My entry in a new category
Did a visual inspection today on a house sold subject to contract.
I've done a few of these for an estate agent and there are always minor things, but rarely anything too serious.
When I walked into this one it had clearly been recently refurbished, so I thought it would be an easy one - oh how wrong can you be....
Among the highlights:
very inaccessible consumer unit in under worktop cupboard - with back of cupboard covering meter tails and fuse cutout.
Old Consumer unit left in place, with no RCD protection.
2.5mm spur covering socket for cooker/hob ignition, one socket above worktop and washing machine socket under worktop, all protected by a 40A MCB - the cable leaving the CU is 6mm, and no sign of the join, but I'd bet money there is no fusing down.
Dessicated mouse skeleton inside consumer unit!
poor positioning and quantity of sockets because they carefully replaced all the existing ones to try (I assume) to get round Part P
No obvious main earth bonding (one possibly 6mm to a water pipe poorly connected and covered in paint)
No earth on any light circuits - plastic lightfittings and switches, but metal back boxes and metal screws in use
Still need to check this one - but standard fan isolation switch 85cm from Zone 1 - pretty sure thats not suitable IP rating... (EDIT: ok I will let them off on this one, they are just into Zone 3 - but I bet that was luck not judgement!)
And thats before I get to the poor finish around sockets and light switches, the big hump in the laminate floor where they didn't leave enough expansion at the edge, the dodgy looking toilet connection in the bathroom....
Still, I think my report will give the purchaser some serious bargaining power
More pictures in my album if anyone wants to see them
Did a visual inspection today on a house sold subject to contract.
I've done a few of these for an estate agent and there are always minor things, but rarely anything too serious.
When I walked into this one it had clearly been recently refurbished, so I thought it would be an easy one - oh how wrong can you be....
Among the highlights:
Old Consumer unit left in place, with no RCD protection.
poor positioning and quantity of sockets because they carefully replaced all the existing ones to try (I assume) to get round Part P
No obvious main earth bonding (one possibly 6mm to a water pipe poorly connected and covered in paint)
No earth on any light circuits - plastic lightfittings and switches, but metal back boxes and metal screws in use
Still need to check this one - but standard fan isolation switch 85cm from Zone 1 - pretty sure thats not suitable IP rating... (EDIT: ok I will let them off on this one, they are just into Zone 3 - but I bet that was luck not judgement!)
And thats before I get to the poor finish around sockets and light switches, the big hump in the laminate floor where they didn't leave enough expansion at the edge, the dodgy looking toilet connection in the bathroom....
Still, I think my report will give the purchaser some serious bargaining power
More pictures in my album if anyone wants to see them
