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Hi. We’ve recently suffered a house fire that has written off our kitchen and damaged most of our house and we’re in the process of having it repaired. The electrician has been and inspected and found that the wiring is not in line with current regulations. They have proposed that they install a second consumer unit next to our existing one and then run cabling around the outside of our house to feed the kitchen and downstairs bathroom. I really just want to know if this is the best way to do it or if it’s just the easiest/cheapest, because I don’t really like the idea of the wiring being around the outside of the house. The consumer unit is in the front room and would go in a straight line through the dining room and into the kitchen. They already have the ceiling in the kitchen down and I would assume they would just need to lift the floorboards upstairs.
I’ve literally no idea what’s best here so any advice would be greatly received.
Thanks for reading!
 
Sounds a bit dodgy to me. Do you have a contact at the Insurance company? Raise your concerns with them as I sense the quote given and spec given to them may differ from the work actually done? You’ll want a like for like replacement / equivalent that complies with current regs.
 
Sounds a bit dodgy to me. Do you have a contact at the Insurance company? Raise your concerns with them as I sense the quote given and spec given to them may differ from the work actually done? You’ll want a like for like replacement / equivalent that complies with current regs.


Thank you. I’ve been in touch with the loss adjuster and raised my concerns as it doesn’t sound right to me but I just wanted some reassurance really. I’m literally brand new to this whole process. I do know they’ve quoted £3k for the work which I thought sounded a lot?!
 
If you are having a lot of rewiring £3k probably isn’t far off the mark. Routing cables outside the house would be plain wrong IMHO unless there was good reason and they were fixed and protected according to regs.
 
I agree running cables external to the property is a poor solution. Why are they adding a second consumer unit as opposed to replacing the existing one, you definitely need a second or third opinion.
 
That was my thought, although I’m certainly no expert.
They are replacing all the carpets so I would have assumed it would be a relatively simple job to lift the floor boards upstairs and run the wiring through?
I’ve raised my concerns with the loss adjuster, they’ve been a bit pants with every aspect of this claim so far so I’m not surprised they’re trying to fudge this part. Hopefully will hear from them tomorrow with an answer.
Thanks for your advice!
 
What caused the fire?
Why the additional consumer unit? If the first one was faulty or dangerous then it would be replaced not added to.
 
What caused the fire?
Why and additional consumer unit? If the first one was faulty or dangerous then it would be replaced not added to.

The fire was started by a faulty fridge, one corner of the room is fire damaged, two sockets have melted and the rest is smoke damage.
They want to put a consumer unit in just for the kitchen and bathroom which is essentially an extension of the kitchen because the current one isn’t inline with regs apparently. It’s an old terraced house.
 
Think Alan’s called it,what the insurance company are paying for and what the spark is doing are 2 completely different things....
 
I have dealt with these issues,and you have the right to ask pertinent questions. I would ask on the basis of an electrical fire,is taking what sounds like an electrical short-cut,sound thinking.

Insurance entities pick contractors willy-nilly,and then shoves them all against each other on their stated time scales...this may be an attempt to keep one contractor away from others,as routing the installation internally,as would be normal,means trades who may be strangers,working together.

I will shorten this a bit...We lost two family members in a house fire,and i was tasked with the inglorious task of supervising things,in regards to the insurance rebuild. The property next door,was badly damaged,and the owners, made homeless for 6 months.
Their insurance was covering their rebuild,and at one staggering point,their loss adjuster was on site,whilst their contractor was installing second-hand timber from...and get this...a demolished,fire damaged building :rolleyes:

The owner had been brushed aside by the loss adjuster,being told "this is standard practice..."

I took up this issue,and he got an education,i can guarantee,he will remember to this day. The timber got removed.

Do not be afraid to question their decisions,and if needed,get someone qualified,to give you guidance and backing.
 
Having also been involved in insurance claims/work, the loss adjuster has the insurance best interests at heart. Don't let them tell you otherwise. The adjuster after checking your insurance covers you for the claim, will endeavour to have the repair work carried out in the quickest most cost effective way.

If your electrician is working directly for the insurance company, I would, as already suggested obtain your own quotation(s) to carry out the repairs to current wiring regulations, and present them to the loss adjuster.
 
Agree with above - this is not a good solution for you. It's not sympathetic to the house's construction nor is it a "like for like replacement". You want it restored as before and tell them in writing it's not acceptable. The compliance with Regulations is an issue for the Electrician to solve, not for you to compromise.
 
Hi. We’ve recently suffered a house fire that has written off our kitchen and damaged most of our house and we’re in the process of having it repaired. The electrician has been and inspected and found that the wiring is not in line with current regulations. They have proposed that they install a second consumer unit next to our existing one and then run cabling around the outside of our house to feed the kitchen and downstairs bathroom. I really just want to know if this is the best way to do it or if it’s just the easiest/cheapest, because I don’t really like the idea of the wiring being around the outside of the house. The consumer unit is in the front room and would go in a straight line through the dining room and into the kitchen. They already have the ceiling in the kitchen down and I would assume they would just need to lift the floorboards upstairs.
I’ve literally no idea what’s best here so any advice would be greatly received.
Thanks for reading!
Run the cabling around the outside of the house? did this bloke park his Horse around the corner? was it the insurance company who recommended this Muppet?
 
Cables outside would potentially reduce the value of the property, maybe not by much but if you sell, a potential buyer would want a reduction to cover correcting the outside wiring.

The Insurance should pay to restore the property back to where it was before the fire.
If the Regs, either wiring or Building, have changed then the Insurance repairs have to comply to new and they have to pay for that.
 
You have seriously all put my mind at ease, thank you. I’m going to ring around a few electricians this morning and get a couple of quotes.
They’ve been a band of muppets from the start, I’ve only found one person to be helpful and he’s the project manager. Poor bloke just wants to get the work done but the trades are just causing hold up after hold up!
 
Hi. We’ve recently suffered a house fire that has written off our kitchen and damaged most of our house and we’re in the process of having it repaired. The electrician has been and inspected and found that the wiring is not in line with current regulations. They have proposed that they install a second consumer unit next to our existing one and then run cabling around the outside of our house to feed the kitchen and downstairs bathroom. I really just want to know if this is the best way to do it or if it’s just the easiest/cheapest, because I don’t really like the idea of the wiring being around the outside of the house. The consumer unit is in the front room and would go in a straight line through the dining room and into the kitchen. They already have the ceiling in the kitchen down and I would assume they would just need to lift the floorboards upstairs.
I’ve literally no idea what’s best here so any advice would be greatly received.
Thanks for reading!
If you have been tasked with employing am electrician by your insurance, then make sure you get someone reputable, preferably someone who is registered with one of the CP Schemes (NICEIC, NAPIT) there are many to chose from, the bloke who gave you the quote sounds like a Jack the Lad type, cables around the outside of the house my foot.
 

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