Understandable attitude?

[Midwest]

If it’s original, surely that means no one has altered it at all?
So not hacked about by DIY’ers or professionals?

What are you going on about?

 

[Deleted member 26818]

Just the way you said “not hacked about by DIY'ers, as if professionals could never hack stuff about.

From the middle of February until 2 weeks ago, I was working at a new build Hospital power station.
The wiring there done by supposed professionals was a joke.
Lighting circuits where they couldn’t make up their minds which conductor was permanently live and which was switched.
A conductor which changed colour from brown to grey and back to brown along the circuit.
Fittings where permanent and switched live were joined together in Wagos and Neutral and Earth were also joined together.
Generator control cables taken to the wrong panels, control cables not wired at all.
Neutral Earth links not installed on TN-C-S generators.
All in all nothing to inspire confidence in professional electricians.

 

[Leesparkykent]

Just the way you said “not hacked about by DIY'ers, as if professionals could never hack stuff about.

From the middle of February until 2 weeks ago, I was working at a new build Hospital power station.
The wiring there done by supposed professionals was a joke.
Lighting circuits where they couldn’t make up their minds which conductor was permanently live and which was switched.
A conductor which changed colour from brown to grey and back to brown along the circuit.
Fittings where permanent and switched live were joined together in Wagos and Neutral and Earth were also joined together.
Generator control cables taken to the wrong panels, control cables not wired at all.
Neutral Earth links not installed on TN-C-S generators.
All in all nothing to inspire confidence in professional electricians.

Sounds like an agency job?

 

[Midwest]

If it’s original, surely that means no one has altered it at all?
So not hacked about by DIY’ers or professionals?

 

[telectrix]

At the end of the day, it's up to the individual. It's illegal to do gas work unless you are gas Safe or what ever they call it niw, but you can still buy all the gear and do it yourself, most people wouldn't. The same would apply to electrics. Can you think of a law that isn't broken, how many do you break? It doesn't matter to you other than financially. I will never accept that an amateur can't do as good a job as a professional, but of course not always, and believe it or not some even know how to test an installation, after all can't be that difficult, you lot do it!

wow. 6 "dumbs" that's a record. although i concede that an amateur might be competent to carry out the work, however, if it went ---- up, the courts would take a dim view.

 

[DPG]

Percyprod - weren't you the one last week who said you had installed a wiring system in a stable and that no testing needed to be done?

If so, then I'd just give this thread up as a bad job.

 

[Squid]

Replacing what may be dangerous with something that may be slightly less dangerous and then proclaiming it to be an improvement isn't a good thing to aim for.

Like getting divorced then meeting a new woman you mean?

 

[DPG]

Like getting divorced then meeting a new woman you mean?

Always thoroughly test her first.

 

[littlespark]

Can I just have another go at this thread before it gets killed off?

Its being said that the new installation must be safer than it was because it now has modern cabling and MCB's RCD's whatever.
I can see that point of view, however without testing properly, you cannot be 100% sure.

If the old installation was as bad as they say, ie bare conductors, things hanging off the wall, then I would think it would not be powered up?
If there is no electricity, then it is 100% safe


Useless, but safe.

 

[Squid]

Always thoroughly test her first.

But like a customer you'll keep going back as its a good earner....... till its too late.

 

[Percyprod]

Nope, although it was in a terrible state apparently it was still live. Of course as you all have said, perfectly safe, should have been left as it was rather than make it dangerous by rewireing.

 

[Toneyz]

How is the installation more dangerous by being rewired?

 

[Percyprod]

That is exactly my point, but it seems everyone else thinks it was better to be left as it was.

 

[SparkyChick]

I think you'll find, the general consensus is that it may well be safer, BUT... and this is the important bit... without proper testing you can't make the statement 'It is safer than it was' because you just don't know.

If his mate had bothered to do some research, he could potentially have engaged someone to do third party certification. Going through that process means the installation would have been designed by someone more capable and he would have the benefit of it being properly tested and certified.

 

[Pete999]

I was talking to a guy recently who had had a terraced house left to him by a relative ( lucky bloke!) He had renovated most of it himself, and was one of the 'it's my house, I'll do what I want with it' brigade. He said he had to get a proffesional plasterer in, as it was one thing he couldn't do, but had done plumbing and electrics himself. He said that he had got estimates for rewiring, but simply couldn't afford it. So he bought a copy of the 17th edition, and did it himself. The old wiring was lead sheathed, and from what he said he'd done a good job. My point is, as he said, the wiring is far safer than it was, which can't be argued with. Is it a fair, if not legal attitude? Bear in mind that from what he said the wiring is physically correct, just the paperwork isn't!

There was a Girl/Young Woman working in the offce where I worked, she knew I was an Electrician, and aske me a general question, "my taps in the kitchen keep giving me tingles" She was a nice enough Person so I said I could pop in and take a look on my way home, no it's not what you are thinking OK. Got there took one look and started to tell her what I thought was wrong.
The install was a right cock up, she started to get a bit edgy as I went on about it, turns out Her Husband, was a Scientist workng in some Government Location, and he had read a book about Electrics and decided to rewire their House.
Washed my hands of the place, as it was a complete hovel. a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing I thought to my self, I told her partialy in jest that perhaps I could read a book on the stuff Her Hubby was involved in and get a job that paid more than I was getting, didn't go down very well, never talked much after that incident.

 

[DPG]

That is exactly my point, but it seems everyone else thinks it was better to be left as it was.

You either dont read things properly or you don't want to face facts. You know full well that isn't what people are saying. Nobody has said it is better left in a dangerous state; they are saying it would be better rewired and tested as per requirements and regs.

 

[Percyprod]

Don't see what telling us about terrible jobs by diyer you've seen has to do with it. I could tell you about the terrible jobs I've seen done by professionals. Totally irrelevant. Anyway, I'm not saying that getting an installation done by a qualified proffesional isn't the best option. All I'm saying is the installation is LIKELY to be better. I spoke to the guy last night, the house had been empty for a year or so, and had been slightly vandelised. The lights fittings had been ripped down, and other damage done. Lighting fuse hadblown, hardly surprising, controlled by the old Memdix unit. Anyway, he's run 2 ring mains, one upstairs one down, with a spur for boiler. Same for lights. Cooker is a 10mm circuit. I said he should have kitchen sockets on separate circuit, but he said house is a small 2 bed, kitchen and living room and bathroom, so he was happy with it. Gas and water pipes bonded 10mm, separate cable for each. No horizontal or diagonal runs, capping on cable drops. 6 way unit from..... Screwfix (cries of horror). Like most people on here he broke the meter and cut out seals, (like others, not qualified to do so). Surprisingly the meter and cut out seem to have been changed to modern ones. 25mm tails and 16mm main earth. I told him that I thought he should get it tested, and he said he plans to do that when he can afford it.

 

[Toneyz]

How come you know so much about the rewire, did you see some of it during him in the process of doing it? At this stage for what you have posted at face value, it could meet BS7671 but without testing what is to say a cpc is not continuous and under a fault is dangerous.

 

[MDJ]

How come you know so much about the rewire, did you see some of it during him in the process of doing it? At this stage for what you have posted at face value, it could meet BS7671 but without testing what is to say a cpc is not continuous and under a fault is dangerous.

Because he did it pmsl

 

[Percyprod]

Because after taking note of the comments on here I asked him? Although I am happy to carry out wiring on my own property, I would not do it on any one else's. I'm only passing on what he told me to give some idea that he had at least some idea of what he was doing. Incidentally, he also told me he'd put brown tape on the blue insulation on the switch wires, and earthed the back boxes. Probably get some snide remarks about that now!