Dodgy trade pictures for your amusement! - 1 Million Views!

[JBW175]

Its amazing the amount of old crap that sells on Ebay and other selling sites...

BG CFUSW07 METAL 7 WAY CONSUMER UNIT WITH 100A SWITCH PLUS MCBs | eBay

Also includes the following MCBs :-. 1 x 6A - BG B6 CUMB6. 1 x 32A - BG B32 CUMB32.

www.ebay.co.uk

You'd be amazed - take a look at what sells on ebay.

I shouldn’t be surprised seeing all that really.

I once had a landlord approach me mid EICR with a pre 17th amendment 3 board, and ask if I could use it for remedials to keep costs down.

 

[freddo]

I hate self adhesive mini trunking especially when it is shoddily installed and not even needed.

I'm quite proud of my filling and painting though! I wish I'd taken a before photo. Carrying on from that other thread I used easy fill to replace the damaged skim and plaster and to repair a hole in the ceiling I cut to fish the cables down to the switch trunking, then after sanding a small bead of caulk in all the corners between walls and walls and ceiling. 2 coats of paint after.

 

[Simon47]

Saw this on another group, and thought it fits here....

Took me a second to realise what had actually happened...

View attachment 95842

Looks to me like it's been screwed to the plasterboard and it's given way. Possibly having a row of holes in the board has created a weakness that's failed. Funnily enough, was watching Shawn the Sheep (ah the joys of grand kids in the house, well that's my excuse), an episode involving a 3D TV just the other day - had a similar theme !
it does remind me of a job I did a good few years ago now. We had an estate agent for a client (did all their IT and "stuff"), and they were setting up a new branch. So loads of stuff ordered, including 3 big TVs to use and displays. A couple of them were fairly easy - very expensive bits of pipe (would probably have been a fraction of the price to pop round to the motor factors, buy some lengths of exhaust pipe, and a can of black paint) and brackets, and a bit of ply screwed through the ceiling for a top support (bottom end screwed to the floor).
But one of them, on a "swivel about" bracket like that, fixed to the wall. Oh boy, was that "interesting" - cobble and lime mortar I got it fixed, but TBH was never 100% sure about it. But it did survive until a couple of years later they decided that branch wasn't working and we got to take it all out again - I was relieved when I got that telly down.

 

[littlespark]

Some people don’t realise the extra forces caused on one of those sticking-out-from-the-wall type brackets compared to the flat ones.

How did we ever fix CRT tv brackets to the wall, I’ll never know

 

[Simon47]

Some people don’t realise the extra forces caused on one of those sticking-out-from-the-wall type brackets compared to the flat ones.

Yeah, a lot of tension in those top screws.

How did we ever fix CRT tv brackets to the wall, I’ll never know

With a tall fixing plate and either lots of screws or big screws. I've sometimes been accused of "over engineering" things - but surely you should always assume some 20 stone person is going to "test" your workmanship I sometimes think that my fixings won't fail, but what about what they are fixed to ?

I've seen pictures of a similar failure on a bigger scale, e.g. :

From Marton grandad rescued as carport collapsed

 

[ipf]

Yeah, a lot of tension in those top screws.

With a tall fixing plate and either lots of screws or big screws. I've sometimes been accused of "over engineering" things - but surely you should always assume some 20 stone person is going to "test" your workmanship I sometimes think that my fixings won't fail, but what about what they are fixed to ?

I've seen pictures of a similar failure on a bigger scale, e.g. :

From Marton grandad rescued as carport collapsed

That nob's in a bit of a bad way......!!!!!!

 

[Mike Johnson]

Bolt failure, best viewed full screen, don't know why its on twice?

 

[littlespark]

Back in the 90’s I was on a team fitting storage heaters… no wiring involved, that was a different team… I was just on building and connecting.
Anyway…. There was an issue where we were all called into the office as there had been an incident.
We were getting dragged over the coals because some kid had pulled a heater off the wall.
This was before the days of instant photographs on smartphones, so it took a while for the truth to come out.

Yes, the heater had come away from the wall, but so had the wall…. The “kid” was a fairly hefty older teenager, the type whose house was full of holes in walls, doors etc where he’d punched out his frustration.

