Hi guys
I bought my current home in 2004, it was a new-build by Bellway. During the time I've been here, I've noticed some "quirks" in the electrics, and would appreciate any advice on whether I need to take any action, or just put up with things the way they are...
1. There are 2 sockets in the kitchen which are powered by the upstairs ring main. I only discovered this when I turned the downstairs power off to do some drilling, and heard the fridge kick in - which scared me a little!
2. The upstairs sockets are on a 32A ring main, but the downstairs sockets are on a 16A circuit. A spark who was out to quote me on some outdoor lights had a poke in the CU and announced that the downstairs circuit had not been terminated back at the CU, so was just a radial circuit. This explains why kettle + tumble dryer + washing machine frequently = reset mcb.
3. The CU is a split-load one, with lights (etc) on one side, and sockets on the other protected by an RCD. The electric over has its own mcb, but this is on the RCD side of the CU, and is prone to tripping the RCD on initial switch-on.
That's it from the house of horrors... I don't know whether any of these can / should be corrected under the NHBC scheme?
Finally, on a seperate note, I was looking for some advice. I have 2 smoke alarms which are mains powered and connected together so that if one sounds they both sound. The cable for this is 4-core - live, neutral, earth and "link". Where can I source this from to add an additional, linked alarm?
Thanks!!
I bought my current home in 2004, it was a new-build by Bellway. During the time I've been here, I've noticed some "quirks" in the electrics, and would appreciate any advice on whether I need to take any action, or just put up with things the way they are...
1. There are 2 sockets in the kitchen which are powered by the upstairs ring main. I only discovered this when I turned the downstairs power off to do some drilling, and heard the fridge kick in - which scared me a little!
2. The upstairs sockets are on a 32A ring main, but the downstairs sockets are on a 16A circuit. A spark who was out to quote me on some outdoor lights had a poke in the CU and announced that the downstairs circuit had not been terminated back at the CU, so was just a radial circuit. This explains why kettle + tumble dryer + washing machine frequently = reset mcb.
3. The CU is a split-load one, with lights (etc) on one side, and sockets on the other protected by an RCD. The electric over has its own mcb, but this is on the RCD side of the CU, and is prone to tripping the RCD on initial switch-on.
That's it from the house of horrors... I don't know whether any of these can / should be corrected under the NHBC scheme?
Finally, on a seperate note, I was looking for some advice. I have 2 smoke alarms which are mains powered and connected together so that if one sounds they both sound. The cable for this is 4-core - live, neutral, earth and "link". Where can I source this from to add an additional, linked alarm?
Thanks!!