sanity check for electrical services

[Travis Baldwin]

Me personally I name and shame these people. Put it out on social media in your area that he's rough and doesn't give the required documentation.

The money is probably the contractor taking £500 or something and giving the rest to the spark.

I've said this before on here and got ripped for it but i'm going to say it again: if you want to get what you pay for never ever let a builder or other contractor arrange electrical work for you. It will rocket the price and they're nothing but middlemen. In this day and age you can go straight to a scheme provider and find your own spark and get him to quote direct.

The spark went on and on about all the tests he has to take to get certified each year... the changes in code, etc. Doesn't that mean he's accountable to some larger organization if he leaves a job a mess?

 

[Spoon]

So I wanted to share an update... I've been in touch with the electrician and he says he won't give me a certificate of electrical work done. He said the wiring is a mess ( which to be clear, he left it a mess ... then the contractor who subcontracted him demanded payment for his work )

Just to be clear, the cert you should get is purely for the work the electrician has done.
If he has changed a circuit to a ring then he should have tested it to see if it's ok. Same goes for the changes to the light circuit.

 

[Travis Baldwin]

Just to be clear, the cert you should get is purely for the work the electrician has done.
If he has changed a circuit to a ring then he should have tested it to see if it's ok. Same goes for the changes to the light circuit.

Ok, Understood.

This certification / documentation of what was done is going to be important if any issues come up in the future, and for any later work. Right now it's left a mess that I have to deal with.

--- So another question ---


So what's to keep an electrician from refusing to give any documentation (especially once he's paid)... and if he does give documentation, what's to prevent him from leaving out issues, especially if they were out of sight (like under a hardwood floor)?

 

[BiddeldyBwah]

Just because a member is part of a scheme does NOT mean he is any good or will do a good job!! Many people get caught out like this.

I didn't say it meant that - we all know it doesn't - just pointing out that getting various people to give you quotes directly instead of letting a middle man do it would be cheaper. A scheme provider is one way OP can do this. Recommendations is another. Finding reputable companies on trustpilot is another. And so on.

 

[BiddeldyBwah]

The spark went on and on about all the tests he has to take to get certified each year... the changes in code, etc. Doesn't that mean he's accountable to some larger organization if he leaves a job a mess?

Was he a member of a scheme like NICEIC or NAPIT?

 

[Travis Baldwin]

Was he a member of a scheme like NICEIC or NAPIT?

I do not have that information but have his name.. is there a way to look up members?

 

[BiddeldyBwah]

I do not have that information but have his name.. is there a way to look up members?

I'd call them and ask.

 

[Travis Baldwin]

Drop me a DM - I've got a reason to come up to Bristol in Jan at some point (I'm south Somerset) and whilst I don't tend to do domestic anymore I'd be happy to look it over and advise if you'd like.

Money wise you're probably on to a looser if you've paid up already to a third party, but the work absolutely needs certifying - even if the cert is 30 pages of observations about issues.

Hi Rocking it.. any chance I could ask you to pop by my house if you're in Bristol? Would sincerely appreciate your assessment of the situation.

 

[Rockingit]

Hi Rocking it.. any chance I could ask you to pop by my house if you're in Bristol? Would sincerely appreciate your assessment of the situation.

Sure, I'll pick up where we left off in our DM's

 

[baldelectrician]

You can look the electrician up online

Competent Persons Register | Home

Competent person schemes (CPS) were introduced by the Government to allow individuals and enterprises to self-certify that their work complies with the Building Regulations.

www.competentperson.co.uk

Also you can look up the NICEIC directly at Homepage NICEIC - https://www.niceic.com/

 

[partplonker]

So there was a lot of kit plugged into the sockets in the room.. When I looked under the floorboards, the wire supplying the room had apparently gotten quite hot and had melted into the styrofoam insulation under my floor

If that insulation under your floor contains any kind of polystyrene like material, then it can cause plasticiser migration in the PVC sheath of the cable. It looks like green goo and makes the sheath go brittle.

If this is what damaged your cable rather than an overload and if it has been rewired without protection from the insulation, it will happen again.