He had deliberately rocked and pulled the heater until it came away…. Bringing some brick with it in the process.

Good old chocolate block walls

 

[telectrix]

Yeah, a lot of tension in those top screws.

With a tall fixing plate and either lots of screws or big screws. I've sometimes been accused of "over engineering" things - but surely you should always assume some 20 stone person is going to "test" your workmanship I sometimes think that my fixings won't fail, but what about what they are fixed to ?

I've seen pictures of a similar failure on a bigger scale, e.g. :

From Marton grandad rescued as carport collapsed

vorsprung durch techsplatt.

 

[Raptor0014]

Went to look at a job today.

Lady got in touch as having work done and builders have had their ‘electrician’ in to sort the work out ready for a new kitchen.

All apparently done last year but they won’t come back now and have not given her any certificates for any of the work. I can’t think why….

Nice...

Pretty sure that's not the intended use of that pattress.

Bare copper showing through on the conductor. Not sure what they have done apart from not done a deep enough chase, not use cable clips correctly and/or used capping to protect.

Lovely use of connector blocks and maintenance free enclosure for the cupboard lights...

Cooker switch feeding a 4.5kw inbuilt oven and grille fed from the 13a isolator next to the socket

 

[Dustydazzler]

Typical builders wiring , see this all the time

 

[Simon47]

Bolt failure, best viewed full screen, don't know why its on twice?
View attachment 95851

Ooh, I bet the lawyers and insurers were/will be arguing about that for a long time. Hope the civil engineer who designed the retaining system had good liability insurance as I bet he'd be at the front of the queue for a reaming.

 

[Mike Johnson]

The whole wall was undermined, that was definitely not in the Engineers method statement, the cascade failure is vertical.

 

[freddo]

More rubbish heating wiring, conductors falling out of terminals, copper exposed no cord grips etc. Was wired incorrectly so you couldn't have heating on the ground floor unless the first floor or cylinder were calling for heat.

Also saw this in the WC where I was working on Friday and couldn't help but laugh.

 

[Raptor0014]

More rubbish heating wiring, conductors falling out of terminals, copper exposed no cord grips etc. Was wired incorrectly so you couldn't have heating on the ground floor unless the first floor or cylinder were calling for heat.View attachment 95982

Also saw this in the WC where I was working on Friday and couldn't help but laugh.

View attachment 95983

I hate finding plumbers wiring for heating systems. Took me 4hrs to fix one bodge like that once and get it all into a proper wago wiring centre.

 

[freddo]

I hate finding plumbers wiring for heating systems. Took me 4hrs to fix one bodge like that once and get it all into a proper wago wiring centre.

Took me that long to work through all the wiring, black being used for neutral didn't help. They had connected a core of one flex to the core of another then at the other end connected that core to another going back to where it started I ended up pulling a 5 core and 4 core flex out between 2 junction boxes as they just weren't needed. Have to go back and get extra cores to 2 UFH manifolds, fit 3 pole isolators to the 2 boilers, proper wiring centres, labels etc.

 

[Dustydazzler]

Plumbers wiring is nearly as bad as Builders wiring

 

[telectrix]

went to do a EICR for son'slandlord (as in legal requirement), bloody 22mm gas pipe fitted in front of CU. can't even take the cover off. i really do dispair at the other trades whon ain't got 2 brain cells to argue.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Can be said about most trades, an original thought would be very lonely.

 

[ipf]

went to do a EICR for son'slandlord (as in legal requirement), bloody 22mm gas pipe fitted in front of CU. can't even take the cover off. i really do dispair at the other trades whon ain't got 2 brain cells to argue.

Remember that one where BG fitted their meter in front of the CU.....then the 'gas engineer' connected in accordance......two for the price of one.

 

[Raptor0014]

Nothing to see here. Just a 80a supply nicely terminated…..

 

[littlespark]

Nothing to see here. Just a 80a supply nicely terminated…..

View attachment 96030

Is this in a chippy, or pub kitchen by any chance?
Mainswitch looks like it’s had a coating of airborne cooking oil fumes

 

[James]

Hot and slippery, Just the way I like my isolators.... hmm wait, i was thinking of something else there for a moment.

