Dodgy trade pictures for your amusement! - 1 Million Views!

Darkwood · Mar 21, 2015

Right ... Just been nudged to set this up by Paul.M and sounds a good idea following recent threads I've done in the Arms..

Rules....No Offensive material... edit if required before posting as this is the public arena.
Anything to do with the trade or in and around it ...H&S pic's welcome.

[ElectriciansForums.net] Dodgy trade pictures for your amusement! - 1 Million Views!

I've posted this a few times and this is at a mates house following a kitchen refirb several yrs ago.

mg_smile:

Dustydazzler · May 15, 2023

Raptor0014 said:
Apparently it was all done when the el cheapo kitchen cupboards were added about 4-5yrs ago. I can't understand why they didn't use the service void and some trunking if that was the case.

Yes in a perfect world you can screw some plastic trunking on the wall and run any cables in prior to the units being installed.
However on many an occasion I get a call at the last minute saying 'please can you pop round and put in some new sockets in our new kitchen' to find the kitchen is all but 99% installed and I am having to fish cables under the units and carefully chase up behind the brand new worktops that were just laid last week

Raptor0014 · May 15, 2023

Dustydazzler said:
Yes in a perfect world you can screw some plastic trunking on the wall and run any cables in prior to the units being installed.
However on many an occasion I get a call at the last minute saying 'please can you pop round and put in some new sockets in our new kitchen' to find the kitchen is all but 99% installed and I am having to fish cables under the units and carefully chase up behind the brand new worktops that were just laid last week

That was a bit like one I had a while ago.

'Can we have some additional sockets and lights fitted?"

Walls were all tiled from worktop to ceiling and they had one pendant in the centre and wanted downlights and 3 separate pendants over the dining table.

I managed it with a lot of patience and the help of quinetic switching. But they were under no illusion I couldn't guarantee no breaks in the tiles or additional holes in the newly plastered and painted ceiling.

brianmoooore · May 15, 2023

Raptor0014 said:
I then found this in a socket in the lounge at the opposite end of the house to the kitchen.

View attachment 108155

That black and red looks like it might be polythene T&E, which was made for a short time between after rubber and before PVC.
Splits along the length of the wire are common with this stuff.

littlespark · May 15, 2023

I get that with kitchens as well. Doing one just now where the customer isn’t in a great hurry… the old cabinets are being taken out wall by wall, and I get in inbetween to do any electrical work.

Wago box behind the kickboard ends up being the only option sometimes. The joiner is coming unannounced in the evenings, so I get a text the day after, then have to reorganise planned work to get in before he comes back.

Last week I uncovered a floor hatch, thinking that’s going to make my life easier… just for the gas fitter to come before I got back. (The joiner couldn’t find it at first even though it has “hatch” written all over it!)

Still room, but I’ve got a dicky knee and they’re only 12” space down there.
I don’t bend like I used to.

Switchdoctor · May 15, 2023

That moment when you pull off the old distribution board and reveal past horrors.

Wires extended by twist&tape...
1 Socket ring end taped up.. single twisted connections had been running whole house
Cooker had been running on twisted earth cable as extension.

Needless to say i replaced everything...

7029 dave · May 16, 2023

Mate sent me this. Not his best job

8

7029 dave · May 16, 2023

Dustydazzler said:
This is so typical of builders wiring , roughly installed , stripped with an axe, cores all twisted up and bent and all mangled terminations.
We find this type of brand New install all of the time , literally all of the time.
I honestly think they just don't give a ---- , even in their own house

Pmsl

James · May 16, 2023

7029 dave said:
Mate sent me this. Not his best jobView attachment 1081888

WHATS THE PROBLEM?

It works therefore it must be ok!!??!!

Dustydazzler · May 16, 2023

James said:
WHATS THE PROBLEM?

It works therefore it must be ok!!??!!

I spotted the issue straight away , they forgot to connect the earth ?

pc1966 · May 16, 2023

Dustydazzler said:
I spotted the issue straight away , they forgot to connect the earth ?

They could not work out how to get the CPC in and still have the shutters clamping the L&N.

Raptor0014 · May 16, 2023

pc1966 said:
They could not work out how to get the CPC in and still have the shutters clamping the L&N.

Amateurs.

Use a fork to push the earth spring down. Put the conductors in and then you double over the CPC and put in the earth. Job done.

Mike Johnson · May 16, 2023

Opening the shutter is what screws are for.

Dave OCD · May 16, 2023

pc1966 said:
They could not work out how to get the CPC in and still have the shutters clamping the L&N.

They couldn't find a bit of g/y sleeving and didn't want to leave a bare cpc which would be non-compliant.

7029 dave · May 16, 2023

No cable clips shoddy, not a bad 90 considering gaffer tape.

timhoward · May 16, 2023

Using two different types of tape though - it's almost as if they don't care about presentation

ipf · May 16, 2023

Dustydazzler said:
I spotted the issue straight away , they forgot to connect the earth ?

Another fitted a rod cos they're worried about TN-C-S supply to an outside shed.

mainline · May 17, 2023

Billy bodgeit from the pub told him that he doesn't need an earth for the rcd to work.

Raptor0014 · May 17, 2023

Not dodgy, but lack of understanding of the requirement for bonding. Plumber was impressed with his work though and even pointed out where he'd scraped off the paint on the pipework!

Dustydazzler · May 17, 2023

Im surprised he didn't put a clamp on the blue plastic pipe as well with a link between the 2

littlespark · May 17, 2023

Which came first, the green wire or the blue pipe?

ipf · May 17, 2023

littlespark said:
Which came first, the green wire or the blue pipe?

Now...that IS the question.
Looks like be an existing bond. Whatever, it's causing no problem.

timhoward · May 18, 2023

Today's fun. I was only there to change a cracked socket front a quick end of day job, which I did.

As far as I can tell it's TT (found the rod and getting 2 ohms Zs from CPC bar) but can't verify what else is bonded at this point. There's only one earth wire that isn't a CPC coming into the board, so suspect there's a MET somewhere in Narnia.
I didn't want to try a high current test in case there's an upfront RCD in there too!

Also of note is the split load board, so potentially inadequate fault protection for right hand half if parallel paths are removed.
I had to say that I couldn't prove I'd left it in a safe condition and I'd have to return, take the panel off and see what is actually going on.
(The panel is actually about 4 times as tall as shown and extends to the top of the stair well just to help matters)

Some photo's pointing my phone in the hole...

The earth wire below goes to an old oil pipe not the cut-out btw

pc1966 · May 19, 2023

timhoward said:
As far as I can tell it's TT (found the rod and getting 2 ohms Zs from CPC bar) but can't verify what else is bonded at this point. There's only one earth wire that isn't a CPC coming into the board, so suspect there's a MET somewhere in Narnia.

2 ohms is either a very rubbish TN or a suspiciously good TT result!

Of course if there is a lot of oil pipe or whatever buried in damp ground then 2 ohms is possible, but it feels to me like a lot of buried metal or extraordinarily wet & salty ground.