Question about Fuse Box in New Build

[telectrix]

now we're insulting pheasants. which same bird was a chicken designed by an architect

 

[bugsy]

OH DEAR OH DEAR OH DEAR ,
Firstly your being fed ********, the cu has to be accessable ( for disabled persons ) but it does not have to go above the bog!
but at least if the rcd goes while your in there it's quite handy , there must be another more suitable position,
My thoughts are that the spark concerned thought this was a cupboard ( or polish - not unusual to find CU's in obscure places in Poland

 

[1shortcircuit]

It's been put their so young children can lock themselves in the toilet, play fishes with their hands in the toilet and then play with the nice new looking fiddly switches that Mummy and Daddy say they must stay away from!

An absolute retard designed/installed that and I would insist if considering purchasing the property that they address this situation or you'll go elsewhere.... Plenty more houses looking for a buyer

 

[hasel5]

This board looks ****ed to me lol

 

[yellowvanman]

I guess the toilet was the nearest room from where the meter box (on the outside) was.

 

[Jonny66]

Accessible for people in wheeler chairs???, dont think so, you couldn't get a wheel chair close enough to reach the CU as the toilets in the way.

 

[bugsy]

Its the BBC!

 

[ipf]

You could have at least gone for the all mod-cons version.

View attachment 12040

Handy for any supplies required eh!

 

[ipf]

Accessible for people in wheeler chairs???, dont think so, you couldn't get a wheel chair close enough to reach the CU as the toilets in the way.

I doubt you'd get a wheelchair through the door.

 

[diditrain]

You need to ensure that there is an emergency light in there in case the rcd trips while you are on the loo. Can`t remember the reg number at the moment

 

[sedgy34]

we do alot of newbuilds and question anything we notice unusual on our drawings, the height is down to the building regs at 1200 from the finished floor level and its accesible but it seems no one has questioned its above the loo. why dont you ask them to box it in and make some shelving out of it.

 

[PC Electrics]

New or rewired domestic and similar installations : Electrical Safety Council

see Q30:Q30. Are there any particular requirements relating to the mounting height or location of consumer units for electrical installations in new dwellings?

The provision of access to consumer units is not specifically covered by Building Regulations or BS 7671. However, consumer units need to be so located as to enable reasonable access by the users, including for the purpose of testing the RCDs at regular intervals, and in case of emergency.
BSI Draft for development DD 266: 2007 – Design of accessible housing: Lifetime homes – Code of practice, explains how, by following the principles of inclusive design, general needs housing can be made sufficiently flexible and convenient to meet the existing and changing needs of most households, and so give disabled and older people more choice over where they live.
Amongst other things, the code of practice recommends that meters and consumer units should be mounted 1200 mm to 1400 mm from the floor so that the readings and switches can be viewed by a person standing or sitting, and should be positioned to be accessible.

Regulation number(s)

• 132.12
• 341.1
• 513.1

Sorry.
However I agree that it could have been a little higher on the wall. I recently did a new build and the CU is in the office, about 6ft up. When I took my assessor there a few weeks ago he didn't bat an eyelid over the height. Personally I think CUs should be mounted within reach of average adults but out of reach of children, so about 6ft IMO. When i was an automotive engineer we used to design the height of an open tailgate to e within 95th centile reach - in other words within the reach of 95% of adults (so the shortest 5% can't reach). I forget the exact height this represents, but it is about 6ft. This business of putting CUs in positions like yours is PC nonsense IMO

 

[SPARTYKUS]

......unless its in an area liable to flooding! Hah! Then forget that reg

Just to qualify, i have rewired a house that was flood damaged higher than 1200mm.

 

[PC Electrics]

I doubt you'd get a wheelchair through the door.

ground floor doors are extra wide for this purpose.

 

[Des 56]

Building regs or no building regs,prat of an architiect or not,it surly is a doctored picture

If not,its incredible to think how many other pratts have "seen it", "knew of it" or installed it,it still got positioned in a place where the only missing witness was basic common sense

 

[needasparks]

The clue on this is in the OP. Barratt says it all.
No one questions the design from architects on barrett jobs or you dont get any more work for them as a contractor, so it all gets done as the drawing.
I suspect this won't be the only anomaly in the property to appear when checked over.

 

[sedgy34]

......unless its in an area liable to flooding! Hah! Then forget that reg

Just to qualify, i have rewired a house that was flood damaged higher than 1200mm.

1200/450 is only for newbuild building regs so dont discriminate disabled nothing to do with exhisting houses

 

[SPARTYKUS]

Sedgy34


Good point. Yes house. Did was existing.

 

[telectrix]

and how many CUs are fitted with those cheapo, nasty blanks in the cover over unused ways? any 4 year old child can flick a blank out and stick his/her fingers in , onto a live busbar. so why fix a CU where a 4 year old can reach it? political ineptness gone mad. cater for the small minority to the detriment of the majority.

 

[needasparks]

and how many CUs are fitted with those cheapo, nasty blanks in the cover over unused ways? any 4 year old child can flick a blank out and stick his/her fingers in , onto a live busbar. so why fix a CU where a 4 year old can reach it? political ineptness gone mad. cater for the small minority to the detriment of the majority.

Last board i changed had exactly that and was full of dog food from the young-un putting it through the hole and filled it up.
When i told the owner he said the dog died 8 yrs ago and his daughter was now 20 so must have been like it for years.
No one was more suprized than me when i took the cover off and a kilo of biscuits fell out.