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[KillerWatt]

As per the title, I bloody love my job.

I don't love it because of the wage (although that is quite nice), and I don't love it because of the required hours (they are even nicer)......I love it for nothing more than the entertainment value.

Today we (my business partner & I) started a new job.
It's a total rewire for a 5 bed property, with a few added extra's so we are going to do very nicely thank you.

First job of the day was to make up the shopping list, and of course we went through the house.


First off, just how many wires do you think you can safely get behind a 20mm patress?




Next off is the living room.

Now it has never been legal to "spur" away from a socket that is already spurred (for obvious reasons), but this is class.......A 3 gang socket, fed by 0.75mm 3 core flex, connected straight to an existing spur (which was fed in 2.5mm˛ T&E).

The second pic shows just how close the owner was to serious injury/death.






The kitchen....

F**k me, this was bordering on truly amazing (truly amazing the property was still standing that is).

Every single last bit of power in the kitchen came from the CU (as expected), but it was via a single 6mm˛ T&E cable protected by a 30A fuse (yes, that's right...wire fuse).

If that wasn't bad enough on it's own, we then discover a "junction box" in the kitchen, where the incoming feed has been "extended" by means of a 30A bit of choccy block 

The black bit you see isn't a camera defect, the whole lot really was well on it's way to fried.




The dishwasher supply....

Another classic this one.
Why go to the aggro of getting a proper supply in, or even temporarily "bodging" it with an extension lead......when you can simply cut the waste pipe and run your cable through that?




This is less than half the crap we found today, and I fully expect to see a lot more when we start taking boards up.

In the meantime though, all potential house buyers should make sure they get a proper check done prior to purchase........and can the cowboys please carry on, because my bank manager loves you for it 

[ali]

I think you will have some job satisfaction when youve finished

[Mr Skrunts]

Worra a fooking muppet.   Surprised he is still alive. :-/

[Vamps]

My Kitchen was wired very poorly, so bad that the best way was to simply have it all removed and a new ring + cooker feed put in, to include the utility..

It was fed with a spur from a spur and I wanted to put a washing machine and a tumble dryer in..

[The Red Baron]

bloody hell kw, the mind boggles. i have fitted many a brewery & foundries with the appropriate wires but that takes the biscuit 

[feeutfo]

*aaaark ME!

 Your words mean very little to me KW. Electrician i aint. But the pics...even i know thats, well, "appalling" doesnt really cover it.

[Stevie-blunder]

Looks like my house  (not really) 

[Ken T]

I think a spur from a spur is OK in certain situations, but that looks definately bad. Kitchens tend to take a hammering, there is often a single double socket that feeds both the kettle and toaster so the curent draw is high, which tends to melt the cable insulation. Feeding the cable through the waste pipe well, that person should be banned from touching plugs.

Ken

PS I 've  a spare reel of black and red if you are interested   

[bertiecbx550]

That reminds of a cooker install we had to do in chelmsley wood in brum...His best mate an electrician had fed 10mm wire from the fuse box and nailed it to the wall and left us enough length to connect up to his new cooker.....My mate took 1 look at it and refused to connect it as he did not want their deaths on his conciensce....Comet told us to leave the cooker and they would send an engineer round to connect it later.....I often wondered how long the cooker lasted and who got the blame for it going bang!! but then again train people incorrectly and you will regret it in the end......Glad i left there now i hear they want to put gas installs on normal hdp delvieries now from a friend who still works in the wharehouse in wolverhampton....

[Mr Skrunts]

I just had 8 or 9 double sockets fitted in the litchen, plus extra sockets for fridge, freezer, washer and dishwasher, then a fused outlet for a cooker hood plus the external fan to go with it.  Even had an expelair unit fitted, plus power and surface mount socket for a TV outlet.

Every fitting and piece of wire is brand new as the klitchen was  gutted for a complete refit.  If I didnt put enough sockets in then tough, as I would never allow that sort of bodge to be added to the kitchen.

[MikeDundee]

Unbelievable ........obviously never heard of the 16th or 17th edition and the regulations regarding certified electricians carrying out electrical work. Looks like you have'nt checked the lighting yet?, wonder what that will throw up

How many faults were thrown up when you carried out the test and check

[Richie London]

ive seen the whole of the first floor electrics coming off of 1 junction box laying on the downstairs ceiling. doing empty properties where you get electricians who are supposed to be qualified after doing a 2 week course to me they should not be allowed. ive always found that those who do work in houses are always shite compared with those when im on a shopfit with fully qualified electricians.

[KillerWatt]

PS I 've  a spare reel of black and red if you are interested   

Thanks for the offer Ken, but I have all the necessary bits of paperwork to enable me not to have to take that route 

How many faults were thrown up when you carried out the test and check

We had no need to do a full test & check, we found enough wrong in the first 5 minutes of the visual examination that gave us the authority to condemn the whole lot.

[Kevin Wood]

My first house was in a similar state when I moved in (earth impedance about 10k ohms IIRC. Consumer unit didn't have an earth connection at all  ), and my mother in law has recently moved into a place that's similar to this (socket extensions wired with flex, etc.  ) so first job was to rip the dangerous stuff out and make the place habitable.

People worry about gas installations and wouldn't dream of touching them, yet do stuff like this.

Kevin

[Andy B]

A spark at work went to have a look at a friend's house. The ring main had been wired up with 2 fuses at the consumer unit - one on the way out & another when it got back!!  :-?  :-?  :-?