Drilled through power supply when doing Fascia & Soffits

[diyer1000]

Hi everyone,

I'm could really do with some advice !

Recently we had a PVC contractor in to relace our fascias and soffits.

The contractor drilled through the power supply to our house when he was fitting the soffits.

The contractor hit the power cable when fitting the soffits and there was a bang and smoke soon followed !

I'm stuck to know what to do as the electrics didn't go off and the contractor says it's nothing to worry about as he removed the screw and he only nicked the cable.

The screw melted !!!

Obviously i'm very concerned, as i'm not in a postion to go up the ladders remove the cladding and check myself.

Can anyone advise what i should do next? and if there is any immediate risks associated in hitting the cable now or in the future ?

The wire is located on the outside of our house before our fuse box.

Any advice would be greatly recieved.

Many Thanks

 

[1john]

You need to get the DNO to check this out asap, that cable maybe isnt even fused!!

 

[diyer1000]

John, It's the mains cable from the lamp post ?

 

[westie101]

Ring the DNO (Central Networks) and get them to attend, if not repaired; at some point in the future the cable will probably fail and leave you without a supply.

The repair will be chargeable to whoever damaged it, but I suspect the contractor will deny all knowledge and leave you stuck with the bill.

 

[1john]

Westie, could this be a fire risk. I would assume it could die to the lack of or very high fusing of the cable and the risk of arcing from where the cable was damaged!

 

[westie101]

I'll only say possibly as the cables (if PVC) do not contain enough combustibles to maintain a fire.

The effects of a fault would certainly be a bit worrying though.
And the risk of scorch marks is high (in more than one place)!

(I've only known of two fires caused by this locally)

 

[diyer1000]

Guy's,

Thanks for your help ! the cable is PVC an d pretty new.

Could there be a real possibilit of fire ?

 

[1john]

is it clipped to some old rotten and dry wood?

 

[Lectrician]

Of course it is a fire risk - don't try to argue otherwise. The damaged part will soon be arking and sparking due to moisture from rain or condensation and is a huge fire risk to surrounding materials - probably trapped between wood and plastic.....

You MUST get this fixed - not because of a possible future outage of power, but because of the danger it poses NOW.

 

[diyer1000]

Sure is the house was built in the 30's and the wire was clipped below the soffit.

The cladding has boxed the wire in.

Thanks Again.

 

[westie101]

Could there be a real possibility of fire

I would not rule anything out but would not say it is certain

The cladding has boxed the wire in.

That is absolutely not permissible under any circumstances, the cable should be visible and on the surface, this contractor could have landed you with a big bill

 

[diyer1000]

What a mess !!

So there is a real risk of fire ????

and it's NOT acceptable (legal) to overclad power cables ?

 

[westie101]

Sorry but all those points are correct

 

[diyer1000]

oh dear !

who to call first :

a) the contractor
b) network provider
c) his insurance
d) my insurance ?

 

[diyer1000]

(I've only known of two fires caused by this locally)[/quote]

Really ? the same thing ?