Hi I've used an electrician to do a full rewire to a gutted property I'm refurbishing. They were just about complete when the plumbers sparky came to install the boiler and he came up with the following major problems with the original sparkys work (he was saying to rip it out & start again!). I'm used to tradesmen complaining about how each other have done stuff but want to know the implications. No earth sheaths on sockets or consumer unit New wires have been put back in original notches and not drilled, there are no metal plates. No grommets to boxes Some switch boxes have been adapted to be used as socket boxes Kitchen sockets were 1200 high from floor level What I want to know is are these a poor install or against regulations and will prevent it being certified. As the plumbers sparky said he'd have been none the wiser if the sockets had been screwed in and floor boards replaced but I want it doing properly. The electrician wasn't on site at the time, I've tried calling & he isn't answering his phone now! Thanks
I agree, I'm thinking of just getting someone in to alter every socket & the consumer unit, install plates & get them to test & comission. Can't help but feel it'll be a few hundred quid down the drain but I'll learn a lesson of getting cheap tradesmen! What I want to know is this against regulations end of story or just not best practice?
The ones that really are show stoppers is the cable in notches and missing earth sleeving. The rest are just lazy.
As Col said, no earth sleeving and cable in notches are the main things, if he really couldn't be bothered to drill the joists he could at least have put "safe plates" over the cables. Lack of grommets is just rough although not a danger with sheathed t/e cable but still very rough! Kitchen sockets at 1200 from the floor level is no problem at all, regulations regarding socket and switch heights don't apply to re-wires.
Thanks for your help. I've got through by text and he says he knew he's aware he left off sleeves & gromits as he forgot them so just bought them today. ( can't imagine anyone intentionally wanting to go back over every socket now) No cert yet as he's officially not finished and supposed to be returning for a couple of minor snags. I withheld enough payment to cover the cert as I've had reliability problems with him but not enough for all the potential rectification. Kitchen is coming next week so want it tested by then just in case the worse happened and there are other major faults needing rectification. Thanks
No earth sheaths on sockets or consumer unit No grommets to boxes These are basic errors that fall well below the standard of a remotely competent installer. You need to tell him to come back and rectify these (and any other) defects at his cost. If he won't, you can instruct another electrician and then sue the first one for the costs involved. Presumably as the work isn't completed yet you haven't paid for it?
He's not paid in full until I'd got the cert but to the untrained eye it looked complete so he's had the bulk of the payment, I've maybe £150 outstanding He's said he will return after holiday mid next week but I don't trust him! The other sparky is free from tomorrow. I'm thinking of just employing him to rectify it and putting it down as a lesson learnt.
Cables in existing notches? That's fine. Ask an engineer about drilling a hole in a joist with a notch already in it... It is permissable to notch joists - look at the building regs Part A where it gives zones where to carry it out. It's not permissable to drill a joist in the first 0.25 of a span (that's for 0.25 - 0.4 of a span) . But you can notch from 0.07 to 0.25 of of a span. Safeplates could have been be used though. Kitchen sockets @ 1200mm? That's down to preference not regulation. A lot of people like a socket above a worktop high enough that it's accessible when it's got a toaster kettle etc near it, or jars and such like stored underneath it. The rest of it sounds like a **** sandwich though.
The people who carried out the rewire are not sparky's..no one can certificate the system as there are too many rectifications needed to bring it up to an acceptable standard. No grommets and earth sleeving - no qualified sparks would do that for a start. Sorry but that's the way it is op.
Ben, this is your call. But I don't understand why you don't give the guy a chance to sort it first - can you really not wait until next week? Seems you are happy to call it quits and pay the extra for the other sparky. A couple of points, tho'; (1) Is this new sparky happy to 'sign off' the other guy's install and give you the cert? (I don't think I would be...), And (2) if the first sparky gets in touch with you next week to finish the job, finds you've had someone else in to do it instead, he can still claim the outstanding £150 from you. (Unless he has agreed with you (ideally in writing) to 'call it quits' as it currently stands.)
Sadly he first has to give the other guy the choice of whether to finish it or not (up to the point where it either takes an unreasonable length of time for him to do so, or the customer considers his work to be sooo shoddy that he refuses to have him back. But he'd need to be acting 'reasonably' on both grounds.) If neither side wants him to finish the job, they will need to agree the terms of this (ideally in writing). Eg: "You don't need to finish it and don't need a cert from you, and I keep the £150."
If I must be the odd one out ill speak what I think. . Have you done this yourself OP and the spark who is going to come in third party sign off and is not happy with what's been done to date? Why has it taken this long into the job to grind things to a standstill and flag stuff up now so far down the food chain? Sorry to be acting as the glass is half empty but I see this situation like echoes in the alp's mate Obviously the spark you have had in is not one, simple basic 1st year priniciples in electrical engineering issues not carried out Did you check this bloke is a registered self-certification chap so as to leave you all nice and legal or is the old chestnut of BC involved? Si