Exposed copper wire under the floorboards after rewire

JanWilson · Jan 20, 2022

I have just had my house fully rewired. I lifted a few of the loose floorboards to clean and noticed at junctions there is a lot of exposed copper wire. Is this normal or even safe?

[ElectriciansForums.net] Exposed copper wire under the floorboards after rewire

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ipf · Jan 21, 2022

James said:
For the time being, DO NOT PAY THE BILL.

I have a horrible feeling that when we see the rest of the pictures the advice may well be to involve trading standards.
If they are a member of a scheme then there should be some redress available from them.

If they are falsely claiming to be NICEIC registered, the NICEIC would be the ones to contact.......they don't consider 'taking their name in vain' a minor issue, especially with such blatant evidence so easily available.

littlespark · Jan 21, 2022

Can we get more photos?

A picture of the consumer unit showing the circuit breakers will give us a good idea.

You said they left to start another job…. Was your job complete at this time?

There are a few members of the forum near Liverpool that could give it a quick once- over to help catalogue any issues.

mattg4321 · Jan 21, 2022

Check they are a member of NICEIC on the website under ‘find a contractor’.

If they are then look up NICEIC Platinum Promise.

telectrix · Jan 21, 2022

I'd be happy to visit and assess the installation for you, then advise on the best way forward.meanwhile, as others have said. don'tpay them anymore money until the installation has been independently checked. This would probablycostyou around £100 - £150, but that could be negotiated from the balance, alongwith the costs for remedial works if you don't want them back.

JanWilson · Jan 21, 2022

telectrix said:
I'd be happy to visit and assess the installation for you, then advise on the best way forward.meanwhile, as others have said. don'tpay them anymore money until the installation has been independently checked. This would probablycostyou around £100 - £150, but that could be negotiated from the balance, alongwith the costs for remedial works if you don't want them back.

Thank you so much. I may call upon you however I have just spoken to the professional body who he is a member of and they have advised me not to let anybody touch it at this stage in case he offloads responsibility. They have advised I now make a formal complaint, which I am about to do. However, I keep discovering more suspect work and will upload more images today. Can you advise if you think I am going to have to have the whole lot redone?

Stripping wallpaper in my kitchen today in preparation for plastering, I discovered this......

telectrix · Jan 21, 2022

JanWilson said:
Thank you so much. I may call upon you however I have just spoken to the professional body who he is a member of and they have advised me not to let anybody touch it at this stage in case he offloads responsibility. They have advised I now make a formal complaint, which I am about to do. However, I keep discovering more suspect work and will upload more images today. Can you advise if you think I am going to have to have the whole lot redone?

Stripping wallpaper in my kitchen today in preparation for plastering, I discovered this......

at first sight thatlooks OK>the cable is in line horizontally with the socket, and so it is compliant with prescribed zones. capping or tubing is advantageous in some ways, but not obligatory in a chase.

telectrix · Jan 21, 2022

not to let anybody touch it at this stage

agreed, you can get it inspected, but at this stage, not altered.

JanWilson · Jan 21, 2022

telectrix said:
at first sight thatlooks OK>the cable is in line horizontally with the socket, and so it is compliant with prescribed zones. capping or tubing is advantageous in some ways, but not obligatory in a chase.

Thank you very much for your help and advice. The wire is sitting proud of the wall plaster so will be sticking out of the wall after plastering - unless the plasterer puts a very thick layer of plaster onto the wall. I understood wires should be buried into the wall...? Also there appears to be another section of wire folded down over the main section with a nail in it, this also sticks out, is this ok to do?

Dustydazzler · Jan 21, 2022

JanWilson said:
Thank you very much for your help and advice. The wire is sitting proud of the wall plaster so will be sticking out of the wall after plastering - unless the plasterer puts a very thick layer of plaster onto the wall. I understood wires should be buried into the wall...? Also there appears to be another section of wire folded down over the main section with a nail in it, this also sticks out, is this ok to do?

For a decent plaster finish the cable should be about 5mm beneath the surface of the wall. Then filled up with filler ready for the thin plaster top finish

That cable is too proud and will need chopping in a bit more

Megawatt · Jan 21, 2022

JanWilson said:
Thank you for your response, they have just sent out their invoice....... I found other areas similar. Can I ask, does a full rewire have to be passed by Building Control? and would it be standard to request they come and look at the job if I have concerns? Thanks so much for your help.

You paid for a full rewire which means wire from point A to point B with no splices

littlespark · Jan 21, 2022

If it was a full rewire…. Why was there wallpaper over that patched wall?

It just looks very DIY with filler like that around the socket.
I was going to suggest to check that wasn’t a spur from a spur or something silly, but then I realised which thread this was.

Full (?) rewire?

Still want to see what the consumer unit looks like.

Take Tel up on his offer… he will be able to tell walking into the place whether it’s been a good job or not… no need to dismantle anything really.

JanWilson · Jan 21, 2022

Dustydazzler said:
For a decent plaster finish the cable should be about 5mm beneath the surface of the wall. Then filled up with filler ready for the thin plaster top finish

That cable is too proud and will need chopping in a bit more

Thank you for your response. This gives me a little more confidence. The chasing in on the walls is generally a bit better than in this image and I did see the wires which all appeared intact. There are more junctions which have bare metal wire, I will get images later.
I need to consider my options carefully. I am not out to destroy anybody's reputation and I would prefer to leave my house as intact as possible. Any advice on how to move forward would be greatly appreciated

littlespark said:
If it was a full rewire…. Why was there wallpaper over that patched wall?

It just looks very DIY with filler like that around the socket.
I was going to suggest to check that wasn’t a spur from a spur or something silly, but then I realised which thread this was.

Full (?) rewire?

Still want to see what the consumer unit looks like.

Take Tel up on his offer… he will be able to tell walking into the place whether it’s been a good job or not… no need to dismantle anything really.

Thank you so much. I have attached images of the consumer unit. What I have not explained so far is that the main contractor left his son and an apprentice on the job. His son assured me he was qualified/experienced and I trusted what he said. I am not out to damage anybody's reputation but just want as much fact as possible before taking the next step. I will get Tel to look over it and give me a second opinion. I am hoping it is not as bad as it appears and can be rectified without tearing my house apart again.

westward10 · Jan 21, 2022

Let the scheme deal with it glad they have given you a positive response.

JanWilson · Jan 21, 2022

westward10 said:
Let the scheme deal with it glad they have given you a positive response.

Thank you for your response..

DPG · Jan 21, 2022

That trunking at the top of the consumer unit is rough.

Exposed copper wire under the floorboards after rewire

JanWilson

ipf

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mattg4321

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telectrix

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JanWilson

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