Kitchen light no longer turns off

[Melsey72]

Hi

My builder recently moved a switch to operate the kitchen light when the wall was removed. The switch operating the kitchen light is not live (have electrical tester and have tested it, but the kitchen light remains on. I have checked the wiring in the light fixture and all seems well.

I believe somehow he has wired it into the adjacent hall switch system. There are two switchs in the hall one with a multitude of reds and blacks the next one with just the standard number. The builder left before attaching a switch to this second hall light and prior to that neither hall light worked but the kitchen still did. I checked the wires as both had live sleeves worked out which was which connected them accordingly and now the hall light now works. (With the exception that you have to make sure switch one is turned on so switch two works).

My biggest issue is to get the kitchen light to turn on and off luckily I do not live there yet so keep turning off the mains when I leave the flat. Im assuming I need to isolate the kitchen light in switch one and then fit a two gang 2 way switch off of socket one. Do you think a) this is the best route and b) this will this in turn activate the switch which is suppose to link to the the kitchen?

Thanks

Melsey

PS Also there are no joists as it is a concrete floor and the seventies appature for the light fixings is smaller than normal and I can't use modern light fittings without drilling new holes into the concrete ceiling, are there any adaptors I can use so I can hang things other than pendants with paper balls in the main rooms?

 

[dingbat]

A lot depends on how the whole lot was cabled in the first place. From what you have said it sounds likely that the builder has simply done away with the original switch cable, leaving only a permanent live and neutral at the light fitting. (If this is the case then he should not be meddling with electrical installations at all.)

The only answer to your problem is further investigation - until you know exactly what cables are present at your switches/lights you're not in a position to remedy the fault. You can either start by reading the post entitled 'For Reference' at the top of the Electrics Uk section and try and work it out for yourself or get an electrician in to sort it out. If you go for the latter option you could ask for a written report, detailing what the builder has done wrong, which you just might be able to use in negotiation with the builder for compensation.

And, if you do employ an electrician, he's the best person to advise you about replacement light fittings elsewhere in the property.

 

[Melsey72]

Thanks, I am going to see what I can do later and will use the reference charts. Gut feel suggested that it wasn't going to be easy. My big worry is that if it is all wrong and there is no way to configure the switch so it turns off that all my decoration, kitchen etc will have to be rechanneled to rewire the switch.

Great.