electric supply cable through extension

bobtheboat · 9 Nov 2010

Today my power supply died. the electric people came out dug up my path and said the break in the cable is under my extension before it gets to the meter head.

Does anyone know where i stand ie is it my responsibility or theres. bearing in mind that when i built extension 4yrs ago i tried to get it moved but gave up in the end as it was like banging ones head against the wall.

regards bobtheboat

ban-all-sheds · 9 Nov 2010

What do you mean by responsibility?

It is their cable.

It is their responsibility to fix it, if you want your electricity supply back.

It is your responsibility to pay any extra costs they incur because you have built over it and your responsibility to repair your floors and walls etc if you want your extension back.

Maybe you could discuss the option of re-routing the cable, at your expense, through a new trench outside?

sparkwright · 9 Nov 2010

Seems odd the cable should suddenly fail after 4 years.

How have they proved exactly where the fault is?

How easy is to join the cable and re-route in the house, in your opinion?

Shame you didn't install a duct under the extension while you had the chance, so the DNO could have moved the cable later.

wingcoax · 9 Nov 2010

Sounds like the op tried to get it moved and ran into the dno brick wall.

ban-all-sheds · 9 Nov 2010

£ to a p he tried to do it over the phone rather than writing to the engineering dept.

chappers · 9 Nov 2010

there is no brick wall a service alteration is no problem providing you make the relevant application and pay the appropriate fee, if you chose to build over you take your chances if anything goes wrong down the line.

flameport · 9 Nov 2010

Here is a fictional sequence of events:

Someone wants a new extension
Someone contacts DNO who quote £1000 to move the supply
Someone decides this is far too much and the build goes ahead anyway
Builders or others pour concrete foundations over the DNO cable
Extension settles slightly over time, buried cable is ruined
DNO now quote £10 000 to repair, plus extension will have to have floors removed / foundations dug out / totally demolished.
Someone wants a way to blame others and not pay the huge repair costs.

Stoday · 9 Nov 2010

The damaged cable can be abandoned. The OP oulld provide a box in his front garden or on/in his front wall for the meter & termination and get his electrician to connect to his existing CU.

Won't be cheap, but probably cheaper than demolishing his extension.

sparkwright · 9 Nov 2010

How old is the house?

If it is pre-war it may have a very old supply cable that was due for renewal.

Then again it may not have.

Are there other routes a new cable can be brought into the house?
Is the floor in the house concrete, suspended wooden floor, or a mixture of both?

What have the DNO said to you about it all?

Lectrician · 10 Nov 2010

The DNO will not run a cable internally (mine certainly wont). Maximum of 3m internally and must be visible with appreciable changes in direction.

New external meterbox or new meter position on an external wall with tails or submain to existing CU.

dannyboi2003 · 10 Nov 2010

I would say your responsibility as you took a chance and built the extension over it and will have to cover the additional cost of having it repaired, you could try and argue that you tried to have it moved etc. but your in a catch 22 where they will just say if you want it fixed pay up basically. Easiest option is have service head and meter moved to external wall cabinet on extension wall, then have your own sparky run SWA up and under floorboards of extension/house to the consumer unit. That way there is minimal mess in the house except from some floorboards/carpets that will need to come up to run in the SWA. I'd prefer this option to digging up the ground fllor of my extension personally.

Let us know how you get on.

RF Lighting · 10 Nov 2010

sparkwright said:
How old is the house?

If it is pre-war it may have a very old supply cable that was due for renewal.

My DNO don't seem bothered about PILCs. I had a service moved to outside last year for a customer and they just ragged it up the cavity into the new meter box!

wuzzy · 15 Feb 2012

bobtheboat said:
Today my power supply died. the electric people came out dug up my path and said the break in the cable is under my extension before it gets to the meter head.

Does anyone know where i stand ie is it my responsibility or theres. bearing in mind that when i built extension 4yrs ago i tried to get it moved but gave up in the end as it was like banging ones head against the wall.

regards bobtheboat

I Know this post is from a while ago but I'd be interested to know the final outcome.

sparkwright · 16 Feb 2012

They mended it.

wuzzy · 17 Feb 2012

sparkwright said:
They mended it.

Thanks. That's good to hear. May I ask - did they require you to dig up your floor to gain access to repair the fault and were there any costs ?

diynot

If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.

Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.

Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local

electric supply cable through extension

Similar threads