Regulations for electrical wiring

[Pixie7]

Someone else’s stupidity after the house is sold is not your concern. They could do that to any cable pipe etc.

That's true, I guess I'm overthinking. Didn't know if there are any regulations regarding this kind of cables (to be inside the wall or at least in some sort of trunking). It looks so silly and you cannot know what it is. It is not appliance plugged in or something similar that it obvious.

 

[Pixie7]

I'm not defending the guy, but it could be an honest mistake.

I did a job in a kitchen wiring a new hob. Easy job as oven was next to it and consumer unit was on wall behind.

Explained to customer I'd remove the oven, drill through the wall run cable down behind the oven and into the cupboard next to it to connect to the hob.
Customer agreed, so off I went.

Job finished, tested and everything back in place, Customer tries to close kitchen door, which is a sliding one that hides in the wall cavity.

Yep you guessed right, door doesn't move due to 10mm cable passing through it.

Cue a very humble apology from me, a total reinstall of the cable and a phone call to a joiner friend to replace a door.

I kicked myself for not noticing the door, but also wondered why the customer didn't mention that it was there.

I measured twice before drilling, but still this occurred.

Accidents happen, its how it's dealt with that the customer remembers. Take responsibility for it, and fix it, no matter what it's going to cost you. You have insurance if its a big issue, or your working for free for a few days to cover the cost.

Give the guy a call, explain the situation and see how he responds

Thank you very much. I genuinely believe this was an honest mistake and will contact him later today.

 

[Pixie7]

Unless he fished the cable through without needing to see where it travelled I would be getting him back. He has destroyed the cupboard.

I agree with you, thank you. Will definitely contact him regarding cable to see what can be done but I think I will fix the cupboard myself, I'm worried it is not going to be neat otherwise (my fault).

I must admit I'm freaking out about drilling that corner of the wall again to fish the cable through one more time. Way too many massive holes on first attempt. It's a timber framed house and would like to keep it 'uncollapsed'.

 

[ProDave]

I am still mystified by what he was achieving, any chance of the pictures of what he was connecting to what? If it were another socket, it's a bit high up a wall, if it were a light switch, it's a bit low down. Safe zones spring to mind so just curious what he was doing.

 

[Philip01]

I think some sparks are as thick as plumbers or joiners, if I would have don’t that job you wouldn’t have seen anything out of the ordinary. Lots of sparks on here think domestic sparking is easy, it is if you leave a mess like, it takes a long time to become good at installing in people homes.

 

[Pixie7]

I am still mystified by what he was achieving, any chance of the pictures of what he was connecting to what? If it were another socket, it's a bit high up a wall, if it were a light switch, it's a bit low down. Safe zones spring to mind so just curious what he was doing.

It was socket to socket. It is low to the ground, affected kitchen cabinet is sitting on the floor (apologies if I named it wrongly). New socket is just under the stairs. Hope this helps

 

[Pixie7]

I think some sparks are as thick as plumbers or joiners, if I would have don’t that job you wouldn’t have seen anything out of the ordinary. Lots of sparks on here think domestic sparking is easy, it is if you leave a mess like, it takes a long time to become good at installing in people homes.

I believe this was a genuine mistake and the guy didn't realize what happened at all so I expect we will sort this out soon. That said, it is almost impossible to find someone who is willing to do such a small job, not to mention an expert. They can't be bothered even to send you the quote, at least where I live.

 

[binky]

It was socket to socket. It is low to the ground, affected kitchen cabinet is sitting on the floor (apologies if I named it wrongly). New socket is just under the stairs. Hope this helps

So he should have aimed for the gap under the cupboard, unless you have pipes running low down

 

[apprentice87]

Stupidest thread i have ever read....

Do not pay then a penny, until it is all repaired properly. They will not care, as this is why they have business insurance...

john..

 

[Pixie7]

So he should have aimed for the gap under the cupboard, unless you have pipes running low down

No pipes, just cables. It's only cabinets and units with double oven and fridge. I guess he tried to avoid cutting the wall and patching it up later on, I have no clue.

 

[Pixie7]

Stupidest thread i have ever read....

Do not pay then a penny, until it is all repaired properly. They will not care, as this is why they have business insurance...

john..

Sorry about stupidity, I'm not an electrician. My background is in electronics, opted for that as I can't easily electrocute myself at work if not careful. We always admired you AC guys.

It's already paid, didn't cross my mind that someone could install cable through kitchen cabinet so didn't check before he left. So much so about stupidity.

 

[C.R]

I think some sparks are as thick as plumbers or joiners, if I would have don’t that job you wouldn’t have seen anything out of the ordinary. Lots of sparks on here think domestic sparking is easy, it is if you leave a mess like, it takes a long time to become good at installing in people homes.

Definitely, I wouldn’t be any good at domestic installs if it came to making a living, I just don’t have the experience, whereas some of my sparky friends do domestic all the time and nothing can compensate for knowing the routes and runs to make, and all the other installation methods and knowledge gained from being time served in that sector