Trunking for cable

[Bear2016]

I have a job of running a new cable to a DBB. The 16A MCB is in place and the oven is rated at 3.9kw so needs to hard wired. The customer has tiled walls and will not allow me to remove them to run the cable. He wants the oven switch surface mounted.
I have approx 0.5m of cable from DBB to the surface mounted switch which will be for the oven

The switch is a fair distance from the oven but what would you guy recommend using as trunking for a surface mounted cable?

Thanks

 

[Andy78]

I think you'll find it said I had done various bits but looking for more experience. Try to read a post and then get facts right before becoming a keyboard warrior!

I have NVQ5 in Mechanical Engineering a Masters in Engineering and an IEng so not too daft and have managed multi million dollar projects for offshore. But I wanted a career change and I have been renovating properties for the past 20 odd years whilst working offshore.
I have done various electrical stuff like wire in a DBB (under supervision) and the general stuff around my home and then had it checked by a Competent Person. I have worked with 3Phase equipment wiring in motors and existing electricians in the field but domestic is a lot different and I want to get it right and ensure others are safe
I did the "worthless" bits of paper so I can grow my business and once I feel I have enough experience to join a competent person scheme.
I know after doing a 4 year apprenticeship what you learn doing that is a lot different to "out there" doing hence why I was asking for further experience. For some reason you deem that as a negative thing?
I'm sorry I am not an all singing and dancing sparky such as your good self. I just hope one day if I can offer advice on the subject I would rather than try to belittle them through a keyboard

Thanks for the clarification as to your previous experience and qualification. My previous comments were based on your forum posts which left a lot to be desired in the way of knowledge and displayed competence.

The reason I mentioned your request for experience was not to belittle it, it's a fine way of achieving competence, but to point out that you are starting out doing unsupervised jobs without the necessary experience.

I stand by my assertion that the courses you did have no bearing on the foundation knowledge required in this job and will have furnished you with little or no relevant experience. In my eyes this renders you incompetent for the tasks you are asking for help with.

I'm sorry if this makes you feel belittled but that is not my intention, I'm simply stating how things are.

 

[GMES]

some of the ones i've come across lately have farmer fuses. horses are limping round as their shoes have fallen off due to lack of nails.

Tel, I wasn't trying to be a smart ..... lol, but I genuinley would only call it a fuseboard if it was in fact full of fuses, for Domestic I always say Consumer Unit ( Not my favourite word if I'm honest ) and then Disboard in Industrial/commercial.

 

[davesparks]

Tel, I wasn't trying to be a smart ..... lol, but I genuinley would only call it a fuseboard if it was in fact full of fuses, for Domestic I always say Consumer Unit ( Not my favourite word if I'm honest ) and then Disboard in Industrial/commercial.

You don't do general domestic crap do you? Most people just about know where their fuseboard is, but they look blank when you ask for the CU

 

[Andy78]

You don't do general domestic crap do you? Most people just about know where their fuseboard is, but they look blank when you ask for the CU

Ahuh. I just call whatever it is the domestic customer is talking about, whatever they call it. Makes life so much simpler and leads to so many less blank expressions.
It could be a fuseboard, switchboard, trip thingy, light plugs, switchy wotsits, or pully clicky doodahs, it's just easier to silently figure out what it might be then point to it and say "You mean this thing here ?"

 

[Bear2016]

Thanks for the clarification as to your previous experience and qualification. My previous comments were based on your forum posts which left a lot to be desired in the way of knowledge and displayed competence.

The reason I mentioned your request for experience was not to belittle it, it's a fine way of achieving competence, but to point out that you are starting out doing unsupervised jobs without the necessary experience.

I stand by my assertion that the courses you did have no bearing on the foundation knowledge required in this job and will have furnished you with little or no relevant experience. In my eyes this renders you incompetent for the tasks you are asking for help with.

I'm sorry if this makes you feel belittled but that is not my intention, I'm simply stating how things are.

Hence the first post I ever made asking for further experience and if anybody could help!
I like I have said have done various bits, wiring in a new light circuit in a new porch we built in our renovation, changing the Fuse Board over for a CU and wiring in a new radial circuit for the sockets. I tested it and did this work under Building Control among other things we did. We needed a new TT system but I was unsure of this so I got an electrician in who did it and talked me through it.

It was all ok, passed and Building Control signed it off. Sure I referred to the regs a lot and the onsite guide and took my time over it. Something you guys would probably knock out in a couple of days but it was our renovation and I had the luxury of taking my time.

Am I competent? Do I have the knowledge? Do I have the experience? I have enough for little jobs, would I go do a full rewire? No. Would I go change someone else CU? No BUT that is where I want to be in a couple of years time but in the mean time I will carry on doing the bits in our renovations and if I need advice call an experienced guy in.

