Terrible discoveries

David M · Dec 30, 2014

What terrible discoveries have you made over the years in the trade?

This one I discovered plastered over (literally) in a bathroom.

These cables came into the box from all angles. The junction turned out to be used for the ring circuit, immersion heater, central heating control and some upstairs lighting.Some of which had been interconnected.

[ElectriciansForums.net] Terrible discoveries

A few Years back I went out to a house in town. The young lady there had just taken over the tenancy along with her new born baby. Her lighting had tripped and she could not get in contact with the landlord, so she phoned a friend for help who turned out to be one of my previous customers. Anyway I agreed to take a look, I could not believe what I was seeing when I got there. The complete electrical installation was still in, what was now a totally eroded v.i.r wiring system with the old wood and baker light fittings! After I'd isolated the whole supply I did a little bit of inspection. As I pulled up the already exposed landing floor boards there was a whoosh of air. Who ever had nailed down the boards had nailed through the lead gas main running across the landing joists! The pipe now resembled a long flute! also the now exposed conductors of the lighting circuits were draped over and in places wrapped around the pipe, it was madness

Hasten to say the young lady moved out that night and in with friends, the landlord was contacted and agreed to have a full re-wire and replace the gas pipes. In my opinion the tight git should have been prosecuted for letting out such a hazardous property. He had been the proprietor for many years so should have been aware it desperately needed upgrading!

Geordie Spark · Dec 30, 2014

Pah!!

I can beat that!!

I discovered that my maternal granny was a Scouser and I could be distantly related to Tel.

Silly Sausage · Dec 30, 2014

Geordie Spark said:
I discovered that my maternal granny was a Scouser and I could be distantly related to Tel.

NO NO NO, tell me it isn't true!!!

JD6400 · Dec 30, 2014

Geordie Spark said:
Pah!!

I can beat that!!

I discovered that my maternal granny was a Scouser and I could be distantly related to Tel.

GASP !!!

Sorry Mike , but needs must sometimes .:ihih:

bigdavs83 · Dec 30, 2014

Doing my apprenticeship with the local authority and went to change an old boys storage heater. It was the big 3.4 kW number in the living room. It's behind that couch he says. No problem I'll move the couch and get the old one disconnected. Moved the couch to be greeted with an almighty mound of cat ---- directly in front of the heater!! Popped the couch back and informed the old boy we would be back another day. Managed to back heel it to one of the other boys!! Result!!

kingeri · Dec 30, 2014

A fake 'anti-arcing' device installed next to CU, customer was charged loads of money for an empty adaptable box.

Doomed · Dec 30, 2014

etc etc etc

R G · Dec 30, 2014

I went to a job with an apprentice , and the lady says she has just moved in and all 3 of her TVs have packed up , when we took a closer look at the wiring at the mains position under the stairs we spotted some coax cables joined into a biscuit tin on the floor and a supply wired straight from the old porcelain fuses in an old wooden board , traced this under the floor boards to all coax points in each room that were fed from this board , the previous owner had obviously done some DIY and this new owner had assumed they were coax tv points , livening up the aerial inputs .had to disconnect it all there and then .....

ian.settle1 · Dec 30, 2014

Archy Styrigg said:
NO NO NO, tell me it isn't true!!!

Could be worse she could be related to a Manc

Silly Sausage · Dec 30, 2014

ian.settle1 said:
Could be worse she could be related to a Manc

http://www.sherv.net/cm/emo/laughing/laughing-my-----off-smiley-emoticon.gif

PEG · Dec 30, 2014

Doomed said:
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etc etc etc

Dear Doomed, when i gave you those two free weeks in my holiday let,i had no idea you would be bringing your camera.
Please be advised that your booking for next August,has been cancelled. Yours, Mr.Fiddler. :icon12:

TJ Anderson · Dec 31, 2014

Oh, I thought this was a Land Rover thread.

guest119 · Dec 31, 2014

Doomed said:
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Wrong thread D, belongs in Show us Your Installs:ack2: ...

trev · Dec 31, 2014

The guy I was apprenticed to was a nasty mean tempered bugger who would lash out if and when I made a mistake (that's the back story btw) (most of you know it anyway)
So we went to a very nice victorian terraced house to do a rewire. Mr was a councillor, Mrs was a college lecturer (might have been the other way round but never mind) She was very heavily pregnant. All the furniture apart from a few odds and sods had been put in storage so we were looking at a pretty free reign on this one.
We kept finding these cotton wool balls lying around with some sort of strange cream coloured residue on them.
So I've got my arm under the floor boards one day when my mentor comes barging in to the room, blue with rage, he screams at me to pack my tools and leave right now (only a little more direct than that). Now I'm wondering what the hell I've done and I'm trying to ask him what the problem was but he just screamed at me again, pack your tools and go. Eventually he told me to wait by his car.
So now I'm thinking maybe it's not something so bad that I've done.
It wasn't me at all.
Bill had found a leaflet which explained how a cream to combat a "downstairs" infection should be used.
We refused to go back until the whole place was cleared.

David M · Dec 31, 2014

A few years back as we began to pull up floorboards in a house we were going to re-wire my colleague discovered bees and lots of them. He ran outside screaming like a girl and I followed not far behind. It turned out that there was a hive under the suspended downstairs floor. the owner of the property claimed to have no knowledge of the hive and put down the number of bees as due to the large flower garden surrounding the property.
I was amazed by it

mg_smile: