Kitchen electrical work - are naked cables ok or not?

[FreshHomeOwner]

As someone doing a kitchen refurbishment project for the first time (and now having learnt the hard way why you should never leave your kitchen fitter in charge of sourcing the electrician), I was a bit surprised about the state the electrical works were left in and just figured I'd check here if this is acceptable or breaks some obvious regulations.

In short, where the old wires in the wall were all running through metal conduits, the electrician left the new ones for me to fill in. (see images) It does looks like somewhat bad practice to me, but perhaps not strictly against any regulations, and as long as I get the certificate from the NICEIC and have it verified to guard me against future inspection failures I am kind of ok with patching it up, tiling over and assuming no one will ever try to drill into the kitchen tiles without turning power off at the mains. But I just want to know there's no obvious regulations broken by not having any housing for them?

 

[Nickj]

Whilst it's not the neatest work the cables have been run in safe zones and so assuming they are RCD protected then it is fine to plaster over them. They should have capping over them to avoid any damage caused by a plasterers trowel however I don't believe there is a regulation that stipulates that, it's more best practice.

If you don't have an RCD then it would be against the regulations to leave the cables as they are unprotected and less than 50mm deep.

 

[Risteard]

Whilst it's not the neatest work the cables have been run in safe zones

The first picture seems to show a cable running technically just outside of the prescribed zones.

 

[Nickj]

Very true Risteard, It's a rather large chase though and so I assumed (perhaps incorrectly) it's running to another accessory. Perhaps the OP could confirm.

The biggest issue is whetehr it is protected by an RCD. If it is not is definitely doesn't comply, if it is then it most likely complies

 

[FreshHomeOwner]

I believe the cable is connected to my cooker, which is turned on via a switch in the cupboard above it. The big hole was my old socket panel which obstructed the kitchen install and is going to be quite a filling job. Still don't know how he managed to drill through the wall into my bathroom, but luckily for both of us it's the next thing on the list of home improvements.

So yeah, guess it's as I thought then: not non-compliant, just a bit shoddy. As long as I get the certificate (which is proving to be a challenge) I'll have enough peace of my mind. Will check turning off fuses in the fusebox (that's enough to check if the cables are RCD protected I guess?), but should be fine as well.

 

[Nickj]

The electrician is a member of a competent person scheme? You need more than just his certificate. Within a month of completion you should also receive a building control notice stating that the work has been notified and thus is all legal.

Did he install the cooker switch in the cupboard? That is something I'm really not a fan of unless really necessary. In the event of something going wrong you (or whoever is using the cooker at the time) may need to quickly isolate the cooker and so the switch needs to be within easy reach. Edit: it is not against the regulations to install them in cupboards however I prefer not to.

You should see the rcd in the consumer unit, it will have a test button. When you press the test button it should trip all the circuits that it's protecting (it may be all of them, half of them or if it could be an RCBO in which case it will just trip the one circuit). If you're unsure just post an image of your consumer unit here and we can say

 

[sparksburnout]

Why should he expect a BC certificate the spark may have just modified an existing cct?

 

[westward10]

The first picture seems to show a cable running technically just outside of the prescribed zones.

You are absolutely correct, the horizontal chase route should be no wider than the width of the accessory and this is the route the cable should take.

 

[Deleted member 93172]

That looks as rough as a bears arse (excuse my french)

 

[sparksburnout]

That looks as rough as a bears arse (excuse my french)

Have to agree, tis rough as chuff. Must have cost a fortune in polyfilla. I've got a sneaking suspicion that the OP has done this and the phantom electrician does not exist...........just saying.

 

[Deleted member 93172]

Have to agree, tis rough as chuff. Must have cost a fortune in polyfilla. I've got a sneaking suspicion that the OP has done this and the phantom electrician does not exist...........just saying.

Sure looks like it.

 

[7029 dave]

There is no regulation regarding capping or oval conduit, yes it is poor practice, it is only to protect the cables from the spreads trail, and of course for rewiring purposes if done correctly.

 

[Deleted member 93172]

Guidance note 1 page 68, 4.7 page 98, 7.5

 

[rolyberkin]

That looks as rough as a bears arse (excuse my french)

Rough as a badgers arse!;-) How can some people make such a bad job of such a simple task, my eight year old could do better than that!?

 

[FreshHomeOwner]

Yeah, I wasn't too fond of having the two switches for the hob/oven in two separate cupboards when I saw that, as having them there does waste space, but seeing as it was already done after I came back from work and the cupboards drilled through I didn't request to have it changed. Didn't think too much of the safety aspect but maybe I should considering the comments here.

"I've got a sneaking suspicion that the OP has done this and the phantom electrician does not exist...........just saying."

Oh, I can assure you the "phantom" electrician does exist, But your comment sure shows why I need that electrical installation certificate that my kitchen fitter is currently holding for ransom!

At least the work HAS been notified to building control and I've got a "Building Regulations Certificate of Compliance" from NICEIC by email when I called them, but it is incredibly vague, just saying "Electrical / Install one or more new circuits" in the "Description of Notifiable Work" section. Nothing about the sockets moved, new 32a feed wired externally, wiring hob/oven etc.

He and his company do NOT appear in the search on Home - http://www.electricalcompetentperson.co.uk which does raise yet another alarm bell. But he does appear in the NICEIC local contractors search, as well as in the search on www.competentperson.co.uk. Not sure of why this inconsistency is here...

"Guidance note 1 page 68, 4.7 page 98, 7.5"

What document are you referring to? "Guidance note 1" is a bit too generic to give me the right results on Google...