Advice on kitchen requirements please

[Allison]

Hi everyone , my friend is having a new kitchen fitted and was worried about her builders electrical skills so she asked me if I could have a quick look and see what I thought .I dont usually do domestic work and havnt much kept up on the regs with it but said I ,d take a quick look anyway. The kitchen isnt on its own ring and neither is the cooker I m not sure if that's allowed firstly . Secondly I noticed that the appliance sockets underneath the worktops werent spurs but were actually put into the ring main and were unfused , but what I was most worried about was that the oven spur/ringmain (as he's installed it ) went to a double pole switch behind the oven with no isolator switch above the worktops and not very accessible with the oven in place and he has taken the feed off the ring in 2.5mm t&e is this allowed and sufficient for a 2.35kw oven? Is an above worktop isolater required for a cooker socket or can it just be a double pole switch? any thoughts would be gratefully appreciated thanks.

 

[tom79bmth]

First of all is the builder qualified spark when I want my car fixed I don't call a window fitter doesn't look like it from what he is doing, not the way I would do it. If it was me I would put new ring in kitchen separate circuit for the oven or hob. Also check original installation to make sure it's ok to add on to etc

Make sure that he is going to give a certificate for work done from registered body. And report to building control as that's what he has got to do buy law which I am sure he knows

 

[Allison]

Looking at his work I very much doubt it ... I just dont want to alarm her if Im wrong . Ive already informed her of the need to notify under part P.

 

[stuartcourt]

always nice to have kitchen on own ring but does not have to be. Cooker circuit once again would be nice on separate circuit but is only single oven about 10 amp so fine on a switched fused spur (as long as ring main can take it), as long as plug top or spur accessible does not need to have switch above. Is it a gas hob going in as electric would almost def need own circuit. Sounds like bloke is typical kitchen fitter not a spark but dont wait to end to find out ask for his scheme name and number

 

[Spoon]

Has she paid for the work yet?

 

[stuartcourt]

Has she paid for the work yet?

Now that is the question to be asked

 

[Allison]

not sure about if shes paid him yet ... but I get the feeling he's blagging her and trying to make more work out of the job .

 

[telectrix]

sounds like a typical builder/kitchen fitter. bang it in as cheap as possible as long as it works long enough for the cheque to clear. refer to app.15, p.425, bgb fig.15A (iii). as regards the cooker.

 

[Spoon]

Im a bit confused. Your post sounds like the work has already been done.
How is he trying to get more work out of the job?
Has she got any electrical test certificates from him?
Find out if she has paid him.

 

[Allison]

Its a work in progress ... he was supposed to be boarding/plastering the ceiling and walls but reckons there was a nail through one of the cables and its turned into him rewireing the kitchen for some reason ! Hes still building the units etc ...I just went for a noisy before he covers everything up.

 

[Spoon]

and its turned into him rewireing the kitchen for some reason !

Please can you elaborate on the above.
What exacly is he doing?
Is he moving any sockets or just replacing wire....?

 

[Guest55]

Hi everyone , my friend is having a new kitchen fitted and was worried about her builders electrical skills so she asked me if I could have a quick look and see what I thought .I dont usually do domestic work and havnt much kept up on the regs with it but said I ,d take a quick look anyway. The kitchen isnt on its own ring........

there is no requirement to put the kitchen on its own circuit.

and neither is the cooker......

is the oven no greater than 3kw ? is so , then its perfectly acceptable to connect it to any socket / general power circuit.
I m not sure if that's allowed firstly . Secondly I noticed that the appliance sockets underneath the worktops werent spurs but were actually put into the ring main and were unfused ,

your explanation is unclear but again there is nothing in bs7671 that requires you to fuse down or remotely switch sockets that are connected directly on the ring.
but what I was most worried about was that the oven spur/ringmain (as he's installed it ) went to a double pole switch behind the oven with no isolator switch above the worktops and not very accessible with the oven in place and he has taken the feed off the ring in 2.5mm t&e is this allowed and sufficient for a 2.35kw oven?

see my 2nd comment.

Is an above worktop isolater required for a cooker socket ~ no.
or can it just be a double pole switch? ~ yes.


any thoughts would be gratefully appreciated thanks.

rather than just jumping on the slag the builder bandwagon , i'd prefer to just examine the facts given by the op.
and like it or not , the builder hasnt made any serious / obvious blunders with his kitchen wiring if you ask me.

 

[Spoon]

Not all of us are "jumping on the slag the builder bandwagon". Just trying to find out from the OP what the builder is actually doing....

 

[Engineer54]

Yet another reason why builders, kitchen fitters, plumbers and the like, should NEVER have been given official recognition to conduct ANY electrical work past changing a plug or changing face plates. All this limited scope crap by the scheme parasites should be stopped, NOW!! End Of!!