Cowboy buidling disaster

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Guys from one pro to another I would like a second opinion on the solution to this. I am trying to get a picture and will post later but it doesn't take much imagining.

A customer called me the other day to have a look ata rented property she owns. As we walked through the house out through the back door I walked into a mound of rubble where the previous single story extension was. The builders had sent in a couple of Polish labourers to knock down the building in readiness for the new one to be built. Unfortunately they had taken drastic action with the electrics.

As I looked back to the main building where the cables came through all I could see was about 15 or so cables chopped with about 18 inches or so sticking out of the wall. They have just ripped everything electric out and just cut the wires.

Within these cables there was 2 6mm cables asumably the cooker and shower cables, at least 2 socket circuits, lighting, boiler and other auxillary circuits.

I have my own opinions but they differ from another electrician. I would welcome your opinions.
What would you do first?
What long term solution would you give.

The CU is at the other end of the house.
 
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I'd trace where all the cables come from, and diconnect them further back or cap them off shomehow, I'd take extra care with the sockets to re-complete the ring if it was broken. Then I'd make sure there was a way to get new cables from the new extension when its built to the CU (otherwise I'd look at putting some big SWA in somehow to give the new expension its own CU on a submain [from a separate 80A switch fuse if it has shower and cooker])
 
Definitely for a start, they need to be traced and terminated properly. If you have the correct metering tools, this should not be a problem. Your lights will most prob be on 1mm anywhay, so thats another 2 cables identified (loop in & loop out !!!) , and theres probably the light switches which should be easy to trace! so looking at it, it does'nt look too bad.

Maybe get some white junction boxes and label up exactly what is what , so it makes it easier to connect back into them (if you intend to do that!)

link your lighting circuit loops back up , rejoin the ring mains , terminate the boiler and immersion with your JB's (for now).

How old is the cu? If it not a good time for a complete/semi rewire with a nice new CU and testing??
 
jondiy said:
Definitely for a start, they need to be traced and terminated properly.

By this I take it you mean the Polish labourers :evil:
 
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I don't think the nationality is relevant. If you employed a bunch of British labourers on low pay, and asked them to demolish an extension, would you expect to find a neat electrical termination afterwards?
 
I think for piece of mind, i would be asking you to do a re-wire for me and give me a certificate. It sounds as though the building is half way there anyway, so a bit more chasing out here and there won't harm anyone. The renter can have piece of mind then and be all certified up.

That said, they rent it for a rason.... money and i guess they won't want to spend......
 
Thanks for all your replies guys. Now I'll tell you the dilema.

The situation is that they have done the refurb a*** about face. The re-wire has been done and then they wanted to build the extension. Hence a re-wire of what is there is impractical and expensive due to the fact that the main property has already been refurbed.

The cables come through the wall at a convenient point through a purpose built box.

When I first saw the mess my first reaction was JB all the cables and trace through to the extension from there. The ring mains can be identified and extended in this way as can the lighting circuits. The bigger cables I thought about sticking a 45A switch on them and extending from that.

I also said that providing the box was accessible i.e. had a door on the front of it then the whole thing could be tested and passed.

The other leckie wouldn't discuss anything other than a re-wire and said that it wouldn't pass testing and HMO inspection. Profiteering b*****d

Whichever way it aint going to be cheap.

Any other ideas?
 
Nijinski001 said:
The bigger cables I thought about sticking a 45A switch on them and extending from that.

Unless they need an isolation switch, why not use 60 amp junction boxes (http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/AAJB60.html) - that is if you are able to leave the junction boxes in a position that is going to be accessible for future inspection otherwise make a permanent connection with crimping and heat sleeving that does not need to be accessible.

EDIT: Fixed link.
 
Although in some cases, I can see merit in adding something of interest to an old post because it may well be useful to someone else reading through it in the future.
 
securespark said:
Although in some cases, I can see merit in adding something of interest to an old post because it may well be useful to someone else reading through it in the future.

:oops: ahem, yes that's what I was doing.

It was nothing to do with using an old bookmark on my browser or supping too much pop… :eek: :LOL:

securespark does raise an interesting point though. There are often some very interesting threads which die out without any conclusion. This was probably not one of them though.

[Retires shamefaced to fetch another beer]
 
I'm really glad that wiggles posted to this old thread. Because a couple of years ago I searched high and low for a junction box that would be suitable for joining 45A 10mm2 cooker cable. Never found one and ended up getting one from a guy at work which was actually an industrial 100A box.

Needless to say I now have a link to a supplier of 60A JB's in case I ever need one.

Thanks Wiggles!
 
There you are, tim, shame on you!! Some good came of it after all!
 

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