Help needed to review quality of distributer box installation

[SparkyChick]

This is the problem with Electrical Trainee/boil in the bag electricians they do all the academic side ok and have a limited practical experiance from the booths think they are a electrician get a job and are out of their depth through lack of (practical) experiance.

Not all of us

I racked up lots of practical experience of all sorts of building and electrical work before I climbed out of my office cubicle. But, from my personal experience, you're largely on the money.

 

[Toneyz]

This is the problem with Electrical Trainee/boil in the bag electricians they do all the academic side ok and have a limited practical experiance from the booths think they are a electrician get a job and are out of their depth through lack of (practical) experiance.

Pete, there have been many posts over the last few days from you that the spelling has been worse than mine.

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

Unless I am mistaken scheme membership isnt required in scotland but it is till notifiable is it not?

As for the price, he is a con artist, Would be a maximum of £400 at Bath prices.

As others have said do not pay him, let him try to take you to court for it, no judge would award him the money if they see that pile of S**T. At very least you would get somebody else to put it right and take the costs of that off what he is demanding.

Needs reporting to trading standards. hopefully north of the border they do something.

 

[Deuce]

As for the price, he is a con artist, Would be a maximum of £400 at Bath prices.

It's worse than that. The OP could have just watched some youtube videos/read a book and with a small amount of care achieved a better result!! I'm not suggesting people do that... But it's hard to imagine there is anything more dangerous in the trade than a person who literally doesn't care, and has no standards whatsoever. To the point they can't even be bothered to try and hide the shitty mess they left behind.

I still really wanna see the mess inside the unit though....

 

[Octopus]

I wonder if any of our Glasgow based members could spare the time to go and do a little onsite onsite inspections on this?

If it was on my patch I would certainly make time!

 

[Deuce]

I wonder if any of our Glasgow based members could spare the time to go and do a little onsite onsite inspections on this?

If it was on my patch I would certainly make time!

You know what - if any read this, or anyone else flags/tags them, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if a local spark with half an hour to spare thought it might be interesting (potentially hilarious) to go for a quick sniff around.

If nothing else I suspect they would get a job out of it too. It's also the only safe way that cover is getting removed so we can all finally see the extent of the travesty beneath.

Could we have a whip round and just pay a local chappie to go take a look?

 

[SparkyChick]

I only tagged in JK because he was the only one I could remember. If I could have found more I would have tagged a few more in.

But yeah, I want to see what's inside that CU.

 

[Deuce]

I only tagged in JK because he was the only one I could remember. If I could have found more I would have tagged a few more in.

But yeah, I want to see what's inside that CU.

For cash? £700.

Hurry up and pay, vans on double yellows ennit.


Edit: Obviously not the CU in question, but probably not far off

 

[Baddegg]

Wow that’s Shocking that’s certainly not been done by an electrician total chancer alright.

Yep up here in scotland you don’t have to be registered with a scheme but you certainly should have paperwork and test certificates.

For that price I would have stripped the whole cupboard, new backing board brand new board all labels and stickered up with certificates to boot

i wouldve polished it as well for that price...

 

[GBDamo]

This is the problem with Electrical Trainee/boil in the bag electricians they do all the academic side ok and have a limited practical experiance from the booths think they are a electrician get a job and are out of their depth through lack of (practical) experiance.

You'd be bang on the money except that poor excuse show little academic knowledge either. Not a lot going for this fellow to be honest.

 

[Deuce]

You'd be bang on the money except that poor excuse show little academic knowledge either. Not a lot going for this fellow to be honest.

Their biggest failure (assuming nothing too crazy done inside the CU) is just a complete lack of care imo. Even if all that is exposed is earth, anyone that is working in people's homes should care enough to know that electrical tape and exposed copper will keep folk awake at night. For the sake of simply buying a new section of trunking to hide his 'artistry' this whole thread probably wouldn't have happened.

That said I'm glad it did start as I'm sure the OP will now want another set of eyes on what has been done that we can't see.

 

[GBDamo]

Their biggest failure (assuming nothing too crazy done inside the CU) is just a complete lack of care imo. Even if all that is exposed is earth, anyone that is working in people's homes should care enough to know that electrical tape and exposed copper will keep folk awake at night. For the sake of simply buying a new section of trunking to hide his 'artistry' this whole thread probably wouldn't have happened.

That said I'm glad it did start as I'm sure the OP will now want another set of eyes on what has been done that we can't see.

