Excuse of the day ....................

[Octopus]

A while back I changed a CU for a customer - and knowing she was going to have building works I installed a CU with plenty of spare ways .......

Yesterday I was doing a small change to the socket circuit - and before I changed it I checked the continuity readings .......... these showed a break in the neutral.

So I asked the client to see what the builder / spark had put on their certificate ............. it turns out that they hadn't done any (changes were made to at least 3 circuits).

In the reply they stated:

"Dean said it wasn’t essential as it’s a new circuit board but they will come out and do it for me"

Lazy ................

They don't believe in using wago boxes - a turn or 2 of insulating tape will do ................ nor having earth connections from back boxes to the metal fittings ............. and that's what I noticed without looking!

 

[westward10]

We are fighting a losing battle.

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

it always amazes me that people think nothing of paying thousands to builders, kitchen fitters etc but feel robbed at paying for an electrician. They seem to think it is perfectly reasonable to be a builder , electrician , plumber and plasterer and be a jack of all trades. if only they understood the complexities of being an electrician or decent plumber. I have only ever met a handful of people who i would consider truly multi trade to a sufficiently high standard they could excel in either of the trades on there own

 

[Tes369]

Kitchen fitters are the worst offenders

* followed shortly by shopfitters

 

[Pete999]

it always amazes me that people think nothing of paying thousands to builders, kitchen fitters etc but feel robbed at paying for an electrician. They seem to think it is perfectly reasonable to be a builder , electrician , plumber and plasterer and be a jack of all trades. if only they understood the complexities of being an electrician or decent plumber. I have only ever met a handful of people who i would consider truly multi trade to a sufficiently high standard they could excel in either of the trades on there own

Problem is Gavin, Mr and Mrs Average only see. visualise the end result, nice set of akitchen cabinets, nice sockets and switches, they don't or won't see the work that goes into a decent job, that;s why Builders get away with things, it's all covered up by paster.
Don't try and tell me any different, beenin this work to many years to be kidded by Cowboy Builders, not all are Cowboys, there are some good ones, but very few and far between, tin hat on.

 

[Octopus]

I did meet them when the works were going on..... They wouldn't move a BT extension socket .... So I did

They did have a scheme logo on their van....

 

[SparkyChick]

I'm involved with an ongoing project involving renovations at a property in Newport. The first big block of work was to install some new circuits and make the required changes to the first floor lighting circuit.

Knowing this was eventually going to be inaccessible from above due to a pending loft conversion I took the time to work through the entire circuit removing all the botched terminal block and tape connections.

At the end, there was one old junction box which was due to be removed in the next phase of work, everything else was sensibly located maintenance free junction boxes.

When I went back the next time, the b*****d builders had boarded the loft... damaged some of my new cables, chopped one and joined it in a terminal block wrapped in tape and had disconnected a socket by simply sticking a terminal block on the end of it, wrapping it in tape and then stuffing it back in the cavity before filling the void left by the socket with expanding foam trapping the cable in it's sticky clutches.

I also noted they'd used expanding foam to fill a cable chase and instead of just pushing the smoke alarm cables into the roof space when they boarded the ceiling, they took my temporary metal backbox down from a joist, cut a notch in the joist and sank the backbox in so it didn't protrude through the plasterboard. Never heard of a dry lining box lads????

Suffice to say I lost my ----. Thankfully the customer wasn't at home.

Another pet peeve is spending the time working out locations for holes in joists and then getting back on the job for the next phase only to find the builders have stuck holes where ever was easiest. Grrrrrr

 

[Wilko]

... Mr and Mrs Average only see. Visualise the end result, nice set of kitchen cabinets, nice sockets and switches, they don't or won't see the work that goes into a decent job...

Pete - it reminds me of the saying : (they) "know the price of everything and the value of nothing".

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

I did meet them when the works were going on..... They wouldn't move a BT extension socket .... So I did

They did have a scheme logo on their van....

ah the scheme logo.. they must have been competent then and know what they were doing...

 

[Octopus]

I'm just amazed that they would think that a fuseboard, fitted about 9 months earlier meant they didn't have to any tests or certificates ....

I just think why do I bother with doing it properly, doing testing, keeping up with the regs etc.

I do wonder how scheme membership numbers will change with the impending 18th edition...

 

[Pete999]

I'm just amazed that they would think that a fuseboard, fitted about 9 months earlier meant they didn't have to any tests or certificates ....

I just think why do I bother with doing it properly, doing testing, keeping up with the regs etc.

I do wonder how scheme membership numbers will change with the impending 18th edition...

It will probably get richer Mate, what with all the new courses, etc

 

[HappyHippyDad]

I'm just amazed that they would think that a fuseboard, fitted about 9 months earlier meant they didn't have to any tests or certificates ....

I just think why do I bother with doing it properly, doing testing, keeping up with the regs etc.

I do wonder how scheme membership numbers will change with the impending 18th edition...

Hi Murdoch,

A few of your posts mention that you get a bit disheartened and question the point in doing it well when you see so much crap. I've felt like this once or twice already in the 5 years I have been in the electrical business but I expect you have been doing it a lot longer so have seen a lot more poor quality work.

I know it sounds a bit hippy, but part of your payment is going home knowing you've done the best you can (it feels good), so whenever I feel like cutting a corner because 'everyone else does it', I remind myself I'll regret that decision as I know I'll feel bad about it later.

 

[Octopus]

^^ My main "beef" with such chancers is that they claim to do electrics yet don't do them properly.

In this case he's got all the sockets on 1 circuit ............. rather than add a new dedicated circuit for the kitchen and utility ............ so when the RCBO trips - they will lose all the sockets in the house...................

Not ideal and just demonstrates why the so called "schemes" are not adding anything to the situation .............

 

[telectrix]

the schemes are only interested in ££££££'s. why else would they accept Electrical Trainee s with as much experience and competence as a piano player's monkey?

 

[sparksburnout]

I'm just amazed that they would think that a fuseboard, fitted about 9 months earlier meant they didn't have to any tests or certificates ....

I just think why do I bother with doing it properly, doing testing, keeping up with the regs etc.

I do wonder how scheme membership numbers will change with the impending 18th edition...

How do you mean about membership numbers, do you think it will make a difference? Why would it?