C/U change with housing Association

[ste_miller21]

right here we go. i changed my c/u at home for a assessment with elecsa (week today). The housing association wasnt happy about me changing the board but since i'd already ripped the old one off the wall before i told them they agreed that as long as it was cert'd with in 30day period it was fine. before i ripped the old C/U out i did a fill inspection and all reading came back fine.......now the problem.....when i came to test the installation today on the sockets (ring) i was gettin a reading (open loops) of 0.32 and 0.34 L1 and Ln......then on the CPC i can getting open loop (no reading).

so...i borrowed a long lead from a friend and connected it to cpc and have found out that there is a brake in the CPC between two sockets (one in the bedroom and the other at the bottom of the stairs) which means a full chase from the socket up the wall to ceiling then through the ceiling under the floor to the socket. which i dont mind doing since i could use it for the assessment as minor works. but when i phoned the housing association they wouldnt give me permission to do the work i wasnt already part P registered...they then contacted there sparky to see when he could come out and sort the problem out, he said he'll be out in a week to sort it (the day of my assessment) and that it is fine to use the sockets in the house they are safe! HOW CAN THEY BE IF THE CPC ISNT PROTECTING PROPERLY? and what kind of electrician can say something is safe and fine to use without looking let alone testing? i wouldnt put my name to anything if i didnt know. and a week is a bit too long. im thinking of just doing the work myself and then if i get in with Elecsa then go into the housing office with the cert and kick off with them. ( some of the sockets have been replaced in the house and cables needed extending the electrician they ave used in the past has just put both lives in 40A connector blocks then run a 6mm cable out the other end of the block. its a joke. To top it off the woman that lives next door over heard me talking about the electrics and informed me that she has 3 double sockets in her house that done work and that its been reported 4times over 2months. WHAT THE HELLS GOING ON!!!! do they think electrics a toy or to be played with or ignored??? if an electric circuit has been designed for a use and demand and it is not working properly then yes is can be dangerous and unsafe and should be looked into ASAP not left.


please correct me if im wrong im not trying to get any ones back up but to me its unsafe and the landloard is not complying with his duties. do you think i'm reading too much into this? am i wrong? should i just do the work?

 

[growler]

im currently working on a job where as part of the deal the builder had to employ a trainee for each trade selected by the local housing authority. The guy who is working with us is a 5o yr old ex painter. He is a really nice bloke. He has done his level 3 and 17th and is currently doing his nvq and is looking at his 2391. He is then hoping to get part p. This dudes electrical knowledge is next to zero. He doesnt know safe isolation to start with, i had to explain several times how to wire a ring main. i even had to show him how to strip twin and earth. Its scary to think he is basically nearly a qualified spark and could soon be out on his own!

 

[ste_miller21]

ok i apologise to you GLENNSPARK if ive come across rude to you. but i would like to point out to you yes i have got my 2330 and 17th. im not perfect or have the great amount of experience you have. just so you know ive rectified the problem with the CPC it was a lose connection in a junction box (thats why it gave me a reading when i did the pre check)

I dont understand your claim that i dont know my way around a ring final? did i not post that it was tested then tracked the brake between the two sockets?

and once again sorry i didnt do everything the correct way (asking housing first) but can you honesly say before you went part P you put all your jobs through LBC?

like i said before i dont mean to offend or come across funny because im not. and i apologise you you and everyone else.

 

[GLENNSPARK]

the real issue i have here is that any fleeting chances you had of having the heating and mould issues rectified in this property have probably gone out the window/door/bin together with the old dis-board here ste........however,...its quite clear that you need to understand more about your responsibilities as a competent person in regards to someone elses property.......you cant force someone to have work done that they simply dont want...wether it needs it or not....in a worst case scenario the best you can do is issue a danger notice and give forwarning of a situation that requires immediate attention.....but you must never, ever...undertake work without someones permission again mate as its a form of trespassing and if you leave it dangerous then you will be liable (regardless of how the install was before you carried out any work)....and also in answer to your last post....i can catagorically say now that i have not undertaken to do work that is notifyable without gaining permission first from the person ordering the work (or any other interested parties) and that any work my boss and i have done that has been notifyable was just that.....notifyes to the relevent LABC through the scheme provider that he chose to patronize.....

