how to motivate an electritcian?

[stevie-b]

In september i had an electrician rewire a house as part of a renovation, I've used him before and he used to be alright. He said three days

He got two "boys" to do most of the work and the house was a mess. I replaced loads of floor boards and replastered only to find the light switches worked different lights than they should have done.

After chasing the electrcian, who asured me he checked all the work he fixed the lights to the correct switches.

Then the kitchen fitter showed me there was no earth to the stop cock. I chased him by phone until i had to write a stroppy letter, but it worked and it was fixed.

My problem is i have just had the Gas certificate done and there is no earth on the gas also he has not returned the keys to the property. it's been a month now since his last visit. I wrote a letter to him as i wasn't getting anywhere by phone but nothing has happened.

I plan to rent the house out very soon.

any advice on an appropriate response from me obviously i won't be using him again.

 

[EdwardCurrent]

Hello,

The best way IMO to resolve this kind of dispute is to sit down with the electrician with a nice cuppa and a few bacon rolls each and talk your concerns through. Maybe get in writing the outstanding works, and dates when he can work on your property, and come to a mutual agreement. Flying off the handle is not very constructive as you know.

Failing that,,,,,

Have you paid for some/all of the work that you both agreed to be done ??

I take it that the electrician is registered, maybe a mention that you may contact them may 'spur' him on ?

Hope this is of some help

Ed

 

[hairyben]

Did you get an installation certificate, and a building notification (part P) one?

I'd be inclined to have the work inspected. Main earth bonds are considered critically important parts of an electrical systems safety.

 

[stevie-b]

thanks for the replies,

I paid for the work in three phases

1 start of job
2 issue of certificate
3 completion of job


My worry is if the kitchen fitter and gas man are finding genuine problems with the electrics then whats the rest going to be like. Also finding someone in the liverpool area to fit the earth to the gas if this guy doesn't come back.

Getting inspected would give me peace of mind but I would be frustrated at an added expense for me to check on the soundness of a "professionals" competence.


As to the bacon butties idea thats how we used to work he would come round to the house I write everything down so there would be no confusion as to were sockets go, how many etc and the elec had a copy of this and a price agreed for the work.

He lives close we drink in the same pub and i gave him work when he first set up his business.

All i get now is false promises and avoidance. I don't want to fly off the handle which is why i'm sounding off at you guys instead of him, and the wife, dog, etc

Thanks

 

[nozspark]

First off I ask for payment in 3 stages on bigger jobs..

Deposit
End of first fix
Completion


How the F can you issue certs before completing the work??

Just to give you an idea of the quality of the work that this person has done for you I will list the most important cables first

Main earthing conductor
Protective earth bonding (gas, water etc)
Circuit protective condutors (earths)

then you have your Lives and neutrals

In my opinion if someone can't be bothered to get the earthing right then the rest can't be that good!!!

 

[stevie-b]

Thanks for the info nozspark, I was surprised at the cert being issued before the work was finished, this may have been coz he needed paying and i was only going to pay at the end of the job or at certificate issue.

Regarding the list of important cables and live and neutrals.... it's all greek to me. Thats why i employed an electrician,

 

[hairyben]

Thanks for the info nozspark, I was surprised at the cert being issued before the work was finished, this may have been coz he needed paying and i was only going to pay at the end of the job or at certificate issue.

like Noz says it's quite odd, to say the least. The certificate is basically the details of the install and a list of test results of the finished wiring. Any subsequent work would require re-testing as the reading may change.

 

[stevie-b]

Thanks,
can i put an earth to the gas?

 

[Taylortwocities]

Yes you can. you'll need 10mm earth cable and a BS951 clamp on the gas pipe.
The connection must be not more than 600mm from the gas stop cock and before any branch or junction.

This work is not notifiable (I think it should be, but what do i know).

HOWEVER

In my opinion, you should be getting the spark to do this otherwise he may say that you've messed around with his installation and he isnt responsible any more.

If He rewired the house he should have notified the local authority. To do this he will have to be a member of one of the Part P self cert schemes. Is he?
You should be able to find him here: www.competentperson.co.uk.
This will identify which scheme he is a member of. You can then call the scheme and raise a dispute case with them - as last resort.

If he has rewired your house and not notified the local authority then he has broken the law.

 

[dingbat]

Main earthing conductor

Earthing Conductor (There is no 'main')

Protective earth bonding (gas, water etc)

Main Protective Bonding Conductor/s (The term 'earth bonding' is incorrect)

then you have your Lives and neutrals

The neutral is, by definition, a live conductor.

In my opinion if someone can't be bothered to get the earthing right then the rest can't be that good!!!

I quite agree... but see page 32 of BS7671 2008.

 

[dingbat]

Yes you can. you'll need 10mm earth cable and a BS951 clamp on the gas pipe.
The connection must be not more than 600mm from the gas stop cock and before any branch or junction.

"The main equipotential bonding connection to any gas, water or other "service shall be made as near as practicable to the point of entry of that service into the premises."

The 600 mm is only 'where practicable' and applies to internal meters - if the meter is outside there is no need to take the bonding connection there.

Also, you are not 'earthing' the gas meter, but bonding to it. The two functions 'earthing' and 'bonding' are quite different and should be treated as such.

 

[Taylortwocities]

Yes I know all that , when I post I try and keep it at simple and DIY levels.

If he goes into B&Q and looks for 10mm conductors for bonding he wont get very far. If he looks for 10mm earth cable that is coloured as an earth cable (green&yellow) he can pick it off the shelf.

Also I dont like to have to retype whole pages of the regs as guidance. I put in the easy bit first. He can then come back and say something like
" but i live on a third floor flat and the gas meter is in the basement."

Then we can go into the minutiae of bonding at point of entry etc etc,,

 

[dingbat]

I'm not so sure that that is helpful.

In fact, given that the majority (and I do mean the majority) of supposedly qualified electricians have a poor understanding of the subject of earthing and bonding, I wonder if giving advice on the subject on a forum such as this should be done using layman's terms at all.

Incorrect terminology is at the heart of many misunderstandings.

 

[stevie-b]

Thanks Taylortwocities. The gas meter is under the stairs and the stop cock is accessible, I can clamp within 600mm as you and dingbat discussed.

I have the cable and a clamp but were does the other end go to? I have cables running under the stairs, including an earth cable, can i "join" it or do i have to go back to the fuse board.

Thanks for the info on "competent persons" I searched and he is there and the cert bears one of their logo's. As for notifying the council, how would i know, surely it's his responsibility and, therefore, his problem if he is or hasn't done so.

 

[nozspark]

Sorry to say this, but if he is actually a member of one of the registered scheme providers then from the sounds of it he hasn't done a very good job. My advice would be to get another recommended sparks in to have a look over the work that he has done and give you a Periodic Inspection Report (unfortunately this will cost you) and if it comes out to be a bad job bubble him to his scheme provider.