One of those "whoops" moments.

[ProDave]

Rewiring an old, small terraced cottage today.

Need to pull a new lighting feed up to the loft.

All the walls are stone and dry lined, mostly plaster boarded, though some are original lath and plaster.

Went into loft, hoping to feed a cable down the cavity between stone wall and plaster board. But instead of seeing the stone wall and the top of the dry lining, I see plasterboard lining the wall in the loft as well. So I thought the dry lining went all the way up.

So I punch a small hole in the plasterboard just above the ceiling. What do you think I saw?

Into next doors bedroom. :run

So that means between the two houses there is not a stone wall, just a timber stud wall with plasterboard each side, and in the loft is JUST a single layer of plasterboard between next doors bedroom and the loft space of this house.

Next door neighbour was out.

I've told the owner of the house I'm wiring and he's going to contact the neighbour to sort it out.

Anyone had anything like that happen before?

 

[Sidewinder]

Well apart from my cutting the next door ring main a few weeks ago; nope!

Mind, that is not what I would have expected either.

What about fire compartments etc.?

Anyone?

 

[Evans Electric]

Fire compartments are a relatively new regulation ,methinks ,specially in lofts.

We were rewiring a terraced house in Telford once , our steps were blocking the way on the landing , then while in the loft I see this other hatch cover ,so I lift it up thinking its in one of the bedrooms , one of the students who live next door , looks up and screams !!!!!

Theres a similar thing at one of the Victorian shopping arcades in B,ham , climb into the roof space of the shop we were working on and you can go the whole length over all the other shops .

 

[Robojin]

When I sold my first flat some twenty years ago there was no wall between the two lofts, before the next owner could get a mortgage they had to have a cement block wall built in order to meet fire regs, so I suspect this has been ignored on this cottage

 

[Sidewinder]

I thought that this had been around for quite a while!

Hence why I was so suprised recently when I found a shared attic!

 

[Manator]

I would agree with the above post. Any works undertaken these days will include the requirement to fire guard between loft spaces. Interestingly a few years ago a pervert was convicted because he used the communial loft space as his own personal peep show.

Another reason to build a wall inbetween.

 

[Apache]

I would agree with the above post. Any works undertaken these days will include the requirement to fire guard between loft spaces. Interestingly a few years ago a pervert was convicted because he used the communial loft space as his own personal peep show.Another reason to build a wall inbetween.

And another use for a small inspection camera! :Applaud

 

[Sidewinder]

Patch, for shame!

 

[Apache]

Patch, for shame!

Mr Moderator suggested it, I just took one natural step forward!

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

When I sold my first flat some twenty years ago there was no wall between the two lofts, before the next owner could get a mortgage they had to have a cement block wall built in order to meet fire regs, so I suspect this has been ignored on this cottage

I have come across this issue on several occasions....

The thing is, if no-one has applied for a mortgage on that property, or the neighboring properties, in recent years, it most likely just gets left as-is..

all open and free-for all to roam as they wish!

You can get a similar issue with some of these terrace type properties that have passageways from front to rear garden going through the middle of them..

and the upstairs rooms are shared out over the passage area..

One properties upstairs rooms has front of house over passage.

But adjoining property rear of house is over passage...

so you get a small bit of upstairs wall running across the width of the passage,

and if you try drilling through the "corner" of one bedroom you can end up either 4 foot in from the corner of the same properties other bedroom...

or in the neighbors bedroom!!! :_| :innocent

 

[ProDave]

In the case of this property, the present owner bought it for cash, very cheap due to it's condition, and with no survey.

Looking at the basic interior, it's the usual story of somebody has lived there for a very long time and not updated the property, so I doubt it's been the subject of a mortgage for a long time.

The "loft" space may be misleading you. This is a tiny cottage where most of the upstairs bedroom is in the roof space already. The "loft" is about 3 feet high and 5 feet wide triangle, barely enough space to squeeze into and crawl along if you are not too large.

Yes you can see through to next door loft above the top of this little bit of plasterboard, it looks like next doors rooms have a higher ceiling height.

There's a stone wall between this cottage and the other neighbour, so perhaps this is a case of a larger cottage was once split in two by putting up this timber wall?

Now the owner is aware of this, he's going to further stud out and line the party walls on that side. He needs to run some pipework down that wall and was going to break into the existing wall, but now he's aware of the situation the pipework will run on the surface of the existing wall, then be covered over by the additional studwork and cladding. I'm sure he's also going to do something to block off the gap in the loft. I would guess timber framing and a double skin of plasterboard should class as a fire barrier.

The electrical installation was basic to say the least. a 3 way MEM fusebox with 3 5A fuses. One for all the lights, and the other two for two radial circuits, each feeding two single 13A sockets. I guess they were originally 5A round pin sockets and were changed some time later. All rubber cable.

The total load rating of the fusebox was 30A. A second 30A fusebox was added later to give two "new" circuits this time in the old multi strand PVC cable, to feed a "cooker" point (a baby Belling cooker) and a hot water heater in the kitchen.

There's an old 5KW electric shower (gosh that must have been cold) but it's no longer connected to any cables or pipes, so who knows how the owner had a wash after that was disconnected.

No heating apart from an open fireplace in the living room and kitchen.

 

[maselec]

Re-wiring an old terrace a few years ago that was single skin redbrick between the houses. Found this out when our labourer was chopping out a double socket and told us he'd gone through! I didn't believe him at first but got down and had a look and could see the back of next doors TV and video! Thankfully, the customer owned next door as well and was renting it out so easilly sorted.

 

[OldPeeBee]

Just completed a rewire at an Edwardian semi detached house. Under the floor was divided from next door by a honeycombed wall with access under the next door house.

 

[ProDave]

Just a follow up to this.

I was doing some more wiring on this house today, and I met the neighbour who's house I made a hole in. Very nice understanding chap. H was equally shocked that all that was between him and the neighbour was a wooden wall.

Anyway, turns out he's looking for an electrician, so the result of me making a hole in his house is I have some work to do for him now.

That has to be the strangest way of introducing yourself to a potential customer!!!

 

[sprocketflup]

Lol might try that myself. Now where did I put that 14lb sledgehammer?

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

Just a follow up to this.I was doing some more wiring on this house today, and I met the neighbour who's house I made a hole in. Very nice understanding chap. H was equally shocked that all that was between him and the neighbour was a wooden wall.

Anyway, turns out he's looking for an electrician, so the result of me making a hole in his house is I have some work to do for him now.

That has to be the strangest way of introducing yourself to a potential customer!!!

Does that count as cold calling..

not quite doorstep selling...

knocking a whole though the wall..

uninvited?

Loft wall selling anyone?

do you think you better offer a 7 day cooling off period.

 

[Andy™]

do you think you better offer a 7 day cooling off period.

is that "ive knocked a hole in your wall. ill be back in 7 days to discuss repairs further once you've 'cooled down'"

 

[revjames]

I heard of these dodgy people who sold some loft insulation to one house in a terrace, then went all the way through the roofs of the whole terrace selling the same insulation to each house.

........ no wait, that was a film.. shooting fish or summat.

 

[ProDave]

It gets better. One of the things he wants me to do is remove a couple of now redundant storage heaters that look in good nick. I've offered to dispose of them.

The house next door I'm rewiring is having storage heaters fitted. I think there's a deal to be done.

 

[batty]

Dave just make sure you don't go through the neighbours wall of the one you have just done when you do the work.

.