 

[Specialist]

he claims 2330 level 2 and three......i doubt this claim...i have been wrong of course....he also claims to hold the 17th edition....so what?....still cant find his way around a ring final though can he.......the point i am making is that he used someone elses property to experiment/use as a demo....whatever he wants to call it.....whilst not having the owner/s permission (this was granted posthumously dont forget).....now issues with the cpc in the ring final but no way to prove that this situation existed before....i mean what happened to testing and pir BEFORE a board change? And that`s assuming the O/P gained the relevent go-ahaid first.......if there are issues with this property (mould, heating etc) then there are proper channels to go down....certainly not this caper we have here.....this guy`s lucky the housing assotiation in question hasn`t taken him to court (as they could rightfully do).....but if its going to cost him £500 in lost part p cash....then so be it....an expensive mistake to make but i dont see why an unourthorised/unapproved "install" should be accepted....not when others have to go by the rules........

Actually Glenn he does say he did a full test beforehand & no faults showed up.

 

[GLENNSPARK]

ok...maybe i was a bit brisk with my posting but as far as altering/adding to an existing installation without the owners prior knowledge and approval......still stands that does.....

 

[Specialist]

ok...maybe i was a bit brisk with my posting but as far as altering/adding to an existing installation without the owners prior knowledge and approval......still stands that does.....

Hi Glenn: I was'nt having a pop at you mate, far from it. I agree with everything you've said on the subject, I was just pointing out that testing had apparently been carried out prior to CU change.

 

[GLENNSPARK]

no i know you wasn`t spesh....its just the foolishness of it all......as now this lot (the housing association) will use this as a means of exonerating themselves of any responsibility here as far as the heating and the damp issues are concerned....as in..."well i could report you for the heating and damp" and "well i could report YOU for the unautherised work carried out"......you can see how this one`s gonna pan out.......sad really........

 

[Specialist]

Yep I think this may well be a painful learning curve for him & they could still report him to the LABC. Seems to have been a recurring theme today, people messing with things they should'nt.

 

[Jonesy83]

this threads interesting as my landlord wants me to change the consumer unit in my home but blankly said no as im not part p and if anyting goes down like the boiler i dont want the it was alrite before you touched it

 

[trev]

this threads interesting as my landlord wants me to change the consumer unit in my home but blankly said no as im not part p and if anyting goes down like the boiler i dont want the it was alrite before you touched it

You could do it through your landlord paying the LABC fee and agree first to do a PIR. Any problems to be rectified while doing the CU change but you'll probably be opening a can of worms. It sounds like possibly more trouble than it's worth

 

[Jonesy83]

Agree with your landlord that first you'll do a PIR, anything thrown up by that to be rectified while carrying out the CU change

i aint doing it he wants it done for free he can get some bugger in to do it lol

 

[GLENNSPARK]

this threads interesting as my landlord wants me to change the consumer unit in my home but blankly said no as im not part p and if anyting goes down like the boiler i dont want the it was alrite before you touched it

but you have the permission to undertake the work....should you wish to do so.....and thats the difference........so yes i can understand your consternation at being left without heating but an opportunity exists for part p evidence/inspection......you can also leave it till the new year as they have recinded the new rules for part p that they were proposing...(although i still think it will come into play sometime in the new year though)........i just wish that the O/P had done it this way though rather than just rushing in and then gaining some kind of "post authorisation" from the owner....as this has set the tempo for any future cooperation....i.e...none......

 

[GLENNSPARK]

thing is n all......my boss n i do a lot of work for landlords, letting agents n all that lot and i can assure you now that the standards of accomodation from most of em is crap...period!....the wireing is bad, the diversity is poor and the fittings are often shot......nearly everyone we go in.......1s and 2s all over the place....there were supposedly rules (enforced) as to the standards being offered by some of these characters.......bugger all being enforced in the places we see.......

 

[Jonesy83]

well hopefully we wont be renting long i hate renting money down the drain

 

[trev]

Glenn I understand what you're saying mate but that's supposedly only in the private letting sector. The rules are usually followed by social housing providers as they're not (supposedly) doing it for profit