Dread to think what is I side that CU although I have an inclination as to what it'll be like..

 

[johnduffell]

OP has sent a photo with the cover off, cables are all nicely dressed:

 

[Deuce]

Whilst we're poking fun, the rogue spark is relaxing in his £700 swimming pool...

 

[JK-Electrical]

I wonder if any of our Glasgow based members could spare the time to go and do a little onsite onsite inspections on this?

If it was on my patch I would certainly make time!

I came from work last night in a pretty good mood. Having carried-out an EICR in a rental property yesterday morning, I was pleased that I hadn't found any major issues within the installation. Apart from there being no sleeving on the CPC at either end of the shower circuit that wetpants had installed, everything was as it should be. I was pleasantly surprised to have not stumbled upon any DIY lash-ups. Alas, this is what I've come to expect when I go to jobs in the Glasgow area. The standard of some of the electrical installations that I've been seeing recently is truly shocking. So today it was a nice change to have worked on one that hadn't been mercilessly butchered.

The installation of two smoke alarms and a heat alarms in the afternoon went well. My talented apprentice and I managed to conceal all the wiring in the ceiling without having to cut any access holes anywhere. There is just no beating the truly magnificent Super Rod Deluxe rod kit. Every self-respecting electrician should have one.

My mood was further enhanced when the body repair shop who are repairing my VW Caddy called to let me know that my van will be ready for collection on Friday. It's been in the repair shop for three weeks, having been badly damaged five weeks ago after a careless wetpants reversed into me at speed in a Screwfix car park. The inconvenience, financial loss and disruption to my business that his carelessness has caused is partially offset by the immense, almost orgasmic, pleasure that I derive from knowing that his insurance premiums will surely rocket.

And so I arrived home after a good day at the office, looking forward to enjoying the week's break that I promised myself in July, but have never got round to taking. Today was going to be a relaxing jogging-bottoms and sofa day spent watching conspiracy videos on YouTube. But on arriving home, I discovered that my personal assistant had left a message on my desk detailing a telephone conversation she had earlier in the day with a new customer. From what I gleaned from my PA's notes, a relative of the customer had a new consumer unit installed at a cost of £700.00. For reasons best known to himself, the 'electrician' who fitted the boards brought along a plumber to help. Apparently, they didn't do a very good job. Imagine my surprise.

So I called the customer and was told of the woes that the 'electrician' and his wetpants pal had created. Although I was unable to picture in my mind's eye the extent of what the pair had done, I nevertheless realised early-on in the conversation that all the signs were pointing towards a lash-up of epic proportions. Being the kind-hearted, customer-focused guy that I am, I decided that the conspiracy videos can wait, and have duly arranged to attend the crime-scene this afternoon so I can witness the carnage first-hand. The least that I can do for a customer in distress is to inspect their installation to determine the level of danger present and try to help in any way that I can to protect them from being ripped-off by unscrupulous operators. I'm angry at what these two have done. I think I may know who did this. We'll see.

When I receive a telephone enquiry from a new customer, I always ask them at the end of the conversation how they found me. The customer told me that a moderator on the Electrician's Forum had put my name forward. I was somewhat intrigued to say the least, and as I've been absent from the forum for a few weeks, I didn't know about the existence of this post until yesterday evening. So I logged-on, searched the forum, and here I am.

Well, what can I say that hasn't already been said by previous posters? I think it's a racing certainty that SELECT will be receiving yet another notification of a dangerous installation tomorrow afternoon. My esteemed apprentice has had a real eye-opener these last few weeks as he sees for himself just how poor some of the installations in the Glasgow area are. This consumer unit 'upgrade' is as bad as anything else we've seen. He's on holiday in Turkey for a week so he'll have to wait until he gets back to discover that yet another lash-up has come to my attention. While most of you lot are just itching to see what monstrosities lie lurking behind the consumer lid, my curiosity, however, has been blunted by a sense of impending dread.

I think the best approach is to first of all carry-out a visual condition report. I use EasyCert software for my certificates and the report form will allow me to record my observations and apply the appropriate codes. There are going to be several C2 codes, that's for sure. I'll write-up a detailed report to give the customer some clout. I'll also provide the customer with a quotation. I think it's fair to say that these two units are going to have be completely redone. The installation will also need to be tested in advance of the work taking place as I doubt very much if any testing was done prior to Laurel and Hardy fitting these two boards.

