First little job on own house - advice

[eptesicus]

Hi,

I am currently studying/training to start a career as an electrician and i have recently finished my C&G Level 2 and currently studying for my Level 3.

In the meantime i want to do a few minor works to my house to keep my practice my practical knowledge/keep things in my head.

My MFT and other bits arrived today, so the first little job is that i want to replace a junction box outside with an outdoor double socket. The set up is:

-New build only 2 years old so everything should be new/up to code (one can hope!)
-A fused connection unit takes a spur in the kitchen of from the downstairs ring final (this ring feeds all downstairs sockets and the central heating), feeds the power to a standalone garage (which has a double socket and a light (on a fused switch)).
-Where the cable comes out of the wall on the back of the house from the fused spur it goes into a junction box attached to the wall, to link to SWA which then runs down the wall and underground, then back up to the standalone garage.

Essentially, i just want to turn this connection on the wall of the house into a double socket.

I want to do it all properly and imagine i am doing it for a customer and issue myself a minor works certificate so i wanted to know how one would go about testing this sort of small job in the real world.

Would you do all applicable tests (continuity, IR, ZS and RCD)? If so, would you do them on the whole circuit or would you do them from the fused spur , with the fuse removed (assuming it would have to be double pole to do this without touching anything in the DB?).

So far my studies haven't really covered specifically what you would do on just a small modification on a spur such as this. I am guessing that to be absolutely sure, it may be better to do the tests involving the whole circuit (though with the IR test i will have to be mindful of anything that might get damaged at 500v so will have to remove thermostats/turn off the isolation switched to the boiler and kitchen applicances etc).

Any advice would be much appreciated as it would be good to know how in the real world an electrician would go about doing the tests on something like this, as i dont want to unnecessarily risk fiddling with more stuff than i really have to.

Many thanks

 

[Dartlec]

What would generally be the correct way to make sure the opening where the wire from the wall goes into the back of the socket? There isnt a big enough hole for a whole gland and it might be awkward to make one.

Are there any specific fittings for this sort of thing or would simply siliconing the top and sides of the socket once it is done be acceptable (as that means no water could realistically get behind the socket)?

I mean, the junction box there at the moment doesnt have anything extra done to it. The wire literally just comes out of the wall and through a whole in the back of it with no further waterproofing etc. However, judging by their other emissions, i doubt the original installers have done it correctly!

The hole on the back looks like it might be a standard cut out 20mm, in which case a standard closed grommet would do the job. Sometimes they come with one.

Otherwise silicone filling that hole would be an acceptable option. Silconing around the socket is also not a bad idea, though not necessary if the hole is correctly sealed.

The box will probably have a space for a drain hole to be drilled on the bottom in one corner, which should also be done - some water may get in whatever you do, so it's best to give it an option to get out.

 

[nicebutdim]

Not as far as I can see. This is the other end:

So there is nothing linking the armour OR the metal clad switch box to the cpc...

Is that damaged insulation on live conductor to the load?

 

[MrPupsi]

I’d say that once that socket is screwed back, it’s all earthed back through the SWA as it’s a metal back box.
Not something I’d rely on but with two fixed lugs on the back box, would that not technically comply?

If it were my job, I’d add a 2.5mm fly lead on that end though, and for the plastic back box, just swap the lock ring over for one of these and just attach another flylead.

https://www.NoLinkingToThis/p/earth..._WtAJX7X4y5YWR-XzRkaApI9EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Should take you around 10-15 mins.

 

[eptesicus]

I’d say that once that socket is screwed back, it’s all earthed back through the SWA as it’s a metal back box.
Not something I’d rely on but with two fixed lugs on the back box, would that not technically comply?

If it were my job, I’d add a 2.5mm fly lead on that end though, and for the plastic back box, just swap the lock ring over for one of these and just attach another flylead.

https://www.NoLinkingToThis/p/earth..._WtAJX7X4y5YWR-XzRkaApI9EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Should take you around 10-15 mins.

Yes, i have been thinking about this, and i guess it does just about meet regulations maybe? Obviously it is relying on the bare minimum though.

 

[brianmoooore]

A case of meets the letter but not the spirit.

 

[Simon47]

I'm surprised that something like that would have got passed initial verification on something only two years old.

I suspect that for some, initial verification consists of checking the contents of the brown envelope. OK, that's a bit harsh - checking that whoever does it can fill in the paperwork well enough not to arouse suspicion.

FWIW, a few years ago my mother was looking at a new build. I was primed to pick up on the electrics and call the contractor out for fraud, and their scam for being useless. Some of the failings were "sort of understandable" (such as the cables in the kitchen not in a safe zone, because they'd left extra length for after the units were fitted, but the socket ended up several feet to one side), but others weren't (such as meter tails buried in the plaster and not RCD protected). Thankfully my mother decided that it wasn't going to be the right property for her. Nothing was "good" about that house - the electrics were "minimal", the plumbing was 'kin sh**e, it was designed to give her cold feet (solid concrete slab, insulated but not heated), and pretty well everything was "minimum the BRs allowed".
As it is, I'd already phoned the insurance company that was going to be providing the 10 year builders insurance and told them I had reservations about the stairs - 1/4" sag in some treads even after having been bodged underneath with random bits of timber ! I didn't think it a good idea leaving something that might mean ripping out the stairs and re-doiong them, along with all the re-decorating, till after she'd be moving in. Clearly my reservations were correct, it happened that shortly after that, my mother went to tell him she was pulling out (the house was supposed to have been ready at least a year earlier and still wasn't), and she called me to say that the vendor was in tears and saying that I'd caused him a lot of trouble.

And then there was a program on telly a year or two ago that looked at problems with some new builds. Examples included some built by one of the big outfits, who self-certify for BRs, and which had faults such as insulation still being in it's rolled up and bagged state just left in the loft - the builder had to take roofs off to fix that (sloping ceilings).

So no, never assume that because it's new and "signed off" that it isn't a load of sh**e - because some of it is a load of sh**e.

What would generally be the correct way to make sure the opening where the wire from the wall goes into the back of the socket?

And no-one's commented on the other fail there - it doesn't look like the cable has any protection as it passes through the cavity.