Just when you think there's no more surprises.

[Specialist]

Just been to look at a repair for a friend of a friend, flat over a shop with electric tripped out & won't come back on.
Went to the shop 1st to see landlord & found shop half in darkness with staff in a flap as all breakers were OK etc.
Told them I'd be back & went to sort out flat, Tennant had plugged in kettle & RCD tripped then wouldn't re-set or so they said. I unplugged the kettle & re-set the RCD but still no power on, used non contact tester on tails & found no live.
Started following tails & found another RCD on the opposite wall that had tripped, re-set and yes we have power.
Great I thought, then the landlord arrives to say that all shop power is back on.
Cut a story short: On checking above the suspended ceiling at the back of the shop, turns out the back of the shop was converted from a storeroom a few months ago & the "sparky" had added the new lights & sockets onto the flat circuits via a big nest of junction boxes in the ceiling void.
Have told the landlord how dangerous it is & given him the numbers of 2 good contractors, told the Tennant she needs to ask for a refund on her electric too.

Traced the flat supply too: Comes off a separate meter in the shop then via about 10m of tails to first RCD in the flat, from there to a Sentry split load CU on the opposite wall.
Gets interesting in there, tails to main switch then out into RCD all MCB's are then on RCD side. What a lash up.

 

[Rpa07]

Via a big nest of junction boxes should ALWAYs be followed by a nice picture @Specialist - you should know that by now! Good detective work.

 

[Specialist]

Wish I could have mate, bit difficult with the Landlord watching me like a hawk downstairs & the Tennant upstairs.
Felt like a bloody convict all the time I was there.

Anybody know if they make a head torch with a built in camera ?.

 

[Paul228]

Are we working on the same job???
Very similar issue. Landlord speaks little English,,but tells me is electrician friend did some work a few months ago and since then the flat above has have lots of tripping.
So went back into the take away to look at this "electricians" work and found this
we could run a competition...see how many issues you can spot.

 

[Specialist]

Oh FFS, at least my moron used junction boxes & actually put lids on them .
Bet your glad you didn't just stick your head into that void without looking.
Wonder how many more nasties are there waiting for you.

 

[Paul228]

Lol. After yesterday's issues with a neon HT lead touching a ceiling grid I dropped everything before I looked inside the ceiling.
Did you spot.
No enclosure.
No earth sleving.
Bare copper wire used as links
L & N mixed
Masking tape used.
8 wires crammed in one hole.
Mixture of 2.5 & 1.5 on the same lighting circuit.

 

[vjsmarwick]

What I found when I had a look at what had been done in a customers house by a so called electrician just the day before ! No earth sleeve on anything strip connectors behind the boxes taped up to extend the wires ! I marched straight to their office took their boss down and told him to get it sorted properly ! Will be going back this week to check the outcome but this is a company employed by our government to do improvements in old people's houses people that don't know any better I now have a list of 8 of their jobs to check because of my one customer ! I only went to refit her heater lol.

 

[Specialist]

Lol. After yesterday's issues with a neon HT lead touching a ceiling grid I dropped everything before I looked inside the ceiling.
Did you spot.
No enclosure.
No earth sleving.
Bare copper wire used as links
L & N mixed
Masking tape used.
8 wires crammed in one hole.
Mixture of 2.5 & 1.5 on the same lighting circuit.

Missed the mixture of 2.5 & 1.5 on the lighting circuit
Issues with a Neon HT lead touching ceiling grid ? Now that's one I haven't come across Yet.

 

[Dave Jenkins]

Photo says it all. I'm sure I'm not alone in saying I come across this sort of 'installation' week in week out. Worst one I ever came across was a shower cable that went from 6mm to 2.5mm then back to 6mm - all wired into 'choc bloc'... and buried in the ceiling void.

 

[Specialist]

What I found when I had a look at what had been done in a customers house by a so called electrician just the day before ! No earth sleeve on anything strip connectors behind the boxes taped up to extend the wires ! I marched straight to their office took their boss down and told him to get it sorted properly ! Will be going back this week to check the outcome but this is a company employed by our government to do improvements in old people's houses people that don't know any better I now have a list of 8 of their jobs to check because of my one customer ! I only went to refit her heater lol.

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Bunch of bloody butchers if you ask me.

 

[Paul228]

Lol... fancy missing that one. You will only be good enough to join Nicky ( and yes I put Nicky, just in case the lawyers of a similar sounding trade institution is reading)

 

[Paul228]

Worst one I ever came across was a shower cable that went from 6mm to 2.5mm then back to 6mm - all wired into 'choc bloc'... and buried in the ceiling void.

That's allowed, the 2.5 acts as an improvised fuse.....honest gov.

 

[Wilko]

Wish I could have mate, bit difficult with the Landlord watching me like a hawk downstairs & the Tennant upstairs.
Felt like a bloody convict all the time I was there.

Anybody know if they make a head torch with a built in camera ?.

We should be wearing body cameras to get the best shots for the Forum

Via a big nest of junction boxes should ALWAYs be followed by a nice picture @Specialist - you should know that by now! Good detective work.

This will be the new "must - have" accessory

 

[Rpa07]

Looks like it's attached through overalls into skin! Are you a Borg @Wilko ?

 

[Wilko]

Resistance is futile ...

 

[Specialist]

No good Wilko, I was thinking covert.

 

[Paul228]

I always take pics of dodgy stuff I come across.
Especially you work for iffy landlords.
A. It protects me, just in case someone says you where the last guy here.
B. To tell the landlord it needs rectifying and if he doesn't get it sorted I'll be informing building control or the HSE.
All landlords then say...
How much can you put it right for?

 

[Specialist]

I just found a covert camera built into a pen & ordered one, will see what the pic quality is like when it arrives.
Only one I could find built into a torch was £100, bugger that for a game of soldiers.
Lot of people down here point blank refuse to let you take pictures.

 

[Paul228]

Being a 6ft5 Yorkshire guy, they won't be stopping taking pics of dodgy works and my own " not as dodgy" works.
To quote my neighbour John Prescott. I say what I like and I like what I say

 

[Rpa07]

I took a photo of some cracked rendering before I drilled from in to out for an exterior light fitted yesterday. The customer insinuated until I told him about the photos taken beforehand - he soon shut up. Well worth it to protect yourself. It also helped me to put the jigsaw back together again, it was more watertight when I finished!