No Luck with Electricians in Scotland

[Old Time spark]

Can I ask for some feedback and advice from the professionals on the points below?
Refurbishing two cottages into one, I had engaged an electrical firm to carry out the installation, but following very poor work and practice as recommended here I stopped the work and engaged another electrician.
Asking if he was qualified I was assured he was C&G qualified, and could sign off the installation at the end for building control.
I have to say his work was poor, he spent the first several weeks installing the floodlights outside. When adding an extra 10w flood some 12 inches around a corner from the last he ran a new cable back to the consumer unit, unclipped anywhere, and not in the cable tray for the rest of the run.
Installing conduit into the plaster to the sockets back boxes, the conduit is not earthed, not level and some drops have no fixings and as it is above the wall level the joiner will now have to cover with plaster board.
After many other errors, such as smoke detector cable left hanging with no longer access to the celling void, a smoke detector located so the door will hit it, PIR in wrong location, lights switch on the wrong side of the door etc etc
Reluctantly after pointing much of these errors out, he left site, sending a second invoice, yet he had given a written quote for the job to completion. On his last invoice he has charged for plugs and screws, drill hire, cutting discs, brackets, grommets, cable etc
The work done is not even half the work, yet he is charging more than 50% of the total quote.
It seems confusing in Scotland as with no part P, competent person, and limited availability of electricians, how can you trust and check installers?
The final worry is after investigation he has C&G Electrical Inspection and Testing (2391) does this make him qualified to do installations?

 

[telectrix]

pics 1 and 2 are rough. pic 3 looks OK. i'd be inclined to pay for wat he's done, less 25%, then get another spark.

 

[richy3333]

Where about are you located? Happy to help if I can

 

[MJPD29]

As tel said pics 1 and 2 are rough but not horrific, and nothing wrong with pic 3 realistically. Any more pics?

 

[pirate]

Those pics may not be pretty, but then you can't expect works of art from every spark. However, some of the other points you mention do smack of a lack of planning and care in execution. As for charging for drill hire, grommets etc if you had a firm quote, surely these "extras" are covered by the quote.
If I get a new tyre, or a puncture repair, I expect to be charged for the parts and labour, but not for the air...

 

[PEG]

Hi,just how did you come to select the second spark,after the carry-on with the first?

 

[littlespark]

We’re not all cowboys up here!

There are just as many part p registered, full paid up scam members south of the border that would still make a pigs ear out of it.

 

[Old Time spark]

Where about are you located? Happy to help if I can

Cheers I am on the North East between Dundee and Aberdeen.

 

[Old Time spark]

We’re not all cowboys up here!

There are just as many part p registered, full paid up scam members south of the border that would still make a pigs ear out of it.

I know that, it just seems I have attracted some!! this one was on recommendation.

 

[Midwest]

Pic 2, I don't understand what was achieved by doing this? If thats an example, I would be worried about the rest of the install.

 

[ferg]

Wrong side of the country for me.

 

[DPG]

That short piece of tubing is quite amusing. As above though, can't see the problem with picture 3.

 

[Dave OCD]

I can't see why he's even bothering to use steel conduit, totally unnecessary, more time consuming than plastic oval tubing and poorly installed too.

 

[baldelectrician]

I am in Ayrshire and registered with NICIEC ad SELECT and a Certifier of Contruction
As far as the job goes- I would have suggested you not to use conduit unless you were taking said conduit in to the boxes correctly with bushes etc.
Doesn't look too bad imo- saying that the conduit is a bit rough and not useful in any way.

 

[Toneyz]

If it was not intended to take conduit or oval conduit to the box you might as well have saved on paying for the chasing and just had the cables capped a bit pointless.
As for picture 3 seems ok.

 

[JK-Electrical]

It seems confusing in Scotland as with no part P, competent person, and limited availability of electricians, how can you trust and check installers?

Unfortunately, as things presently stand, anyone can carry-out electrical work in Scotland. Up here, we have kitchen-fitters, bathroom-fitters and wetpants who are advertising themselves as 'electricians'. I kid you not.

Asking if he was qualified I was assured he was C&G qualified, and could sign off the installation at the end for building control."

Being in possession of a City & Guilds certificate does not facilitate signing-off a building warrant. There are only three ways that electrical work carried-out in Scotland in conjunction with a building warrant can be signed-off:

1. By using a Scottish Buildings Standards Approved Certifier. In this instance, when a building warrant is applied for and the applicant states that they are going to use an approved certifier of construction, the certifier simply downloads a certificate of construction from the Scottish Buildings Standards website, completes it and sends it back to SBS. LA Building Control check the validity of the certificate and sign-off on the work.

2. When the applicant is not using a Scottish Buildings Standards Approved Certifier, building standards will ask for a Minor Works Certificate or an EIC, or even an EICR that has been completed by a SELECT or an NICEIC member.

3. The third option is Reasonable Enquiry. This is the only option available when the person who carried-out the work is not a Scottish Buildings Standards Approved Certifier or a member of SELECT or NICEIC. A copy of the electrician's SJIB grade card must be submitted along with a Minor Works Certificate or an EIC and a copy of the calibration certificate for the test equipment used.

As for the actual work, while I would consider it to be a bit rough, I've seen worse ..... much worse. I have no idea what the intended purpose of the conduit in image 2 is. It's about as much use as window wipers on a submarine.

 

[sparkdog]

Oh flower of Scotland
When will we see your likes again?

 

[Charlie_]

All the good ones have left the country

 

[littlespark]

no I haven’t.

 

[telectrix]

deflated

 

[richy3333]

Cheers I am on the North East between Dundee and Aberdeen.

Ah, I'm up north but West coast I'm afraid

 

[KennyKen]

Defeats the purpose of using conduit TBH. Probably didn’t know how to thread conduit.

 

[Simon47]

That short bit of conduit is potentially worse than no conduit - the cable is now in contact with an unprotected sharp steel edge. OK, once it's plastered then there'll be no movement - but that's no excuse.
The third pic is not wrong, but poor workmanship. Once the clipped cable has been trapped like that, pulling in further cables stands a good chance of pinching it and then wearing away at the sheath.