Earth Queries (+ others!)

[woodbutcher32]

Morning all, I'm in the process of selling my house and an inspection by a local electrician has thrown up several queries, any help & advice would be greatly appreciated...

"No existing main earth to incoming water"- Is it possible for me to simply install another Earth rod or MUST I go back to the CU (Which would be complicated)

"Existing earth to earth rod has no mechanical protection" - Is this just a case of enclosing the earth from the CU to existing front earth rod in plastic conduit?

"Existing lighting circuits are not looped in and a continuity of earth cannot be verified" he is advising re-wiring 8 no. lights (3 of which are 2 way) Is this really necessary or is there an alternative? The wiring in the house was re-wired around 10 years ago and is all in good condition, the cost he is quoting is money that I don't realy have!

"consumer unit has exposed parts" he is advising replacing with a new 17th. edition CU but is this really necessary by law?

thanks again

Woody

 

[Deleted member 9648]

Morning all, I'm in the process of selling my house and an inspection by a local electrician has thrown up several queries, any help & advice would be greatly appreciated...

"No existing main earth to incoming water"- Is it possible for me to simply install another Earth rod or MUST I go back to the CU (Which would be complicated)
There is no such thing as "earthing the water main".....I assume he means main bonding,which calls into question the competance of the inspector if he cant use the correct terminology.....Main bonding is nothing to do with earthing but is essential,and MUST be run from the incoming point of entry (stop cock) to the MET
"Existing earth to earth rod has no mechanical protection" - Is this just a case of enclosing the earth from the CU to existing front earth rod in plastic conduit?
Probably the electrode itself,protective boxes are available to protect the connection and make the rod visible.

"Existing lighting circuits are not looped in and a continuity of earth cannot be verified" he is advising re-wiring 8 no. lights (3 of which are 2 way) Is this really necessary or is there an alternative? The wiring in the house was re-wired around 10 years ago and is all in good condition, the cost he is quoting is money that I don't realy have!...No idea what he means...very vague.

"consumer unit has exposed parts" he is advising replacing with a new 17th. edition CU but is this really necessary by law?
Probably an old rewirable wylex,in which shielding of live parts was a little suspect....you are no under any obligation in law to do any remedial work to your house,it is only a recommendation.
thanks again

Woody

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[Octopus]

Presumably you are a TT system and as such the main earth must go from the CU or the MET directly to the earth rod.

Existing earth has no mechanical protection - you could sort this when you do the first point.

There is no regulation that is retrospective concerning CPC's on the lighting circuit. You should note that that use of class 1 fittings (if you have any) should be removed.

Consumer unit has exposed parts - can you post a picture? Yes, a replacement CU may be ideal but may not be necessary.

 

[woodbutcher32]

Many thanks for the replies so far I'll get some pics up later today! Thanks wirepuller, what i mean is the gas is already 10mm earthed to the CU then from the CU to an earth rod, is it possible for me to simply install another earth rod at the rear of the property and 10mm cable straight to that from the water main?
Sorry if my terminology is a little vague but im a Carpenter by trade!

 

[Octopus]

Water "bonding" is the process of connecting the incoming water to the MET or consumer unit. Connecting the incoming water to a new spike will not have the desired effect.

 

[woodbutcher32]

Thanks Murdoch, would it be possible to run the new earth cable around the outside of the house? Would it need some sort of protection?

 

[Octopus]

Thanks Murdoch, would it be possible to run the new earth cable around the outside of the house? Would it need some sort of protection?

IMHO you can run the cable round the outside of the house, attached to the house.

 

[Engineer54]

If the gas and the water main are in the same proximity, you can link the two services on that single 10mm cable. However, it's always advisable to run separate main bonding conductors.

There is nothing to stop you running the water bonding cable around the house, attached to the fabric of the house. But it would be sensible to afford it mechanical protection. My choice would be plastic (PVC) conduit.

Just to clear things up a little, ''class 1'' light fittings are light fittings requiring and earth connection, ''Class 11'' light fittings, are fittings that are double insulated and do not require or have an earth connection incorporated within.

 

[Knobhead]

"Existing lighting circuits are not looped in and a continuity of earth cannot be verified"

This is open to interpretation, is the sparks expecting the lighting to be done as a ring? Or just can’t be bothered to look in the fittings?

What ever the cause I think it was a case of scare tactics to force our OP in to unnecessary work. my thoughts are the same for the CU

 

[robsparky1975]

You have said that it was rewired 10 years ago i would find in strange that the consumer unit was not changed,and that the main earth bonding to the water service was not in place,it may have been connected to a place where the inspector did not check,and if it was rewired at that time did they supply an installation certificate,these are things that i would ask about as soon as starting an inspection,its all about gathering information and compiling a report,legally you are not obliged to change a thing,the only consequence is that the potential buyers will try and knock you down on price,pictures on here would help us guide you better.

 

[ackbarthestar]

Morning all, I'm in the process of selling my house and an inspection by a local electrician has thrown up several queries, any help & advice would be greatly appreciated...

Always an interesting scenario, If I were buying a house and the electrics looked old then £5k comes off the asking price straight away, the same with CH and boilers.... something to bear in mind when you get offers below what you were expecting

 

[woodbutcher32]

Many thanks for all the advice thus far

This is a pic of the currently installed CU unit, what changes would have to be made to pass an electrical cert?

 

[woodbutcher32]

This is the earth to the spike, would some conduit be acceptable? what would I do with the cable as it runs over the ground? could I bury it slightly?

 

[woodbutcher32]

And this is the 10mm Earth running down the side of the front door frame, Must this be protected? Would some plastic conduit suffice?

Again many thanks for everybody taking the time to reply.

 

[Deleted member 9648]

Many thanks for all the advice thus far

This is a pic of the currently installed CU unit, what changes would have to be made to pass an electrical cert?

If that up front RCD is 30ma no changes are essential. A single RCD protecting the whole installation does not comply with the regulations as a fault on one circuit will trip the whole system,however this would not necessarily result in an unsatisfactory report.
If the RCD is not 30ma (100ma?)...then socket outlets would not be 30ma RCD protected and on a TT system this would result in an unsatisfactory report. The push button MCB,s are no longer a recognised overcurrent device,but can easily be changed.
Of course it's crying out for updating,but not essential.





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