Workman doing footings for extension told my wife the armoured suppy cable had produced a spark and he asked her if the house supply was still working ok. She confirmed it was ok. Shortly after the footings were filled with concrete! I phoned up the Contractor that evening to ask if his workman had told him about the spark and he confirmed he had still given the go ahead to pour in the readymix! He did not seem to think there was any problem.
Tomorrow having mulled over the possible implications of future cable failure I am going to take up this matter with him again and stop his intended build on these foundations until a solution is found.
Having noted Bobtheboat's similar story and replies to his thread, //www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1795787 I did take the precaution overnight of myself running a two inch duct above the footings under the DPC in anticipation of the concrete floor which now is laid.
Should I contact the Electric Co to carry out tests? What if they find no fault? After all I hardly think it likely they can break into the concrete to inspect the cable without writing it off!
Perhaps I should sack this contractor and refuse to pay for work so far. What if he then denies the "spark" incident?
His workman did the right thing telling my wife and the contractor and may or may not have directly caused the "spark" as the cable is 50 years old. Any blame is his boss's for instructing the concreting without getting the utility provider to inspect for damage.
Maybe a written indemnity from the Contractor agreeing to foot the bill should the section of cable encased in concrete fail in the future?
Any thoughts on this dire predicament?
Tomorrow having mulled over the possible implications of future cable failure I am going to take up this matter with him again and stop his intended build on these foundations until a solution is found.
Having noted Bobtheboat's similar story and replies to his thread, //www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1795787 I did take the precaution overnight of myself running a two inch duct above the footings under the DPC in anticipation of the concrete floor which now is laid.
Should I contact the Electric Co to carry out tests? What if they find no fault? After all I hardly think it likely they can break into the concrete to inspect the cable without writing it off!
Perhaps I should sack this contractor and refuse to pay for work so far. What if he then denies the "spark" incident?
His workman did the right thing telling my wife and the contractor and may or may not have directly caused the "spark" as the cable is 50 years old. Any blame is his boss's for instructing the concreting without getting the utility provider to inspect for damage.
Maybe a written indemnity from the Contractor agreeing to foot the bill should the section of cable encased in concrete fail in the future?
Any thoughts on this dire predicament?