help needed very quickly,

[leekemp85]

I have very nearly completed a rewire of a two bed-roomed bungalow, as this was a friend of mine I charged £1400 all in, not a bad price as it took two of us a week (I have been paid already). since I have not been there for the last week the plumber has told the lady that he has spoken to his electrician and I have broken every rule in the regs and has threaten to get an inspector in unless I give £500 cash back tomorrow.
Candie is in the middle so unsure if to believe the plumber or me.
the thing i have done wrong are.
not taken fly leads to the back boxes,
the boxes have not got grommets, this is something I always do but I did not have any on the first fix I was going to do it on second fix but my mate connected the sockets up I totally forgot about it (but is that against the regs?).
there are a few cables close to the surface all in the correct zones I have bonded/ undercoated with plaster, when the finished cote is applied they cables will be fully concealed.
and that is the minimum distance for a socket from a tap.
please be honest with your answers as I will print this off tonight and will be going around tomorrow with it tomorrow.
I have offered to correct the problems (for nothing) but have been told by the plumber that his electrician will do it and finish the work and testing for £500. and he doesnt want me in the house again just the money and the key.
please give your views asap, and what could happen if a inspector did come around to see the problems if I cant cant sort them I am currently with elesca.

thanks and sorry for the long post

 

[acat]

UNG you got style I like it


Chris

 

[andyb]

Where abouts are you Leekemp?

I think this just needs another electrician from this forum to call round and give a third oppinion to put this lady's mind at rest and to shut this plumber up.

There must be one of us near you who could pop in.

 

[WILLRUK]

Since when did plumbers verify electrical work?

Other than his inflated opinion, what qualification does the plumber have to substantiate his statements? I bet I can guess.........

I've a copy of an IET 'Wiring Matters' article about capping, safe zones and RCD protection which I used last year to shut up a plasterer worrying a customer unnecessarily. I gave a copy to the customer and explained to them capping is only for the benefit of the plasterer to prevent their trowel nicking the cable, it provides no mechanical protection for the cable. (as has already been detailed above).And if you're doing the backfill of the chases yourself then I can't see the issue.

Stand your ground.

If you want something to throw back at the plumber, ask him about what the depth of notches and the size holes he's cutting in joists for his pipes. Most plumbers I've met don't have a clue about the building regs on that one. Or don't care more usually.

PM me with an email address if you'd like a copy of the IET article.

Rgds,

Will

 

[bramboy]

Since when did plumbers verify electrical work?

Other than his inflated opinion, what qualification does the plumber have to substantiate his statements? I bet I can guess.........

I've a copy of an IET 'Wiring Matters' article about capping, safe zones and RCD protection which I used last year to shut up a plasterer worrying a customer unnecessarily. I gave a copy to the customer and explained to them capping is only for the benefit of the plasterer to prevent their trowel nicking the cable, it provides no mechanical protection for the cable. (as has already been detailed above).And if you're doing the backfill of the chases yourself then I can't see the issue.

Stand your ground.

If you want something to throw back at the plumber, ask him about what the depth of notches and the size holes he's cutting in joists for his pipes. Most plumbers I've met don't have a clue about the building regs on that one. Or don't care more usually.

PM me with an email address if you'd like a copy of the IET article.

Rgds,

Will

If I was a spark patching my own chases you`d have to cap or protect the cables because we are more likely to damage the cables than a plasterer would.(because we`re not skilled in this field) Capping provides next to no protection for penetration.

Tell the plumber to stick to his own job, we can all throw stones.

 

[stumas]

300 mm to edge of sink to socket.
Is there capping on cables?
Dont need flying lead from box.
Grommets are just good practice, but not against regs

can u tell me where i can find in writing/regs where it says 300mm to edge of sink as i got somebody who says it dont matter on rcd thanks

 

[Spudnik]

can u tell me where i can find in writing/regs where it says 300mm to edge of sink as i got somebody who says it dont matter on rcd thanks

Its not in any regs.

It has become an accepted "rule" set out buy the nic or esc..cant remember which.

 

[bramboy]

can u tell me where i can find in writing/regs where it says 300mm to edge of sink as i got somebody who says it dont matter on rcd thanks

niceic use to have the 10 most common questions to their technical line it will be linked via them, if you can gain acess on their site.

 

[Spa Key]

Any update on todays events?

 

[Spudnik]

He logged in a couple of hours ago so he is still alive

Im sure he will let us know soon. I hope!

 

[andekoch]

i know the grommet thing is rough, but it was a mistake that I would be happy to change, the fly lead issue is that the plasterer says he will not do any work with out it as the back box could become live with the socket off the wall. easy answer turn the power off.

The plasterer (or anyone else for that matter) should be severly reprimanded (shot would work) if he thinks he can remove a face plaate of a socket (or anything else) without first isolatingn no matter what he is doing.

You should always be allowed to put the errors right first before anyone else is called in and the professional bodies will support that.
No fly leads is not a prob if there is one fixed mount. It is good practice to fit them (although I am sure I have not in the past). Bad practice is to connect cpc to back box and then fly lead to the face plate.
Gromets are a good idea/ good practice. I can see how they get left out and in some cases are pulled out of the hole when cables second fixed. they can usually be retrofitted (unless the plaster has crept into the hole and prevents the gromet seating.

Dont let the plumber bully you. It is the home owners decision and I am sure an impartial inspector would side with you ie say some things not the best but not dangerous and suggest you come and rectify as you offered in the first place.

Send a letter to the homeowner saying you will rectify the gromets and flyleads if they like although nothing is dangerous.

 

[leekemp85]

I went round this morning, he's told me that he has spoken to an inspector is booked in for Friday and the he is 100% sure that fly leads and grommets are a requirement by law and Candie will not let me finish the work so its £500 by Thursday. I told him to call trading standers and he seemed to back down.
After he left Candie's luckily she pulled up we had a chat I told her that i made a few mistakes and after reading your comments that I printed she was happy that the work was not a safety issue.
I will be going around over the weekend to replace the grommets and install fly leads and anything else the inspector (I think its his mate to be honest) says is wrong. if this is the case I will be asking for a favour from someone that lives in derby for a second opinion

thanks guys and gals

 

[saveloy]

Mate I think you need to stand your ground with this so called inspector. You are obviously competant and care a lot about your work. You have been judged competant by your scheme provider so personally I would tell this "inspector" to Foxtrot Oscar if he thinks he can tell you how to do your job. It's got sweet FA to do with him or his plumber mate and you need to tell them that!! Just rectify what you feel needs doing and ignore these two idiots.

 

[Des 56]

Why are you showing them weakness
Fly leads are not required where one of the lugs is fixed
You will not find anywhere in the regs Grommetts are to be fitted,we should avoid wiring cable where there are sharp edges which could damage insulation The fitting of grommetts would solve that problem
If the cable is fitted,not damaged and not movable.what would be the point of fitting them now
Damage could be caused trying to achieve nothing

Tell him to tell the inspector to leave your incomplete installation alone until either it is completed or until you have spoken to this inspector and agreed what actions to take as far as his inspection is concerned

Remember that the Niceic will have no complaint investigated against their members if the installation has been altered or interfeered with,so you have him by the B--s

Stick with the principle of telling him to mind his own buisness for goodness sake

Whats this 500 by thursday ?

 

[kduck]

Have you powered up the job, if so have you tested all the circuits and got the results because they will have something to say if you have not got the test results and their is power to the circuits.

"inspector is booked in for Friday" you need to ring them your self and check out who and where this inspector is from like you said it could be his friend. If its not a real inspector the Police are very good on it sort of thing its called black mail tell them the story believe me they will set a trap for them both.



best of luck mate

 

[UNG]

he's told me that he has spoken to an inspector

Of what and with what qualification to be independent or is this another of the plumbers "mates" who will produce a bent report to reinforce his case

Just a pity you don't know any BBC bods that could turn up with some cameras to film this farce as it definately sounds like a Rogue Traders case

I would not part with the £500 they / he wants as I thought it was an offence to demand money with menaces it could even be blackmail as your first post implies that the £500 was to stop him contacting the inspector

As I said in an earlier post make it uncomfortable for this guy contact your local HMRC compliance office anonymously and suggest that he may be evading tax or VAT, one of their full inspections should keep him busy for a few days certainly long enough for you to finish the job