before i shout at the insurance man...

[TotallyWired]

hello all

ok, around 8 months ago, my mums 2nd property (bungalow) was involved in a major fire caused by the roofers working next door not securing there gear properly at the end of there shift.
the house was pretty much taken back to a shell, new roof, floor kitchen bathroom etc.. and, unsurprisingly, a full rewire.

all the new wiring has been chased into the wall and new fixtures and fitings installed, lovely..

however, having looked at the fuse board, they have reused the existing split load board (16th edt.?) on the new circuits. its a memera 2000 with skts & shower on rcd side and lights boiler and cooker on main switch side.


from my understanding, having read through countless posts, that this should have had a 17th edt dual rcd board(?)

any advice would be brill

ta.

 

[dingbat]

The Seventeenth Edition of the IEE Wiring Regulations, BS 7671 : 2008 , published January 2008, has been the required standard since July 2008.

 

[skenk]

yep, ask them where your certification is (EIC: Electrical Installation Certificate) and when they can't produce it, start kicking up a stink. If they do, please photograph it post it up for our amusement and so we can point out where the electrician has been incompetent/fraudulent.

All (mechanically) unprotected cables buried at a depth of less than 50mm should be RCD protected. (BS7671 reg no - 522.6.7) same goes for all general purpose socket outlets which includes the one on the cooker outlet, if you have one.

Jut check one thing, do the breakers on the non-rcd side have a test button? (if they do they are RCBO's are everything is ok, but you should still get an EIC).

 

[TotallyWired]

hey,
great replies, many thanks
they are deffo mcbs and not rcbos, its the same as i have in my own house which was why i questioned it. my guess is that the electrician didnt fancy doing a full change as it was in an awkward spot in the kitchen, that and the cost of a new board! makes me now wonder what other short cuts have been taken..
on a side note, when you say 'mechanically' what exactly do you mean?

i shall find out about the certificate and post accordingly.

 

[mfarrow]

All new circuits he's installed should be on the RCD side, including the lights, cooker etc (unless you've conduit in [metal] or on [plastic] the walls?)

If he comes back red faced try not to kick up too much of a stink over a new board etc. - it'd be better for your mum if she had MCBs replaced for RCBOs, which her board (from a decent manufacturer at least) should be able to accomodate.

The danger is he replaces the board for something cheap and nasty (its an insurance job after all).

 

[skenk]

Mechanical protection means steel conduit or similar (typically 3mm steel) protecting the buried cable against the penetration of nails, screws and the like. Alternatively, shielded cable such as Aluflex, Flexshield or SWA is also acceptable (but i'll bet that this hasn't been used in your case).

 

[TotallyWired]

ahhhh im with you. does that metal or plastic capping qualify in the same way as conduit?
my impression was that any circuits in the bathroom had to be on an rcd, is this not so?

appologies for all the questions, i like to be prepared in times of war

 

[dingbat]

ahhhh im with you. does that metal or plastic capping qualify in the same way as conduit?

No. Not even close.

my impression was that any circuits in the bathroom had to be on an rcd, is this not so?

Yes. It is so.