Some (probably) stupid questions about my house rewire

[MrsFletcher]

Hi everyone (wave)

Sorry if this is in the wrong section :crazy:

I am currently having my house "done up" and the electrician has just told me he has finished the wiring and is requesting payment.

Most of it looks OK (not that I would really know any different lol) but one of the girls I work with told me that the kitchen should now be on a separate circuit main switch in the electrical fuse box, she says there should be 1 fuse for the cooker and another for the plugs but the lights can stay on the same switch as the other downstairs lights. Just so you understand, she had her house required a few weeks ago and that's what they did at her house.

Anyway, my electrician hasn’t done any of that, the cooker and the plugs are just on the downstairs plugs fuse?

Also I have just noticed that he has ran wires up next to the water mains pipe they are not in a plastic runner thing nor are they nail clamped (?) to the wall. They are covered by a wooden panel though so you cant see it unless you take that off.

So I guess my question is, are these things right or wrong?

Oops, sorry just one more, what sort of certification should I expect to get? He tells me that it will just arrive in the post?

Thank you for your help :heart:

Tracy

 

[gooner1984]

hello mrsfletcher,

if you have ask for a rewire then thats what it is REWIRE, remove all the old cables and put new ones in, by the looks of it. he cut a lot of corners, and if i was you i wouldn't part with any money. those color cables are not in use anymore today we use brown blue, yellow/green its the regs. to me sounds like a cowboy job not good at all.

 

[midgetman]

if you ordered a full rewire then that is what you should get. The "electrician" should if encountered extra costs which is sometimes quite possible have advised you - not just leave the old wires in.

As far as having kitchen not on dedicated ring - that's fine. The cooker though would normally be on its own radial.

 

[Knobhead]

My first reaction is to say get trading standards involved.
You may come unstuck with the contract. But the standard of work is abysmal.

 

[trev]

You can tell me to mind my own business here MrsFletcher but how much did this "Gentleman" charge you?

 

[telectrix]

well, looking at the pics. apart from advising you not to take up photography as a career, as tony, says, the standard of work is not what i would expect from a qualified sparks. those T/E cables dangling down the water pipes are no way compliant with regs. the cables behind the switches look like roland rat has installed them for a nest.

 

[oldtimer]

This is the very reason why I do not get involved with this type of work first of all Mrs Fletcher did he recommend that you upgrade your fusebox when he was quoting for the work ? no offence to yourself but there are "customers" who think hold on I am being ripped off here I dont think I need a new fuseboard.Also you mention that you were told that the kitchen should be on its own seperate circuit but if you have an old 6 or 8 way (thats fuses or circuit breakers) board then you may not have the spare capacity for the kitchen to have its own circuit although you would have if you got the fuseboard upgraded because first of all you would have got 2 RCD safety breakers and 10 circuit breakers instead of the 6 or 8 you have.

One last thing if you declined to get your fuseboard upgraded then there is not much an electrician can do but connect to the existing circuitry so after all of this could you confirm that you were offered a fuseboard upgrade just to add this would have been the ideal time to get this done.

 

[trev]

I'd have thought a rewire would have come with a CU change as a matter of course mate. All rewires I've ever quoted for have .

 

[1shortcircuit]

Have you had a certificate arrive yet?

I was under the impression that a BS7671 cert should be handed over on completion and a copy retained by the Electrician then IF the work is notifiable (which yours is obviously) the details are passed on to the Local Authority Building Control via the Part P Competent Persons Scheme that they are a member of.

Have you seen any proof that this Electrician is part P registered? NICEIC Elecsa Napit are just a few that exist.

Also, IF old cabling has been used then this will need to be noted on the Certificate that you receive, If it's not then um, you have them by the short and curlies and I imagine the Scheme provider will stand behind you and tell them to pull their finger out or get the boot.

It's always sad to hear stories like this but I hope that this gets resolved amicably as quickly as possible:thumbsup

 

[oldtimer]

I'd have thought a rewire would have come with a CU change as a matter of course mate. All rewires I've ever quoted for have .

Trev I would agree with you but times are hard and some guys no matter how hard they try the customer thinks they know best and some of us can afford to say sorry cannot do this and then the customer says ok then I will get someone who will next please

 

[1shortcircuit]

Have you had a certificate arrive yet?

I was under the impression that a BS7671 cert should be handed over on completion and a copy retained by the Electrician then IF the work is notifiable (which yours is obviously) the details are passed on to the Local Authority Building Control via the Part P Competent Persons Scheme that they are a member of.

Have you seen any proof that this Electrician is part P registered? NICEIC Elecsa Napit are just a few that exist.

Also, IF old cabling has been used then this will need to be noted on the Certificate that you receive, If it's not then um, you have them by the short and curlies and I imagine the Scheme provider will stand behind you and tell them to pull their finger out or get the boot.

It's always sad to hear stories like this but I hope that this gets resolved amicably as quickly as possible:thumbsup

If old wiring has been used then you have only had a "Partial Rewire" which is what should be noted on the certificate:thumbsup

 

[trev]

Trev I would agree with you but times are hard and some guys no matter how hard they try the customer thinks they know best and some of us can afford to say sorry cannot do this and then the customer says ok then I will get someone who will next please

Any new circuits are required to comply with current regs which would mean a new CU would be a necessity not an option in my humble opinion.
If I was quoting for a rewire and the customer declined the CU change I'd walk away from it with the offer of when they want the job doing properly feel free to call me.

 

[vernam616]

Reusing the old DB is just like reusing the old sockets

For me a rewire is a fresh install, new cables & accessories throughout, i would not warrent the work done otherwise

What if that DB has faulty RCD/rcbos etc..., things start to trip and i get the finger pointed at me because i rewired the house, ive then got to go out and fault find in my time

No thanks, no new accessories = no rewire


Im also intrigued at what you have been charged for this rewire MrsFletcher and what size house it is, we all have a rough estimate of what a rewire would cost

Also this cooker you talk about, has he fitted a specifc switch for the cooker in the kitchen? maybe one with a red switch on it?

 

[sjhall]

You didn't get this so call Spark from one of these site were you put the job up and they all quote silly low prices, did you ?:6:
If that job is a full rewire, I'll eat my hat, and If the guy was a real spark, i'll eat my cowboy boots....

 

[trev]

You didn't get this so call Spark from one of these site were you put the job up and they all quote silly low prices, did you ?:6:
If that job is a full rewire, I'll eat my hat, and If the guy was a real spark, i'll eat my cowboy boots....

Well apparently the guy is a registered spark according to Mrs F, I suspect you're right though SJ.
It really boils my wee when people get stuffed. Bloody cowboys

 

[alarm man]

theres always 2 sides to a story,we are only getting 1 here,no one knows the ins and outs of what the work was supposed to be,but i wouldnt be happy if a customer was taking my work apart then going on the net,remember this all started out from mr f's work mate who knows everything about electrics,so dont shoot the spark just yet...domestics eh dont you just love em..:ack2: