Had a cracker of a job today

[Amp David]

Quality one today.

Went to move shower isolator for my brother as hes doing a new bathroom. Ends up being a pig of a job as bathroom is in an extension, with a flat roof and the bathroom ceiling is timber clad.

Goes down stairs looks at CU and right away see this huge old iron service head. Then i see the nice new 16 mm earth along side the new tails, but then can't seem to see the earth connected to head or supply cable.

Ze tests at 13.9 ohms. Quality I think.

Out comes the circ saw and I take up the boards around the service to see if its and old 951 clamp hidden away, but no, nothing. So got the work light under the boards to be greeted by this beauty!



951 clamp onto the lead water service in the floor void. This being used as the earth connection.

They spent 3k on a rewire earlier this year. Not a single cable entering the CU is new, not only because they're all the old colours, but they're all still painted up in emulsion paint. Then I find no bonding to either gas or water and only half the new CU has RCD protection.

Had DNO out who confirmed that there had never been an earth supplied since day one, yet no earth rod insight. Good thing though DNO are back out tomorrow to sort an earth and change service head.

Since getting home tonight, my brother has gone back to update the customer regards his so called rewire and got to speak to the spark who did it. He blamed the testing on another guy who tested it all, confirmed that because there was no supplied earth they had used the water supply and when asked what readings he got for their Ze, he started stuttering and all of a sudden was lost for words.

This pics also makes be wonder. Its a dual RCD chint CU, but in place of the first RCD their seems to be a 63 amp C typre DP MCB instead. God only knows what his plan here was.

 

[Amp David]

I'll stake £50 that there is a fault on one of the circuits 'protected' by this 63A MCB!!!

So did I and the DNO chap.

But when the DNO chap stuck a temp up front RCD in it held, so god only knows

- - - Updated - - -

Not sure if I'm missing something here, but those cables look brown and blue to me...

Hes over sleeved 99% the originals in the CU. I think he might of extended a few.

 

[Amp David]

I hope the customer is there to ask (if the cowboy does show up) how the new cables look just the same as the original. I'm sure there is a term for taking money for work you haven't actually done....

This is what angers me the most. Its the customer who actually got him on the phone yesterday. To me it sound like its a mate of his and rather than give his mate grief, he'd rather just us do our bit and leave the other crap as is.

MADNESS:banghead:

 

[ipf]

This is what angers me the most. Its the customer who actually got him on the phone yesterday. To me it sound like its a mate of his and rather than give his mate grief, he'd rather just us do our bit and leave the other crap as is.

MADNESS:banghead:

Good mate then ?

 

[timbobelfast]

You clearly don't get much for 3 grand these days...................

At least Dick Turpin wore a mask!

 

[Amp David]

Good mate then ?

Yeah, just what I thought

 

[Guitarist]

So did I and the DNO chap.

But when the DNO chap stuck a temp up front RCD in it held, so god only knows

- - - Updated - - -




Hes over sleeved 99% the originals in the CU. I think he might of extended a few.

Makes sense then. Thought I was going colour-blind

 

[Amp David]

Its ok, I fell for that one too.

In fact the brown sleeve for the bathroom lighting must be 4mm, I originally thought why is it wired in 6mm :tt1:

 

[Guitarist]

Oversleeving old cables just because they look ok is no different to going into a garage to have a new set of tyres fitted, only to find they've given them a coat of black gloss because there's still tread left, but charged you anyway. Just don't understand why the customer thinks this is ok.

 

[imago]

Ive been to a couple of jobs where the customer has told me that they need a rewire, it then turns out that a new CU with a couple of extra bits (sockets, circuit or whatever) are all that's required.

Sometimes, they're over the moon at saving a couple of grand. Sometimes they doubt it can be so because "the other electrician said the wires need replacing because they're old colours". Pointing out that the current install is likely far better quality and standard than 'ripoff & leggit' are going to give them doesn't always sink in either.

I don't loose sleep over it, I'm an electrician not a moron therapist.

 

[Snapester]

I've seen a few classic rewires with all circuits connector blocked behind the new board!! MESS!

 

[telectrix]

I've seen a few classic rewires with all circuits connector blocked behind the new board!! MESS!

i found 1 of them a while ago, in an old cottage. damp had got into the wall behind the CU and hence into a choc block extending the RFC. took me about 3 hours tracing the low IR reading from mid point. GRRRRR.