plaster on elec cables

Had similar myself due to wet plaster.

 

What sort of connections? In any event, whatever the plasterer does shouldn't affect the wiring.

 

Maintenance free connections used ?

 

Would'nt be happy with that!

 

A real pro, then...

Gary, where are these connectors located? Behind the skimmed p'board?

Anyhoo, I'd have thought that, if these connectors are behind a p'board sheet, then it won't be damp affecting them.

More likely to be condensation forming inside the actual sockets, I'd have thought. This can especially happen if the back box is in a void which is open to air flow - say to the wall cavity or out t'top of the wall up in t'loft. You can then get the warm moist air of the hoosie being drawn in through the socket pin 'oles and condensing inside.

I've certainly seen this happen with a telephone socket - bad enough to cause corrosion inside (and mess up my in'law's interweb...). There was a howling draught going through that back box.

Possibly only a temporary thing due to the skimming - that creates a lot of extra moisture in the air. So might well fix itself. Possibly.

But, as Peter P alluded to above, he should have used 'maintenance free' connectors which simply cannot come loose by themselves.

Blimey, even I know that... (walks away whistling...)

 

Gary, you could - if you consider it safe to do so - unscrew all the new kitchen sockets and leave them dangling. See if that's the cause; if they 'dry oot' and the tripping stops, then bob's yer whatsit.

 

Hmmmm. I dunno then.

Sorry - don't know what to suggest.

Except that this would appear to be the sparky's problem, and I'd imagine he'd be able to (Megger?) test each circuit to see where the 'leak' is. If it's that new socket wiring, then he's got a lot of paying to do...

I presume it wasn't the plasterer cove putting a p'board screw through a wire, was it?

(Stand back and watch as the two trades trade blows...) (I know what that sentence says...)

 

The issue with the connections is that they should be maintenance-free, nothing to do with damp as such.

Any connector using screw-down terminals is susceptible to them coming loose over time due to a number of reasons - any movement or vibration in the cables, or the actual copper wires settling and moving or expanding and contracting, or the screws not done up tight enough to begin with - it was a tiny bit of grit in the thread wot made it 'feel' tight, or the actual action of the current flowing through can cause electro-magnetic movements which are sometimes enough to loosen less-than-secure screws.

Any JB placed in inaccessible areas should be of a particular type - eg having sprung terminals which cannot come loose by themselves.



(Thanks to folks on here, I'll be picking up my Ashley J803s today... )

 

So its not like its an emergency repair to the cable after being drilled or anything, this was new installation work to new sockets and it needed plastering anyway.

So instead of re-feeding them he used connectors taped up in the wall-probably not even 30A ones. I'm so glad I pay £600+ per year, it has improved the industry no end.

In case you hadn't gathered, that is **** poor work verging on dangerous, make the cowboy **** come back and get him to pay for the room to be re-skimmed after the work is re-done to an acceptable standard, give him a slap as well.

 

Very good chance, then.

The outer side of the skim will be evaporating to the air, but the inner layer will be condensing heavily on the cold surfaces below the 'board, including the wiring.

I still don't fully follow which way these new wires are running, and where the old wires are that he spurred off from.

Any chance of a photo?

(Trying to work out just how much of a yeeee-haaa this sparky is...)

 

Cable in wet plaster should be fine. My experience of it happened when the metal back boxes where in wet plaster and earthed with a tail. You might also get very low IR readings.