Recent content by DIYinBerks

If you are buying an old French house you will probably need to get used to mess, cutting holes in plasterboard, etc.... Clearly the best solution (ignoring cost) is to have a complete rewire, with wiring buried in the plaster, and all before you move in;-) However, that's not realistic for many...

I only have one to do :LOL::LOL: or :cry::cry:

I need to fit an overcounter ceramic sink in a few days time. Looking at the instructions, it says use a centre punch (a pointed tool) but shows a blunt tool in the photo - looks like a 1/4" socket set extension bar. Any advice here? I called Howdens but they were not helpful - I am thinking...

That's what I was expecting... but the instruction manual only covers installation on the assumption that you have access to the top once the unit is in place. The centre part, with grease filters, doesn't allow any access at all, unless disassembled from the top, so that's a non starter. At...

Not sure if you've undestood from my description: the situation: the mounting brackets bolts to the unit at one end, and the top of the hole at the other. So how to do that before I put the unit in the hole...because the unit has to be already in the hole before I do up the bolts. Or have I...

How are these normally fixed, assuming hidden fixing? In our case, an Electriq extractor, also sold as Innocenti, has brackets which assume that it would be fixed to the ceiling structure, with a false ceiling about 300mm below. Trouble is, it assumes that there is access to the false ceiling...

Based on a recent bad experience - try and find someone recommended and don't just choose off the web. If you are thinking of letting, ask your agent if they have some trusted electricians that they work with.

Not yet is the answer. I wanted to get some opinions on the coding before we decide if/who to complain to. Although I trained as an electrical engineer many years ago, my expertise is IT and not domestic electrics so I wanted to hear some expert opinion. Based on what I have read, it's clear...

Absolutely right! Only now, there is also an opportunity for unscrupulous companies to take advantage of the legislation. My son was quoted £1100 to rectify the "urgent" issues and provide an EICR, with the quote highlighting the law, the deadline, and the very high fines involved. When we...

Great point! Because this is close to what happened. Having contacted the DNO (SSEN) and explained we had a C2; they declared it an emergency repair and sent an engineer round immediately. Late evening if I recall. The tenant would not let the engineer in; and there followed some phone...

Well that answers the question - but seems strange to me, if only some decorative part ends up in Zone 2. But would you have coded that C2 or C3? Asking these questions as someone with an electrical background so some knowledge, but not in domestic wiring regs.

Yes, quite so, I was being a bit too brief there. But nowhere have I found where it says what parts of a fitting need to be in the relevant zone to pass. For example, a pendant outside Zone 2 but with the lampshade hanging down in it. Just for curiosity now - we decided to go safe and fitted...

Also be aware that if you have the fuse uprated, you may need to have the meter tails uprated as well. We had ours changed from 60A to 100A some years ago; the supplier did that for free (maybe not today!) but we had to arrange to get the cables to the consumer unit changed to a bigger size - 25mm.

I have been helping my son with an EICR. The EICR was a "fail" with a number of C2 codes. We got them all fixed them anyway, all worth doing for safety sake, but I wanted to ask for curiosity whether we got the right codes - I was surprised. 1. Missing seal on the supplier fuse. I would...

Definitely change the socket, probably a bad, maybe not broken, contact/connection. The price of good quality sockets is low, not worth the risk.