder if my kids are gonna burn.... 

 

[wozz]

well rough.

are some of them walls being battened off or somethiing?

 

[ProDave]

There's lots of safe zone issues with those photo's, most of which are quite easy to do correctly, so it's just shoddy.

BUT my overriding impression is of a house that's been pretty well gutted.  Please tell me you are not trying to live in that house with a young familly with it in that state?

Regarding the old fuse box, I can only assume (hope) he's fitting a new one.  IF and it's a big IF the house is empty and it's only the electrician working there, then one could turn a blind eye to him energising a fuse box like that to run his own tools and only putting himself at risk.  BUT if you are still living in the house and he's leaving power on for you like that, then it's disgraceful.  Personally I would have made fitting the new CU just about the first job, and power up all the new circuits from the new CU as they were completed and tested.

 

[NozSpark]

All that I can say is that it looks rough and a fair few of those cables are installed outside of the "Safe zones" and will therefore not be in compliance with the regulations that most of us try our hardest to comply with.

BTW the safe zones are- directly horizontal and vertical from any accessory (doesn't have to be the one the cable goes to), within 150mm of a corner formed by 2 walls (internal corner IMHO) and within 150mm of where a wall meets a ceiling.

If you have to you can create a safe zone by affixing a blank plate to the wall inline with the cables

 

[Steve3948]

Or deeper than 50mm or encased in earthed trunking/conduit.

I've seen metal channel earthed.