As the property is a flat, a building warrant is not necessary. Up here in Scotland a building warrant is required for the installation of additional sockets, but not for a consumer unit changeover. Absolutely incredible and beyond belief. The system we have in Scotland for ensuring electrical safety in domestic premises is evidently broken and not fit for the purpose. Worse, anyone can set-up as an electrician in Scotland. But this farcical state of affairs is hopefully coming to an end. A debate will take place in the Scottish Parliament tomorrow afternoon to discuss protection of title for Scottish electricians. I'll be there as will many other SELECT members as we continue our fight for recognition of our skills, expertise, knowledge and training.

The unqualified personnel carrying-out electrical work in Scotland need to be identified and weeded-out of our trade as quickly as possible. The under-qualified must also be identified and offered the opportunity to get their qualifications up to date or also face being weeded-out. Drastic situations require drastic measures. The only people who should be doing electrical work in Scotland are fully-qualified, regulated electricians. End of. There is no other way to put an end to the type of rogue installations that has driven a ripped-off member of the public to come to our forum to voice their concerns. We listened. Hopefully the Scottish Government will listen too.​

 

[Octopus]

^^^ Part P for Scotland - like thats going to help .................. not

 

[SparkyChick]

@JK-Electrical .... we need pictures

 

[johnduffell]

@JK-Electrical excellent work but I'm going to be late for work after reading that! did you start the post at midnight? Posted Today at 4:07 AM

 

[SparkyChick]

The installation of two smoke alarms and a heat alarms in the afternoon went well. My talented apprentice and I managed to conceal all the wiring in the ceiling without having to cut any access holes anywhere. There is just no beating the truly magnificent Super Rod Deluxe rod kit. Every self-respecting electrician should have one.

Couldn't agree more ​

 

[Wilko]

Yes - thanks for looking at this JK

 

[Deuce]

I'm so glad someone on here is actually able to take a look

Can't wait to see more pictures..

 

[polo1]

Sorry, just saw this post and would have offered a free visit to assess. Bloody awful work.
Interested to hear what JK says!

 

[SparkyChick]

Sorry, just saw this post and would have offered a free visit to assess. Bloody awful work.
Interested to hear what JK says!

As I said, I figured I'd tag a few of you in but could only remember JK and couldn't search on location, so sorry about that.

 

[polo1]

As I said, I figured I'd tag a few of you in but could only remember JK and couldn't search on location, so sorry about that.

Lol, no worries. It’s sad (but no surprise) that people are still being ripped off like this. Gets the trade a bad name.

 

[markythesparky]

Totally agree with SC on this, a total cowboy lash up, hope you haven't paid this bloke yet, although by the tone of post you already have, any certificates issued? was the Herbert who did this registered with any Competent Persons Scheme, NICEIC, NAPIT, ELECSA, STROMA to name a few?

Probably!

 

[Octopus]

Always wondered why some people don't give a location on their profile .... Or give something really vague like South!

 

[markythesparky]

i wouldve polished it as well for that price...

I suspect he may have been polishing something else while he was doing that!

 

[Deuce]

I suspect he may have been polishing something else while he was doing that!

All we know for certain, looking at the pictures, is that he failed to polish the turd he left for his poor customer!

 

[JK-Electrical]

^^^ Part P for Scotland - like thats going to help .................. not

I'm not sure that we'll be going down the Part P route. From what I've heard, the plan is for SELECT and NICEIC to maintain a register of all personnel carrying-out electrical installation work in Scotland. To be included on the register, the applicant will need to have up to date qualifications. Anyone who is not on the register commits a criminal offence if they even advertise as an electrician never mind actually undertake electrical work. But for this approach to work, the Scottish Government will have to first give Scottish electricians protection of title. This very day may well turn-out to be the day that this plan starts to become a reality. A debate commences at 12:45 this afternoon in the Scottish Parliament. I will be there. Hopefully I'll be watching history in the making! We'll see.

 

[JK-Electrical]

@JK-Electrical .... we need pictures

You got 'em lass.

 

[JK-Electrical]

I attended the property this afternoon and carried-out a Visual Condition Report. I've uploaded the redacted document for your perusal. I also carried-out a Ze test (fine), RCD trip times (fine) and Zs tests on all the sockets (not fine). I also did end-to-end tests on two RFCs. The house ring was fine, but there is an issue with the kitchen ring. Someone (Kevin the kitchen-fitter, no doubt) has made alterations which have resulted in a complete loss of continuity of both CPCs at one of the kitchen sockets. Zero volts between live and both CPCs. So, whoever did the board changeovers either knew about this fault and simply ignored it, or, as is much more probable, didn't do any testing prior to installing the new boards. All the issues that I found are detailed in the VCR. I look forward to reading your comments!

