Scotland Regs and Sparks

[Old Time spark]

Can I ask for some feedback and advice from the professionals on the points below?

Refurbishing two cottages into one, I had engaged an electrical firm to carry out the installation, but following very poor work and practice as recommended here I stopped the work and engaged another electrician.

Asking if he was qualified I was assured he was C&G qualified, and could sign off the installation at the end for building control.

I have to say his work was poor, he spent the first several weeks installing the floodlights outside. When adding an extra 10w flood some 12 inches around a corner from the last he ran a new cable back to the consumer unit, unclipped anywhere, and not in the cable tray for the rest of the run.

Installing conduit into the plaster to the sockets back boxes, the conduit is not earthed, not level and some drops have no fixings and as it is above the wall level the joiner will now have to cover with plaster board.

After many other errors, such as smoke detector cable left hanging with no longer access to the ceiling void, a smoke detector located so the door will hit it, PIR in wrong location, lights switch on the wrong side of the door etc etc

Reluctantly after pointing much of these errors out, he left site, sending a second invoice, yet he had given a written quote for the job to completion. On his last invoice he has charged for plugs and screws, drill hire, cutting discs, brackets, grommets, cable etc

The work done is not even half the work, yet he is charging more than 50% of the total quote.

It seems confusing in Scotland as with no part P, competent person, and limited availability of electricians, how can you trust and check installers?

The final worry is after investigation he has C&G Electrical Inspection and Testing (2391) does this make him qualified to do installations?

 

[ProDave]

As a resident Scottish spark I will answer.

You are right at the moment there is no Part P type scheme in Scotland.  They did introduce a Certificate of Conformance (or something similar) scheme for a number of trades some years ago, but that scheme was and continues to be voluntary.

All that building control want at the end is an EIC (Electrical Installation Certificate).  They will it seems check your credentials the first time you do a job in a particular area, I have so far been vetted in Highland, Moray and Invernessshire.

You are equally correct that qualifications are no guarantee of someone doing a good job. And regretably, cases of poor work like that are what is driving the push to introducing some form of competent persons scheme in Scotland which will come in a few years.  I just hope retirement for me comes sooner as I can't be bothered jumping through all the hoops they will put in front of you.

The best you can hope for is to find a tradesman who comes with a personal recommendation, which is how I get most of my work.

I would not have used conduit in that example but plastic capping to be plastered over.

Perhaps the issue here, is throughout much of Scotland, "plastered on the hard" is rare. Most sparks will be used to wiring timber frame and plasterboarded houses, even old cottages are usually lined inside with timber then plasterboard.  I have a "plastered on the hard" house to do at the moment and it just makes me glad I don't have to do them very often.

 

[Evans Electric]

Most unusual to be using steel conduit on house bashing .  

 

[Jono Pashley]

I have no idea what the imbecile in question was trying to achieve.

 

[ProDave]

And that twisted back box. Do post a picture of the pigs ear he makes of fitting that socket. Tell him you want a screwless flat plate socket just to challenge him a little. 

 

[Sharpend]

This is where the question WHY? Is correctly used. 

Perhaps galv capping would have been more appropriate. I suspect the idjiot thought by using conduit the cables wouldn’t get snagged when re rendered/plastered, only didn’t put any thought into the cable routing before engaging conduit idea.??