Bad wiring: request advice

[mark641]

We have had builders in, who have stopped for Xmas.

My daughter tried to do a wash. The wash machine wouldnt. Its power socket is dead. I tracked
the supply cable to its source ( on top of an eye level cupboard) & found a really frightful example of bad wiring.

Later: I tried to insert a photo & "the file is too large for the server to process"

I dont know which possibility to believe:

1. It has been like that for 20+ years. Builder came up here, disconnected the WM's socket, (why? no idea). They must have seen
the bad wiring & didnt report it or

2. Builder was totally incompetent or

3. Builder is a qualified electrician & decided to do a bad job & hope nobody would notice.

There was no reason for them to do anything there at all. All they were supposed to do (electrically) was to extend the light circuit
into the extended
space. ( They have done this: good or bad job? I dont know). I suppose I really should get in a qualified elect. to check it all, but
I expect that (s)he will find all sorts of things that were perfectly safe & legal when the place was rewired many years ago but the
regulations have changed. And they will want to do a complete rewire: several £K & floors taken up & etc. Also I must try to be tactful in
approaching the builder as we want to remain on reasonably good terms; OTOH there may well be a bad electrician out there putting other
people's lives in danger.

So: If I decide to make a formal complaint, who should I complain to?

Please any other advice? Thank you

 

[GBDamo]

Eh!!!

in short...

"I don't know who did this, I want to blame the builders, who do I complain to"

 

[westward10]

Lesson No 1 and I have said this before. Builders have trouble putting bricks on top of each other so never let them do electrical work.

 

[James]

It is normally pretty easy to tell if something is new or old.
old tape gets sticky and horrible, lots of dust and dirt on the connection?
signs of the cable dragging dirt around the top of the cupboard when it has been moved.

or a new shiny connection.?

I would simply let the builder know the machine wouldn’t work and having looked up here”pointing” it looks a mess.
can you get your spark to check it for me please? Is the approach I would take in the first instance.

 

[littlespark]

Take your photo on phone. Screenshot it to replicate it, then crop out the excess screen.
Brings the image file down to a reasonable size.

Was it the builder, or an electrician working for the builder?
A builder shouldn’t be touching electrics unless he can produce an electrical certificate at the end…. Even for something trivial like moving a light.

If it’s really bad, can you see the internal colour of the insulation? Red and black, pre 2006….. brown and blue post 2004. (There was a 2 year overlap)



Something “perfectly safe and legal” years ago will still be safe and legal under a modern EICR, with a possible “improvement recommended” guidance.
It would have to be pretty old to be pre rcd.