Discuss Advice needed - Kitchen socket in the Electrical Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

Welcome to ElectriciansForums.net - The American Electrical Advice Forum
Head straight to the main forums to chat by click here:   American Electrical Advice Forum

Reaction score
41
I was asked my an elderly couple if i could fit a twin sso in their kitchen, i had to say no as im only part qualified and i know its a notifiable job. I found out yesterday evening that they had another sparky fit the socket for them but they wernt happy so asked me to go have a look, on the surface it all looked fine, twin socket fed from fcu spurred off kitcen radial, put the martindale in, no earth, switched off fcu, opened up socket and found it was wired in 1.5mm singles, both black with no earth, i have told them its not safe as it is and have taken fuse from fcu so it cant be used, as im quite a noob when it comes to the trade whats my next step, can i remove it all to keep them safe without notifying building control, BTW is a private house owned by the couple and they were left no paperwork, i have tried ringin this "sparky" but cant get hold of him, any advice people.

Rob
 
You've done the right thing disabling the socket. I'd leave them with some paperwork saying you have disconnected the socket with reasons why and keep a copy to cover your back.

They need to find a qualified, registered sparky to put it right.
 
First thing is has the couple got a certificate for the work , this type of work even though its only minor is notifiable , its people like this that has given good sparks a bad name and i bet they charge alot of mony for doing the job too , rob so far you have done the right thing , i would lable across the socket do not use too , they should be reported for carrying out works like this ,if i was in your position i would contact trading standards for advice
 
A few things to note:
There's no legal requirement for anyone conducting electrical work to be qualified, so the fact that you are part qualified doesn't prevent you from doing the work.
It is the householder, or person ordering the work's responsibility to notify. This can be done either by prior notification (at least 48 hours notice, allthough this can be made retrospectivly) or by using someone who can self certficate.
"Replacement, repair and maintenance jobs are generally not notifiable, even if carried out in a kitchen or special location or associated with a special location." Source Part P Approved Document.
Any colour conductor can be used (excepting G/Y, or Green on it's own) for LV Line and Neutral conductors, as long as the conductors are identified at the terminations. This can be achieved by using coloured sleeving, tape or an alphanumeric method.
Unshethed conductors may be used where appropriate mechanical protection if required is provided.
 
^^ reading the above, now that someone else has done the installation and what you will be doing is replace/repair the item, it does not need notifying even though it's in a special location?

So nothing to stop Rmaynard now going back and putting it right?
 
thanks for the input, i have been back this moring and put a safety warning on the socket, i have given them a condition report form basically saying its unsafe and that iv put it out of use, they originally wanted the new socket to run a washing machine and tumble drier and its an old wylex 3036 board so no rcd protection what so ever. I will leave this job to someone else i think, it needs a lot more than just adding a cpc.

Rob
 
As Spinlondon says, this may possibly be compliant, particularly if it has been fused down, (though given your description I doubt it) and you need to give him a chance to have his say before you take this further. If you cannot get hold of the electrician who did the work, can you at least leave a message for him? Your message should be along the lines of "I am aware of the work you did at 99 Acacia Avenue, and have concerns about the standard of the installation. Would like to speak with you first, but if this is not possible then I feel strongly enough about this to be considering contacting the local authority building control and the trading standards. I would also like to know which competent persons scheme you are registered with to do this work as it comes under Part P of the building regulations. If I haven't heard from you by this time next week I shall be raising this matter with the authorities."

In my opinion, if you take out the singles and replace with T&E then you will in fact be effectively taking over responsibility for the job, and will be extending the circuit yourself. This is therefore notifiable work.
 
Out of curiousity, I just wondered why the elderly couple werent happy with it ??
You said on the surface it all looked fine, and i assume it was working. Obviously when you opened it up the wiring was found to be unsatisfactory, but the elderly couple didnt know this ??
 
Last edited:
Out of curiousity, I just wondered why the elderly couple werent happy with it ??
You said on the surface it all looked fine, and i assume it was working. Obviously when you opened it up the wiring was found to be unsatisfactory, but the elderly couple didnt know this ??

the old lady thought she could feel a tingling when she was touching the drier, as she couldnt get hold of the person that fitted it they rang me, i have now found a sparky to take care of it.

Rob
 
A large % of these problems arise because people want something for nothing imo. I don't dispute the fact that there's dodge pots out there, but people can be tight when it comes to electrics.
 
i agree and its the same across all trades, a lot of people want the jobs done in the quickest times and with the least money spent, although they paid £140 for this socket to be fitted.

Rob
 
Last edited:
and they told me john wayne was dead!
 
1.5mm off the south end of a FCU is perfectly ok....thats if i read the OP correctly..:D

Agreed - but lack of cpc is definitely not ok. And lack of sleeving if both singles the same colour. And lack of additional protection for singles, though he didn't state the reference method.
 
it was in round tube condiut, surface mount obvs, i didnt think 1.5mm would carry the current needed to run large appliances, but im still learning as i said.

Rob
 
another point to note, if you alter or change anything then the resposability becomes yours so if something happens to go wrong you were the last electrician working on it...
 
best to get hold of the ----pot who did it. if he won't answer his phone, send him one of those text thingies. threaten trading standards if he doesn't come out to put it right within 7 days.
 

Reply to Advice needed - Kitchen socket in the Electrical Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

OFFICIAL SPONSORS

Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Electrician Courses Green Electrical Goods PCB Way Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Pushfit Wire Connectors Electric Underfloor Heating Electrician Courses
These Official Forum Sponsors May Provide Discounts to Regular Forum Members - If you would like to sponsor us then CLICK HERE and post a thread with who you are, and we'll send you some stats etc

Electrical Forum

Welcome to the Electrical Forum at ElectriciansForums.net. The friendliest electrical forum online. General electrical questions and answers can be found in the electrical forum.
This website was designed, optimised and is hosted by Untold Media. Operating under the name Untold Media since 2001.
Back
Top
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Sure, ad-blocking software does a great job at blocking ads, but it also blocks useful features of our website. For the best site experience please disable your AdBlocker.

I've Disabled AdBlock