Kitchen wiring

davesmith1976 · 5 Aug 2007

Hi,
I recently had my house totally re-wired and am a bit unsure as to whether or not the electrician has done his job correctly.

Firstly, we were left with sockets hanging off walls, with all the wiring exposed. I asked for these to be screwed on and was told it wasnt part of his remit. Is this right? He tested his work to give us a certificate, but how can this have been tested correctly?

Secondly, all the sockets in the kitchen have been wired in with the cabling dropping from above as opposed to from the floor up. This means we can not put up kitchen cupboards on the wall! Any advice on regs here would be great.

Lastly, a socket was attached to the inside of one of the floor standing cupboards as he had forgotten to allow for an oven and only realised after the kitchen went in. Should these not be attached to the walls?

Thanks for any thoughts on this!

Dave

davy_owen_88 · 5 Aug 2007

He should have attached the socket fronts to the backboxes but it isn't exactly a huge undertaking for you to do it yourself. Why do you think that the socket fronts need to be fixed in place for testing to take place?

Cabling is allowed to come from the ceiling so long as they stick to the safe zones (Horizontally and vertically from your electrical points). Why are a few cables stopping you from putting up your cupboards?

If the cupboard is fixed then there is no problem with the socket being attached to it. I would prefer to see it attached to the wall unless totally necessary but there may be a perfectly logical reason for it's placement.

All in all, your electrician sounds like a lazy b@stard, but nothing he has done is particularly bad. Then again, I can't actually see it. A few pictures of some wiring might give us a good idea of the quality of his work. If you wanted to spoil us then a picture of the inside of the consumer unit would be nice.

What certificate did he give you? What self certification scheme was he registered with? Are you generally happy with the work carried out or do you have concerns?

davesmith1976 · 5 Aug 2007

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

He is NIC listed.

I had heard that its not best practice to test a re-wired house without sockets screwed on incase you then screw through a wire when putting them on after. Also, I know nothing about electrics, and am not happy about screwing in sockets with loose wires sticking out of the back. I have now been told this is an earth and not dangerous, but still I am not happy with the way they were left.

Safe zones sound fine, but we have 3x double sockets across one section of worksurface, we cant even put up shelving for fear of screwing through a cable.

Got som pics, how do I attach here?
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davy_owen_88 · 5 Aug 2007

See here for details of how to upload pictures:

//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=73320

securespark · 5 Aug 2007

davy_owen_88 said:
He should have attached the socket fronts to the backboxes but it isn't exactly a huge undertaking for you to do it yourself. Why do you think that the socket fronts need to be fixed in place for testing to take place?

I can see his point.

a) would you walk out of house leaving sockets off the wall? If I did that, I would be instantly dismissed.

b) surely it fails the T & I if live parts are accessible?

bernardgreen · 6 Aug 2007

davesmith1976 said:
Also, I know nothing about electrics, and am not happy about screwing in sockets with loose wires sticking out of the back. I have now been told this is an earth and not dangerous,

Do you mean loose as in not connected to anything ?

Un-connected earth wires are dangerous as it could mean something that must be earthed is not earthed.... Like the earths on the sockets if the earth wires are loose behind the sockets.

davesmith1976 · 6 Aug 2007

Hope this gives an idea as to what I was left with. I didnt like the look of the loose wire top left - but was told it was ok.

[/img]

davy_owen_88 · 6 Aug 2007

That loose earth wire is meant to connect to the backbox although it isn't required if there is one fixed lug on the backbox. Regardless, if he fitted it, he should have at least fitted it properly. Are both earth conductors from the supply cables connected to the earth terminal of the socket? It looks to me like only one is connected and the other is loose.

If I were you, I would call the guy back and tell him that you are not happy with his work. Tell him that you paid for a rewire and expected all connections to be made, and for the job to be left in a safe condition - if he kicks up a fuss tell him that you will be contacting the NIC and making a complaint regarding him leaving live parts exposed. Any spark that says it isn't within his 'remit' to finish his job shouldn't be doing it. That is like a plumber saying it isn't his job to solder the pipes - ridiculous.

davesmith1976 · 6 Aug 2007

Hi Davy,

Thanks for your comments.

What are your thoughts on this...?

Its just taped together.

bernardgreen · 6 Aug 2007

davesmith1976 said:
Hi Davy,

Thanks for your comments.

What are your thoughts on this...?

Its just taped together.

Un-printable as there are young people reading this forum

That is %%(*&$(*%&$(%&£ dangerous. That could be a "joint" that has to carry up to 32 amps to the next socket on the ring.

Contact the NIC and name and shame this person......

davy_owen_88 · 6 Aug 2007

davesmith1976 said:
What are your thoughts on this...?

There is no excuse for issues like this after a complete rewire and that is certainly not a method any half decent electrician would use to make safe exposed cables. Contact the electrician and tell him you either want these problems sorted at his expense or you will be making a complaint to NIC and trading standards.

Can you post a copy of the schedule of test results that he should have given you? I wouldn't be surprised with work like that if there are further problems that you have yet to notice.

davesmith1976 · 7 Aug 2007

Hi,

Thanks for your comments. I have the certificate with me...what part would you like to see?

I've also found the compaint form on the NIC website. Thanks.

Dave

jondiy · 7 Aug 2007

The sheet that says at the top ' Scheule of Test Results' would be nice.

Or you could post it all - so we know who he is

jondiy · 7 Aug 2007

Actually don't post it all - it has YOUR name and address on there too, not sure whether you would want to tell everyone where you live!!

Also, someone could try forging it??? , so best just put on the schedule of test results, then we can check out the values etc for you!

davesmith1976 · 7 Aug 2007

Hi,

here are the test details...please let me know your thoughts. I trust all is ok with them.

Cheers,
Dave

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Kitchen wiring

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