Discuss Full Rewire Consumer Unit Height 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

So we have agreed to move it to the wall near the front door. I am not particularly happy with having to use joints to extend cables on a new rewire but I am trying to sort this out as best as possible.

Are joints problematic and is it something to worry about in the future? My wife keeps saying is saying going to be substandard wiring so I am just trying to clarify?

Personally I wouldn't accept any unnecessary joints on a new install.
 
I agree but the electrician will not put it under the stairs and without it can't get anything signed off. Think he may use wago connectors instead
If he did the wiring why was it routed to below the stairs if he had no intention of fitting the consumer unit there.
 
It does sound strange that mr electrician runs the cables back to somewhere he’s not planning to install the CU.
Either newly qualified and doesn’t quite understand the regs concerning new builds and rewires, or he’s trying it on for extra bucks
 
Building regs part M.
Of course, thanks, my bbb & osg are in van at the mo, am I right in remembering that the 450 - 1200 for sockets & switches are specifically mentioned but not the cu height? Which is 1350-1450
 
I agree but the electrician will not put it under the stairs and without it can't get anything signed off. Think he may use wago connectors instead

You're the customer, and there is no regulation preventing it from going under the stairs, so he should fit it there if that's where you want it.
 
If he did the wiring why was it routed to below the stairs if he had no intention of fitting the consumer unit there.
Agree. Whilst we are not on site to see the best location for the CU, there should not be the need to have any joints, because this electrician has now decided to relocate it. If the cables are now in the wrong place, electrician should replace cables, free of charge. Seems as he/she has made the error.

OP did not accept joints in cables, your wife is correct in her thinking. The electrician should be doing the rewire correctly, which shouldn’t include unnecessarily jointing cables.
 
Just out of curiosity, at what heights did he put the new sockets and switches?
Someone has already mentioned what the new build heights are, but would be interesting to know if he has put them at that height or where they were before
 
Well he is managing the work and not doing the install himself apart from testing and connecting the unit. Something I wouldn't do again. He will never admit that he is wrong but it was his responsibility to let me know before the work if the unit had to be moved. The builders electrician who is doing Tey house wiring has said that he is prepared to move it next to the front door and incur any extra costs involved.

I was thinking that I would always have the option to move it back under the stairs in the future and and then the wago connectors I assume would no longer be required?

Not ideal but just want everything done now, even I'd not ideal. Will learn lessonsn for any future work.
 
I guess you prob don't want the awkwardness but I think we've decided that 1)you, the customer doesn't want it moving, and
2) apart from the other fellas opinion, it doesn't need moving.
Time to have a tough conversation
 
insist that you have it where yo want it (under stairs). if he won'tdo it, don'tpay him, get someone with mre that 2 brain cells.
 
Well he is managing the work and not doing the install himself apart from testing and connecting the unit. Something I wouldn't do again. He will never admit that he is wrong but it was his responsibility to let me know before the work if the unit had to be moved. The builders electrician who is doing Tey house wiring has said that he is prepared to move it next to the front door and incur any extra costs involved.

I was thinking that I would always have the option to move it back under the stairs in the future and and then the wago connectors I assume would no longer be required?

Not ideal but just want everything done now, even I'd not ideal. Will learn lessonsn for any future work.
Not quite understanding why he is managing the work and only connecting the consumer unit and testing and someone else is carrying out all the other installation work
Even more confused that all the cables are being jointed under the stairs to facilitate repositioning the consumer unit why not just connect the cables to a consumer unit under the stairs
[automerge]1589453202[/automerge]
I'd be encouraging for it to be relocated outwit the cupboard under the stairs. Nice, potential fire risk and potentially if the stairs catch fire a hindrance to exiting the property. At least adjacent to the stairs it will be passed and thus seen more frequently. Use a flush fit unit and it doesn't have to be ugly.
And the likely fire risk of a properly installed consumer unit is ????

Doesn't having the consumer unit adjacent the stairs present the same risk of a fire hindering any exit down the the stairs
Whether it is flush or surface I'm not sure I would want a consumer unit as an architectural feature and using a flush consumer unit would more than likely break through into the cavity which would then potentially bring it into contact with the cavity insulation with other possible fire risks

At least an understairs cupboard could be lined with fireboard if the perceived risk is high enough to warrant it
 
Last edited:
What is the position of the meter and service head in relation to the existing and proposed CU positions?
 

Reply to Full Rewire Consumer Unit Height 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