We recently had a full rewire done by an NICEIC electrician. He quoted for a complete rewire, and has issued a cert saying he has done a complete rewire of all circuits. During the work he asked if he could re-use a few cable runs which he said were in good condition and where access was difficult. He said he had tested the cable and it was perfectly safe, so we agreed.
To cut a long story short, it turned out one of these cables (a spur from a socket in a bedroom to a heater in the en suite) was routed up the side of a doorframe (between the architrave and wall, not in a corner). A few weeks after completion of the rewire, a joiner fitting a door put a screw through the cable causing significant damage. The joiner says it wasn't a proper place for a cable. The electrician says it is "just one of those things" and wants to charge us for repairs.
As far as I'm concerned, I don't know if it is normal to reuse existing cable runs during a complete rewire, but if he did so I guess he should have made sure they complied with current regs. So it comes down to whether the regs allow this cable routing. Anybody know about this, or have other comments?
To cut a long story short, it turned out one of these cables (a spur from a socket in a bedroom to a heater in the en suite) was routed up the side of a doorframe (between the architrave and wall, not in a corner). A few weeks after completion of the rewire, a joiner fitting a door put a screw through the cable causing significant damage. The joiner says it wasn't a proper place for a cable. The electrician says it is "just one of those things" and wants to charge us for repairs.
As far as I'm concerned, I don't know if it is normal to reuse existing cable runs during a complete rewire, but if he did so I guess he should have made sure they complied with current regs. So it comes down to whether the regs allow this cable routing. Anybody know about this, or have other comments?