is this safe

[leonaph]

I am having some renovations done an electrician working in my house has covered the mains wire running down the wall but just left it exposed over the skirting board the into the floor. Is this safe or even legal?
THe bathroom has been framed and plasterboarded this means the pipe for extractor fan no longer reaches the internal wall the cover has just been glued onto the new wall will this be good enough
comments welcome

 

[sparkwright]

The cable over the skirting board may be prone to damage, and so should be routed (vertically) behind it. Failing that, trunking could be used.
Would this wiring, if totally concealed, be in a cable safe zone, ie with an electrical accessory in line so the risk of it getting drilled through is unlikely?

The fan ducting should be continous, ie no gaps.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I am having some renovations done an electrician working in my house has covered the mains wire running down the wall but just left it exposed over the skirting board the into the floor. Is this safe or even legal?

Yes and yes, as long as the cable won't get damaged. No and no if it is likely to.

What do you mean by "covered"? Chased in and plastered over? Did the electrician think that the skirting was to be replaced?

THe bathroom has been framed and plasterboarded this means the pipe for extractor fan no longer reaches the internal wall the cover has just been glued onto the new wall will this be good enough

If you mean that the extractor fan now vents into the void behind the plasterboard then absolutely not.

Tell me - are you unlucky, or did you go with the cheapest tradesmen you could find?

 

[leonaph]

thanks for the replies
the cable routed down the wall is in platic trunking
this is actually in a kids bedroom so I won't leave as it is
The building work is been carried out under an insurance claim and the builders were recommended by the insurance company
I 've told them I'm not happy with the quality of work its not just the electrics

 

[sparkwright]

Typical insurance job.

 

[electronicsuk]

If the cable is in trunking for the whole run then that would usually be adequate, but pictures would help us to be sure.

I would suggest you don't use the bathroom fan, as unless the spigot on the internal fan/grille is inserted properly into the ducting through the wall, it's very likely that condensate will drip down behind your brand new plasterboard and damage it.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

If the cable is in trunking for the whole run then that would usually be adequate.

If the existing wiring was all concealed, and a repair job organised by an insurance company was to stick the replacement in surface trunking then that's far from adequate.

Utterly unacceptable IMO.

 

[electronicsuk]

If the cable is in trunking for the whole run then that would usually be adequate.

If the existing wiring was all concealed, and a repair job organised by an insurance company was to stick the replacement in surface trunking then that's far from adequate.

Utterly unacceptable IMO.

Sure, but I'm talking in terms of regulations, rather than what you should expect or even be entitled to from your insurance company.

 

[333rocky333]

Leonaph, I put your pics here, hope thats ok

here are a couple of photos as requested
you can see the extractor fan is about 4 inches behind the wall
I think the cable is part of the lighting circuit it goes from the comsumer unit into the loft

exposed cable

• leonaph
• 7 Jul 2010
• 3

bathroom fan

• leonaph
• 7 Jul 2010
• 2

 

[ban-all-sheds]

That is truly awful.

 

[leonaph]

Thanks for moving my pics
I'm new at this game

 

[Taylortwocities]

Not quite hall of shame material but that is such a lazy install. No excuse for that.

Is there any reason why the cable is in surface trunking?
Can we see the other end of that trunking?
Is the lighting circuit available from above the fan?

 

[sparkwright]

Your original post was misleading.

It seems from your picture that the actual fan itself has been covered up with plasterboard, and from what you say a grille has been stuck onto the plasterboard. Since you mention the word 'wall', I can only assume this fan is now inaccessible.

This is so very wrong.

And, unless that wall is by a fireplace or something, that cable could have gone behind the skirting board.

 

[Weavertronix]

I would guess the cable was installed like that (surface mounted) because the "electrician" thought it wasn't in a 'safe zone', however if it was within 15cm of the corner it would have been, so could have been chased into the plaster. The way it's been installed certainly isn't "illegal" and not necessarily unsafe, but there's no way I'd want that in my house - it looks like a poor DIY job.

I can't quite figure out what's going on with the fan, but as already mentioned the wiring needs to be accessible and the ducting continuous, ie if the wall was being battened out it would have been better to take the fan off the wall, extend or replace the ducting and fix the fan to the new inside of the wall. That way the fan could simply be unscrewed from the wall to allow for maintenance.

 

[leonaph]

Thanks for all your comments
I have insisted a represenitive from the insurance company comes out to see this mess, I'm sure he didn't believe how bad it was until I sent him the photos
so I'm having a meeting with him and the builder on Monday
Problem is I'm sure the builder will say he will put everhing right,
but as he didn't do it right in the first place is he to be trusted to solve the problems now

I'll just have to see what happens on Monday

Thanks again