home report and a smoky fusebox
- Thread starter SparkyTris
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there is no mains gas in the county (that narrows it down!!). this is one of the old 1980's "Total Heating with Total (lack of) Control" installations, with a radio teleswitch that controls one of the CU's which goes to the storage heaters.
Yes, that CU is definitely in service.
I'm not overly practically worried, the incident that caused the roasting was a long time ago during the build of the house before the final circuits were installed. I note that there is a replacement CU kit in another cupboard that must have been purchased to replace but never installed.
I was mainly interested to know others' opinions about whether this should have been in the home report. I was never convinced that the statutory home report would be a Good Thing but certainly this chap seems to have turned the concept into a £750 joke.
Yes, that CU is definitely in service.
I'm not overly practically worried, the incident that caused the roasting was a long time ago during the build of the house before the final circuits were installed. I note that there is a replacement CU kit in another cupboard that must have been purchased to replace but never installed.
I was mainly interested to know others' opinions about whether this should have been in the home report. I was never convinced that the statutory home report would be a Good Thing but certainly this chap seems to have turned the concept into a £750 joke.
Well, no matter how long it has remained in service in that condition, I would certainly not want it in-service in my house!
You don't really need to ask us that question, do you?! If that CU is in service, it's a major hazard which, as I said, would be immediately apparent to anyone (no matter how little understanding of electrical things they had) who looked at it (which he presumably didn't!) - so, yes, it obviously should have been 'mentioned' (in a big way) in the report!
Kind Regards, John
So there's a history of negligent electricians as well as inspectors.
Fair enough.
As long as on Day 1 you start a complete rewire, otherwise you probably should be worried about the quality of work done by the sort of "electrician" who would use a CU in that state. Even if it was decades ago.
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That CU is a total loss, and requires immediate replacement.
On an EICR, it would be a C1.
The newer 30A fuse probably replaced 2x 15A, so the cabling connected to it is probably undersized.
A totally random person picked from the street could have made a better job of it and only taken half an hour.
On an EICR, it would be a C1.
Rather difficult to imagine what circumstances could have caused such an 'incident', but regardless, anyone who subsequently installed or connected anything to that mess is a fool, no one with any sense would have even considered using a CU in that state.
The newer 30A fuse probably replaced 2x 15A, so the cabling connected to it is probably undersized.
If you or anyone paid £750 for that, you need a refund.
A totally random person picked from the street could have made a better job of it and only taken half an hour.
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yes, I think I do!
I do intend to take this up with the vendors of the house, and quite possibly with the surveyor himself.
But -
what are the limits of this "home report"? for instance, is the surveyor required to open the lid of the fusebox?
as I say, I have previous with this surveyor, he has attempted to brush off a suggestion (by me) that he should have reported a damp internal wall by stating that he is not required to move furniture.
that wall in question was clearly damp along its entire length, but the fact that some parts of its length were obscured by furniture was enough for him to invoke the furniture clause.
I have run this (smoked fusebox issue) by a distant in-law who is a MRICS surveyor and has done these reports, she advises that he has in fact done all that is required, by advising a specialist report on the electrics ....
I have made my own mind up on this and other aspects of the property, my question is really more procedural than technical, ie - has there been a breach of procedure on the surveyor's part?
by the way - asking this question of RICS is no use whatsoever, I have tried previously. they just say take it up with the surveyor, and if you dont get satisfaction there, come back for a complaints form.
I can't tell you what the scope of that "home report" is. When someone commisions a survey or inspection, they usually specify what they want the 'scope' to be - but this one was presumably some sort of 'off-the-shelf product'.
Whether he was required to or not, I sincerely hope that he didn't open the CU and see what we have seen - if he had, his report really ought to get him into jail!
Yes, I commented earlier on that 'covering of himself'. However, I still think he probably has a problem. If he wanted to totally wash his hands of the electrical installation (leaving the electrical bits blank, or with "N/A" or whatever) and merely recommend a specialist inspection, that would be fine. However, he has given a 'Category 1' ('no immediate action required') to the electrics - which is dangerously wrong. That, I would say, is the main thing that seems 'wrong' to me.
Kind Regards, John
Absolutely ideal then for naming and shaming, and without too much effort making it very hard for him to ever get any work again? A bit of care needed though, I guess, given the truly disgusting, oppressive, uncivilised libel "laws" we have in this country. (In quotes because it's impossible to accord them any of the respect associated with the concept of the rule of law.)
Even without opening it he would have seen a blackened, melted hole in the door, and smoke residue above that.
He's a charlatan.
On those MEM boards, the first "position" next to the main switch is just a packer, a single module wide. Still not good though.
Looks like a loose connection on the busbar once, caused the whole lot to overheat. Likely repaired now, but not cleaned off. A bit of a bodge TBH.
The board says off-peak, so suspect a load of storage heaters giving a good sustained load, and a dodgy loose connection in the fuseboard.
Looks like the 30amp fuse is new, after the damage, so suspect this was replaced and they considered things to be OK, just dirty! Bodge.
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Good point....
Butane is blue, right?
propane orange?
It's orange bottles, standing outside behind the house.
Propane then - which is far better than butane.
Not what was stated on the report though.
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