Now for the moment that you've all been waiting for ...... the photos:

The customer informed me that it was a wetpants who did all of this. I've yet to decide a definite plan of action to rectify this lash-up, but I'm inclined towards ripping the lot out and starting again from scratch using a Hager unit instead as I absolutely hate BG boards. I think that the Axiom 3-way garage unit that is being used to supply three off-peak storage heaters should be replaced by a better-quality unit with 100 amp main switch and RCBOs. I propose to relocate this board further to the left so that I can utilise the adaptable box that is being obscured. I could then take all those bad joints inside the box and crimp them or use Wagos. Your thoughts please guys and gals.

As we all had already anticipated, the customer did not receive an EIC.

 

[Baddegg]

I suspect he may have been polishing something else while he was doing that!

His spurs?

 

[SparkyChick]

Inside the smaller one isn't as bad as I expected, but the big one... Nice Quality

Thanks JK

 

[Octopus]

I attended the property this afternoon and carried-out a Visual Condition Report. I've uploaded the redacted document for your perusal. I also carried-out a Ze test (fine), RCD trip times (fine) and Zs tests on all the sockets (not fine). I also did end-to-end tests on two RFCs. The house ring was fine, but there is an issue with the kitchen ring. Someone (Kevin the kitchen-fitter, no doubt) has made alterations which have resulted in a complete loss of continuity of both CPCs at one of the kitchen sockets. Zero volts between live and both CPCs. So, whoever did the board changeovers either knew about this fault and simply ignored it, or, as is much more probable, didn't do any testing prior to installing the new boards. All the issues that I found are detailed in the VCR. I look forward to reading your comments!

Now for the moment that you've all been waiting for ...... the photos:

View attachment 45196

View attachment 45197

View attachment 45198

View attachment 45199

View attachment 45200

View attachment 45201

The customer informed me that it was a wetpants who did all of this. I've yet to decide a definite plan of action to rectify this lash-up, but I'm inclined towards ripping the lot out and starting again from scratch using a Hager unit instead as I absolutely hate BG boards. I think that the Axiom 3-way garage unit that is being used to supply three off-peak storage heaters should be replaced by a better-quality unit with 100 amp main switch and RCBOs. I propose to relocate this board further to the left so that I can utilise the adaptable box that is being obscured. I could then take all those bad joints inside the box and crimp them or use Wagos. Your thoughts please guys and gals.

As we all had already anticipated, the customer did not receive an EIC.

A very sensible and thorough use of a visual inspection form - the customer could almost copy and paste as his justification not to pay, or to pay a hugely reduced sum for the "work" undertaken.

Trading standards should be informed too IMHO

Good man.

 

[johnduffell]

Nice work! Hope the customer is satisfied.
Although comment would be you're only supposed to code non compliances that affect the safety of the installation, so lack of labelling could only be an observation could it?. Also no CPC continuity would not need further investigation in order to classify it, although investigation would be needed to repair. Should just be coded straight away.

 

[Octopus]

Nice work! Hope the customer is satisfied.
Although comment would be you're only supposed to code non compliances that affect the safety of the installation, so lack of labelling could only be an observation could it?. Also no CPC continuity would not need further investigation in order to classify it, although investigation would be needed to repair. Should just be coded straight away.

Lack of labeling is normally.a C3, but I have seen it as a C2 - Lord knows why ...

 

[Deuce]

AHH well... That was a great read!! I hadn't realised there was such a difference in regulation and legislation north of the border, but the results are clear to see in the report and pictures.

Was the customer angry or amused as you went through all issues? I know no self respecting Glaswegian likes to learn they've had their pants pulled down so I can probably guess...

 

[Deuce]

So... a few days ago I posted this image of what I imagined could be going on beneath the cover:

And @JK-Electrical revealed this image of the actual work carried out:

Eerily close!

 

[Wilko]

Ha ha, they could be brothers!

 

[JK-Electrical]

As I said, I figured I'd tag a few of you in but could only remember JK and couldn't search on location, so sorry about that.

Polo1 has sent me a PM kindly offering to help-out on this job. I will most likely accept the offer. I'm sure the pair of us could turn this abomination into an electrical work-of-art. I'm always open to working with other local electricians whenever the need may arise.