Kitchen Electrics

[Fluffy]

Any advice would be appreciated please - I'll apologise in advance for the long rambling post.

First of all a bit of background. Recently had kitchen refitted - kept two of the original appliances the washing machine and fridge/freezer - everything else brand new. The same local company did everything, apart from the flooring which we are having fitted by a friend who is a professional carpet fitter. He wants to put the vinyl right under the appliances to the wall, which will make them easier to pull out in future, etc. Being a very small kitchen this means w/m and f/f will have to be disconnected and removed from the room.

Should be no problem we thought. However, after pulling out the washing machine this evening, we cannot find out where it is plugged in! There is a switch above the worktop with a fuse in it and a lead coming from the back of the machine and going to ???? we do not know, presumably a socket on the wall at the back of the sink unit (corner sink) and not accessible. In addition, the f/f is connected into a junction (?) box and then into a fused switch above the worktop. Both leads are long enough for the applicances to be removed for any repairs, but does not allow us to remove them from the room when they have to be replaced.

I am assuming that all this is electrically safe, but thought that the switches above the worktop lead to a socket below with a simple plug in.

Any thoughts would be appreciated please - should I go back to the kitchen company and ask them to install accessible sockets or is it normal for a fitted kitchen to be done this way. We do not want to touch any of the electrics ourselves as we haven't a clue what we are doing. However, we do want to be able to remove the appliances from the room if the need arises, especially in respect of fitting the vinyl.

Thanks for reading this.

 

[securespark]

A little odd that they have not made the connection points accessible - well in one case anyway.

Obviously, to remove the appliance, you need to know where the connection is - can you trace the flex?

With the other it is a little easier - disconnect the flex from the JB.

 

[Fluffy]

Thanks for replying so quickly - have tried to trace the flex but it snakes away under the sink unit into the corner of the room, cannot seem to pull the washing machine out far enough to climb behind and try and see where it goes, because have fear of disturbing all plumbing for w/m!

This kitchen has cost an absolute fortune (well to us anyway) - money well spent we thought because we had no hope of doing it ourselves. Up to now we were well pleased with the job.

Would I be within my rights to ask them to install sockets behind the appliances that I could simply unplug? The job was only finally completed a week ago so it doesn't seem right that we should be messing about with the electrics already. I really hate complaining but as I said we've spent a lot of our hard earned money on this kitchen because we wanted it done by professionals.

 

[pipme]

Not into kitchens, but our base units stand on legs with a clipped on 'kicker' board in front, this can easily be removed ... all unit cupboards have backing with a gap from the backing to the kitchen wall, combined with the gap underneath ... a mirror and torch should enable viewing behind units from the floor .... If your units are similar.

Talk to the installers ... first !! Do not panic and look for broken 'contracts' until you have their side of the story and are in possession of all the facts.
Do ask to be shown all water stop cocks, electrical sockets and switches and that they work .. surmise nothing .. (asking your contractor costs nothing !)

p

 

[Damocles]

weeeell. Is this a contractual issue? What did you ask them to provide, and have they done it?

You really should be able to get at the connection on the back of something to disconnect it. But again, what did you ask for? Were they responsible for how this is connected, or did they re-use existing connections?

In general, you can either fit a socket or hard-wire an appliance. I think it would be reasonable to expect a wall plate, but don't think I could describe a junction box as out of the question if it was properly secured.

 

[dingbat]

This is a very common problem with kitchen re-fits. Trouble is, if they've 'walled up' your internal stopcock and invisibly connected low level appliances most homeowners don't find out until it's important/urgent. It is a matter of professionalism, along with a certain duty of care, to ensure that connections are accessible and in the case of appliances that come with a plug you should not have to cut that plug off to connect! (It may invalidate the warranty and I have heard of service engineers refusing to work on equipment that they could not unplug)

And it's not just kitchens. I recently attended a lights-out problem. The homeowner didn't even know where the consumer unit was and it wasn't in the usual places. Eventually we found it in the bottom of a wardrobe... behind the drawers. (It was fitted during the previous owners' time) All that was necessary was to reset the breaker, but... well, make up your own scenarios.

 

[Fluffy]

Thanks everyone for the advice.

Contacted kitchen people today and the boss came out to take a look. Although he said that connection to a junction box was fine and was what they did regularly he did say that if we wanted it, they could install wall sockets below the worktops. However, when he pulled out the washing machine to take a look he said it wasn't happy with what had been done and would get the electrician to come back and install wall sockets and tidy the cables, etc. So we've got a successful result. I'm just glad the vinyl fitter wanted everything moved out or we wouldn't have known how everything was wired in until it broke down and needed repair.

Thanks all.