Periodic Inspection Report

[Stevoon]

Hi,

I have had a PIR done with the following results;-

1. No cross bonding to boiler C2
2. No cross bonding to Kitchen Sink C2
3. No cross bonding to bathroom C2
4. Double Pole Switch in Kitchen for Fridge has no earth screen or grommets to cable entry C2
5. Lights to Kitchen have connectors C2
6. Neutral from the Meter is larger than the rest C3
7. Intruder alarm supply cable earth stops at Junction Box C2
8. No warning stickers to Distribution Board C2
9. No box to Earth Stake C2.

I have repaired items 1 - 5 myself as below;-
1. Fitted clamps to all copper pipework under boiler, linked with 10mm^2 Earth Cable.
2. Fitted Earth clamps on hot & cold supply. Linked with 10mm^2 Earth Cable.
3. Found 4mm Earth cable ran from shower CPC to earth clamp on bath cold feed. Added clamp to hot feed and both radiator pipes (under the floor). Joined with Earth Cable.
4. Fitted Grommets & replaced short feed cable. Fitted Earth sleeving.
5. Fitted replacement light fitting. Used junction box in the loft space and ran a new 1.5mm^2 T&E to the new fitting removing old choc block connectors.

For items 6 to 9 I have been quoted £110 + VAT. Does this seem a fair price? Also are any of these simple enough to be completed myself?

Thanks

 

[RF Lighting]

Sounds like you need an electrician to take a look at your installation for you.

1. Not required, never has been.
2. Not been required for TWENTY years.
3. Probably not be required going by the rest of the report. A pic of your CU and associated area will confirm this.
4. You've done this so no problem there.
5. You've done this too.
6. Not sure why this would be an issue. Can you post a pic of the tails between your meter and your CU?
7. Not really sure what that means. Im *guessing* it stops at the spur next to the panel, but you could test this to find out for sure.
8. Buy a couple of stickers if you're that bothered, but not going to really impare the safety of the installation.
9. Buy a box and fit it. Should cost you >£10

 

[ricicle]

Sounds like you have been mostly ripped off !

1]Not required
2]Not required
3]Supplementary bonding is required if none of your circuits are up to the latest editiion of the regulations
4]You've done
5]Not an issue if they are correctly made, sized, enclosed and supported
6]Not an issue (if the L is the correct size)
7]An issue if the alarm control box is metallic (Class 1) construction.
8]Depends what the warning stickers are for
9]Stake probably needs mechanical protection.

10] I'm too slow cos I can see RF has already replied !!!!

 

[EFLImpudence]

1. No cross bonding to boiler

Was he a plumber?

 

[ricicle]

9. Buy a box and fit it. Should cost you <£10

 

[Stevoon]

Thanks RF.

For some reason there is a random junction box in the circuit for the alarm about 1ft in front of the panel, even though the cable would reach without it. The earth is connected in the supply cable but not in the short length to the Alarm itself.

I can't currently post a photo of the consumer unit, but can describe it as below;
It's a GET 10 Way unit with 30ma RCD. The tails from the service head are 16mm (the live joined in a Henley block for no apparent reason) then from the Meter the live is 16mm, the neutral 25mm. I think the Electrician suggested replacing these so that they are all 25mm. If it's relevant the Board Fuse has a 80Amp sticker attached. The tails are no more than 1m long (in distance from the service head to cu via the meter.)

Will the fact I've installed the cross bonding cause any issues?

Thanks

Stephen

 

[Stevoon]

I'm fairly sure he wasn't a plumber!

The warning stickers are because there is a mix of new & old colours in the wiring (although I would of thought that doesn't matter too much as it must by now be fairly common to find?)

To install the protection to the earth rod, I assume i dig out around the top of the rod, disconnect the earth wire, install the box and reattach the earth wire?

Thanks

 

[RF Lighting]

It's nice to have 25mm² tails, and I would fit them as part of a consumer unit upgrade / replacement, but for your situation there's no real need.

If the wiring for the alarm is long enough to reach without the junction box then just remove it and feed straight into the spur. Again a photo would be helpful to to make sure we're not missing something.

No the bonding wont cause any issues apart from you unfortunately ending up out of pocket following the advice of some muppet.

Yes pretty much. It's just there really to prevent corrosion of the connection between the earth wire and the rod, and also to stop the rod getting lost during some over active gardening!

 

[RF Lighting]

It's a bit more than a tenner, but use one of these if you want to bury the end of the rod.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/plastic-inspection-earth-pit/16092

If not any waterproof adaptable box will be fine.

 

[Stevoon]

Thanks.

My weekend task is now to locate the exact position of the Earth Rod as it's already been buried under some hardcore chippings (not by me they were there when I moved in.) I know roughly where it is as I can see the Green / Yellow cable disappearing into them.

I'm not too sure why the electrician would of picked up on the lack of cross bonding as he knew he wouldn't get the job of installing anything that was fairly simple as he does the Electrical work for where I work, where I have worked alongside him installing data cabling.

 

[RF Lighting]

There's a lot of muppets that think it is a requirement, but they tend to learn their regs from hear say and old wives tales rather than actually reading the regulations and paying to go on courses etc,