 

[Raptor0014]

Is this in a chippy, or pub kitchen by any chance?
Mainswitch looks like it’s had a coating of airborne cooking oil fumes

10 points to littlespark. Pub Kitchen.

I’m changing the board tomorrow. All the fixings are broken bar one so it’s literally hanging off the wall and I nearly couldn’t get it back together when I was checking the cabling today. I think it’s only the grease holding it all together.

 

[Welchyboy1]

Thought this EICR was going to be a breeze today…was told before I arrived the systems all been upgraded to the latest regs, new steel cu, all rcbos, apparently done in 2017 by an NIC AC
surely this isn’t the work of someone who actually gives a s#&t!

(I added the blanks by the way)

No certs available though lol that would of been interesting

 

[SparkySy]

Aaagh my eyes!! You got the shortest of short straws with that one!
Sy

 

[SparkySy]

One of many beauties I came across today!

 

[westward10]

This is wood dust.

 

[James]

Thought this EICR was going to be a breeze today…was told before I arrived the systems all been upgraded to the latest regs, new steel cu, all rcbos, apparently done in 2017 by an NIC AC
surely this isn’t the work of someone who actually gives a s#&t!

(I added the blanks by the way)

No certs available though lol that would of been interesting

I am surprised to see penny washer used to hold that junction box to the wall.
from the looks of the rest of it i would have expected sticky tape or chewing gum!!

 

[littlespark]

I took the cover off a board just last week and it was full of cavity wall insulation that had found it’s way inside from the rear…

Got a surprise when the good lady of the house stretched over me with the metal tube of her vacuum cleaner to clean it out

Had to stop her and explain the dangers

 

[timhoward]

This is wood dust.View attachment 96056

So....leaf-blower or Henry?

 

[SparkySy]

I bet there was more in there until you removed the cover and it snowed it everywhere
Sure I've posted this before. This one was full to the very top of chaff and mice bedding, only after removing it was the damage they had done revealed! I had the cavity wall insulation one a few times, its a right mess to clean up!

 

[westward10]

So....leaf-blower or Henry?

It was in a wood mill extraction booth maintenance didn't know it was there, you couldn't actually see it due to a dust mountain it was the trunking that gave it away.

 

[Dartlec]

Thought this EICR was going to be a breeze today…was told before I arrived the systems all been upgraded to the latest regs, new steel cu, all rcbos, apparently done in 2017 by an NIC AC
surely this isn’t the work of someone who actually gives a s#&t!

(I added the blanks by the way)

No certs available though lol that would of been interesting

Who makes Reco? rebranded something I assume - looks like they took inspiration from MK (Though to be fair the new MK stuff seems to have fixed the lean)

 

[Welchyboy1]

Who makes Reco? rebranded something I assume - looks like they took inspiration from MK (Though to be fair the new MK stuff seems to have fixed the lean)

Never seen that brand before tbh

though looks similar gear to CED boards by Toolstation rebrand as you said

cant believe he’s used additional CU internal neutral conductors to extend the rcbo neutrals how would they be too short ???

looking forward to ripping that lot out and rewiring

 

[timhoward]

Not so much the high number of connections crammed into a box which is bad enough, but the entire circuit concept...
This is next to the CU on one side:

The other side of CU is a DIN rail timer:

Connections are CU to the joint box. Joint box uninterrupted back through CU to timer. timer back through CU again to joint box using 3 core flex with brown sleeving on all three (naughty!). Then off to three outside lighting circuits.

The circuit feeding it all was showing 0.07 Mohms IR L+N to E so I'll be starting again.
I also found the timer is linked out anyway!

 

[littlespark]

G/y core as a live conductor?? Tut tut

 

[Deleted account]

G/y core as a live conductor?? Tut tut

I don’t like it and wouldn’t also, but I have been informed this is acceptable if it’s sleaved.

 

[Dustydazzler]

Only filthy animals and plumbers use the Cpc as a Phase conductor

 

[pc1966]

I don’t like it and wouldn’t also, but I have been informed this is acceptable if it’s sleaved.

I thought G/Y was explicitly only for CPC use?

Edit: Yes, see 514.4.2