adding a piece on during a rewire

[Charltonchambers]

We're part way through a full rewire and the vast majority of cabling is now in. We had asked for the sockets to be at new regulation height but for whatever reason we came home to find them all at skirting level. No big deal we thought and left them to it. However 2 bedroom sockets have been "chopped in" (believe is the phrase) just above the skirting and we specifically asked for them to be put above the bedside drawers (say about 1m higher). We can't be moving furniture to plug phone chargers in etc. Unfortunately the cables have been cut at the low level and we said we do need this rectifying. The contractor said he will add a piece on and document it on the Part P. Is this ok to do or could it cause us problems in the future? It will be plastered into the wall.

i think if I'm paying for a rewire it should all be done properly, but perhaps I am overreacting?

 

[Andy78]

Add a piece on ? Does he mean jointing the cable and burying the joint in plaster ? If so then no that is not an acceptable practice on a rewire. You have asked for the sockets at a certain height and not got that. This is the fault of the contractor and it should be rectified properly by running new lengths of cable without joints.
Any joint is a point of potential problems in the future.

 

[Flanders]

Agree with Andy, you can not plature cable joints in the wall if you have drawing or info to locations of sockets then the contractor should rectify this by replacing the cable that is to short ,although he could install a maintenance free juction box under the floor to exstend the cable . Another option could be to fit an extra double socket at the hight you require and leave the double socket at low level in place

 

[Pete999]

Any written instructions given. plans etc? perhaps it would have been better if you had kept an eye on the job and noticed any deviations from your original instructions.

 

[Charltonchambers]

Thank you for posts. Another suggestion has been to add a second socket above at the correct height. As the incorrectly positioned one won't be seen, I think this is perhaps an excellent solution if the contractor is not prepared to replace the cable.

 

[Midwest]

I don't think you'll be happy until your sockets are raised to the height you originally specified, even if the agreement was verbal? I don't think any of the forum members would mount sockets on top of skirting, how high is the skirting? Now is the time to get this to your satisfaction. You need to have a discussion with your electrician.

 

[Midwest]

Thank you for posts. Another suggestion has been to add a second socket above at the correct height. As the incorrectly positioned one won't be seen, I think this is perhaps an excellent solution if the contractor is not prepared to replace the cable.

Think if I was paying for a rewire, the above solution wouldn't be acceptable to me. Perhaps I'm being a bit fussy.

 

[kingeri]

Jointing the cable and burying it in the wall? Totally unacceptable. You may as well have kept your old wiring! Seriously, if they have messed up the only course of action to rectify this is to pull in a new cable. If they were serious about the joint, I'd be questioning the rest of their work!

 

[Kate]

If the sockets are "chopped in" and directly over skirting. Check all your plugs will actually fit in, that the skirting board doesn't stand further forward than the socket.
For example GHD straighteners have a slightly larger plug than usual and a thick cable, had trouble at a hotel once. Couldn't plug them in in front of the mirror

 

[ETO]

I think you are asking if a spur on the ring main is acceptable on a rewire. It's not ideal or good practice but spurs are allowed. He could always retain the low level socket, joint one leg in the lower socket and retain the ring on the higher level socket. Sloppy either way really. Sounds like he's trying to shortcut on time/labour. I'd be wondering what else he's doing to shave some time off the job. Might want to check the loft to see what state the lighting cable installed is!

 

[Leyland30]

How disruptive will a rewire of the socket circuit be? Personally, a Socket spur at the level you require gets my vote. Minimal disruption at the contractors expense. Hope you get it sorted.

 

[Silly Sausage]

GHD straighteners .....

Sorry, you've lost us there!

 

[adonis]

The contractor should rewire according the electrical safety rules standard and it must be done properly with out any trouble for in the future.

 

[Charltonchambers]

Just thought I'd update you all as you've been so helpful. following the comments we received we decided to get a second, and third opinion. We'd pretty much had enough of contractor 1 who continually wanted more money to continue the work (even tho we paid the full bill up front) which as we didn't want to be left with half a job we had paid, and paid, and stupidly paid. Crunch time came and we said enough is enough, please leave. We've therefore lost a lot of money but put an end to the chaos he's caused in our home. Contractors 2 and 3 (unconnected) both agreed the work of contractor 1 is sub standard, and in places just plain wrong, and we've now employed contractor 2 to put it right. Contractor 1 was a con artist and we've unfortunately been scammed by a guy who had all the gear but no idea. For example he said we needed armoured cable replacing which feeds the garage as its not up to spec. Charged us £400 plus his markup for a roll of armoured cable. Both C2 and C3 agree the new is identical to what's already in place and is actually about £120 a roll, and there's nothing wrong with what's in place. I could give many more examples but it doesn't change anything. It been a hard and expensive lesson but we're now on the road to recovery.

 

[telectrix]

i'd be straight on the phone to trading standards and a solicitor regarding contractor 1. these rip-off merchants need a kick up the arse, best applied by a wallet attack.