Photographic proof of the need for building regulations

[xdave]

I have always been convinced that a little knowledge about something is more dangerous than no knowledge at all. It gives people the confidence to think they know what they are doing...

I posted here a while back with some questions about the cooker for new new kitchen. Well today I started stripping all the old units out in preparation for the electrician who is coming tomorrow ahead of the kitchen fitters on Monday. Having seen the standard of some of the electrical work I have already had replaced elsewhere in the property I was prepared to find a a bit of a mess, but what I did find after stripping the walls back surprised me.

Firstly perhaps the least unusual, and probably perfectly safe except there was no grommet on the cable entry. I hadn't noticed it until today because it was beind the microwave, but the old fridge and freezer were running off an extension lead plugged into an above counter double socket, but installed under the worktop:

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• xdave
• 11 Jun 2009
• 1

Then on to another double socket, which had obviously been moved at some point but the person doing it couldn't be bothered to replace the cable (easy to do as it is in conduit running up the wall to the roof space above). What puzzles me is why the cable has then been extended a second time. It is also taken from the ring as a spur, which then feeds another double socket nearby (that is the cable exiting the box at the bottom). The earth strands were not sleeved, and I am too afraid to undo the tape incase I make it any more dangerous than it is. When the electrician removes it I will be sure to take a photo without the tape present:

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• xdave
• 11 Jun 2009
• 1

Now for the extraction fan above the cooker. This appears to be run from a single switched socket that is fitted on the ring main. No problem there, except that the socket is mounted directly to wires that just emerge from the wall, parcel tape was wrapped around the whole lot to stop it making contact with the metal extraction fan 'chimney' and the plug was inaccessible should the fuse blow:

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• xdave
• 11 Jun 2009
• 1

Finally on to my personal favourite - the cooker connection unit. It is on a dedicated 30amp 6mm radial, but again has been moved at some point in the past. Rather than replace the cable (again easily accessible to do so) the old CCU has been left in place and a new length of cable fitted between it and the CCU behind the cooker. There is no isolator on this circuit except for the main MCB. The old CCU had no back box and was wedged into position by the tile adhesive loaded over the top of it:

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• xdave
• 11 Jun 2009
• 1

There are also numerous instances where holes have been drilled and plugged within safe zones, although I believe they all missed the cable conduits. One instance is directly above the centre of a double socket, but fortunately the cable was off centre. This is all on one wall, I haven't started on the other yet, and I have yet to work out where the old dishwasher is being fed from...

I think Part P should have been included in the regs a long time ago. I wonder how many people unknowingly have installations like this in their houses?

 

[CortinaV8]

Looks to be of similar condition and vintage to my kitchen.

When I did our kitchen at the end of last year, I literally just found where the ring came in and out of the kitchen and replaced everything in between as I couldn't be sure where most of the cables actually went. Found a few old ones in random places when I was cutting chases for the new ones though.

 

[stephenf8542]

Wecome to be world of the electrician where no two jobs are the same

 

[mattylad]

I think your confused, when you think that part P will change anything like the pics you have shown.

Crap/dangerous stuff like that will still be done without any reference to part P etc.

 

[JonoPashley]

Part P isnt a safety measure because the cowboys can pretty much ignore it and building control are reluctant to get their hands dirty when it comes to enforcement. its nothing more than a stealth tax on the law abiding.

 

[^woody^]

Those pictures illustrate perfectly why Part P is a nonsense and achieves little

 

[chivers67]

The moral of the story is "it works it must be ok". well that's what most punters think anyway!

 

[RigidRaider]

That's the kind of wiring I see in Africa.

 

[mattylad]

these all also look like they were prior to Part P coming into force.

 

[xdave]

Yes, that wiring goes back at least 12 years (the last refit) and possibly back 30 years when an extension was added and some electrics were changed.

My comment about the regs was that they should be properly enforcable, and a long time ago. If it was possible to force people to put right work like that then maybe less people would be prepared to take the risk. To defend Part P, it does at least get people asking questions. People who are determined to break the rules will always find a way to do so, but the more homeowners that ask their cowboy kitchen fitters to supply a certificate, the harder it will be for the cowboys to get work from people who just don't know any better.

Anyway, the electrician has been and gone now, and won't be back now for over a week while other work gets done. In addition to that buried cable joint where 2 double sockets were run off a spur (which turned out to be the bare cables twisted together and wrapped in insulating tape, with evidence of heat damage) he also found a wall plug that had completely cut a live wire in two, meaning the kitchen had operated as two radials since at least the last refit. I was quite shocked by this (no pun intended) as it was blatently in a safe zone. There was also a double socket that did not have a good neutral connection (the wires came straight out when the socket was removed).

When I had the consumer unit changed last year, all the circuits except for the kitchen and the cooker were moved over (the latter left on the old board as I was planning to have it all replaced this year). There were two guys doing that work, from a reputable local firm, and they spent almost a day going round each room and the attic checking all the sockets and fittings. They found one lamp pendant that was cracked and replaced one light switch cable that didn't have an earth - everything else was ok. I am not sure whether my kitchen was just unusually bad, or whether I should ask my new electrican back to recheck everything?