I never said "I'm a qualified electrician" I merely stated what courses I had done and they are indeed no substitute for experience. But it is a beginning to understand the testing side of it and to learn and understand the Building / Elec Regs and why things are done the way they are.

I'm 42 years old and never grew out of the "why" stage of childhood. I can't do something without understanding why first and its implications.

 

[Octopus]

Are you paying LABC to inspect this as it sounds like it comes under Part P?

 

[GMES]

You don't do general domestic crap do you? Most people just about know where their fuseboard is, but they look blank when you ask for the CU

I don't mate no, I honestly can't imagine my life as a Domestic electrician.
Ripping floor boards up and down all day
crawling around in hot lofts
up against ill trained guys who are happy to work for a pittance
Stroppy customers
customers always wanting a discount at the end of the job
Being expected to add extra points for no extra charge
Dealing with Plasterer's day in day out.
And all for couple of hundred quid a day if you're lucky

I would rather stick pins in my eyes Dave, I was talking to a Domestic lad the other day and he was wobbling about using a certain size cable and that it could add 50.00 to job which may price him out of it, if things are that bad then I feel for them. I have jobs where the difference between parts can be thousands and the customer usually says to do whichever is safest and best for the installlation. I really don't mean that to come accross as arrogant it is just the way it is ( worlds apart )

 

[Andy78]

I don't mate no, I honestly can't imagine my life as a Domestic electrician.
Ripping floor boards up and down all day
crawling around in hot lofts
up against ill trained guys who are happy to work for a pittance
Stroppy customers
customers always wanting a discount at the end of the job
Being expected to add extra points for no extra charge
Dealing with Plasterer's day in day out.
And all for couple of hundred quid a day if you're lucky

I would rather stick pins in my eyes Dave, I was talking to a Domestic lad the other day and he was wobbling about using a certain size cable and that it could add 50.00 to job which may price him out of it, if things are that bad then I feel for them. I have jobs where the difference between parts can be thousands and the customer usually says to do whichever is safest and best for the installlation. I really don't mean that to come accross as arrogant it is just the way it is ( worlds apart )

These are only the worst aspects of the job, it's by no means always like that at all. Balanced with regular commercial work and decent pricing I find all of this more than tolerable.

I have domestic customers that take that approach too and they are a pleasure to work for. In the last 12 months I have heard phrases like "We like your work and know you won't rip us off, so get to it it whatever way you think best and bill us later" a lot more often than things like "Can't you do it a bit cheaper ?"

 

[Octopus]

These are only the worst aspects of the job, it's by no means always like that at all. Balanced with regular commercial work and decent pricing I find all of this more than tolerable.

I have domestic customers that take that approach too and they are a pleasure to work for.In the last 12 months I have heard phrases like "We like your work and know you won't rip us off, so get to it it whatever way you think best and bill us later" a lot more often than things like "Can't you do it a bit cheaper ?"

I normally get "on time as usual" from my clients!

This is a compliment (I think)!

 

[davesparks]

I don't mate no, I honestly can't imagine my life as a Domestic electrician.
Ripping floor boards up and down all day
crawling around in hot lofts
up against ill trained guys who are happy to work for a pittance
Stroppy customers
customers always wanting a discount at the end of the job
Being expected to add extra points for no extra charge
Dealing with Plasterer's day in day out.
And all for couple of hundred quid a day if you're lucky

I would rather stick pins in my eyes Dave, I was talking to a Domestic lad the other day and he was wobbling about using a certain size cable and that it could add 50.00 to job which may price him out of it, if things are that bad then I feel for them. I have jobs where the difference between parts can be thousands and the customer usually says to do whichever is safest and best for the installlation. I really don't mean that to come accross as arrogant it is just the way it is ( worlds apart )

I don't blame you! I avoid general domestic work where there's any sort of builders involved as much as possible.
I've got a nice little number wiring domestic boilers for a local plumber and then it's commercial maintainence, particularly theatres, for me.
Plus of course blowing stuff up as and when I can

 

[Risteard]

Either way a DB and a CU are different things

A consumer unit is a distribution board, but a distribution board is not necessarily a consumer unit.

But DB would have been better than "DBB" whatever that is.

 

[GMES]

These are only the worst aspects of the job, it's by no means always like that at all. Balanced with regular commercial work and decent pricing I find all of this more than tolerable.

I have domestic customers that take that approach too and they are a pleasure to work for. In the last 12 months I have heard phrases like "We like your work and know you won't rip us off, so get to it it whatever way you think best and bill us later" a lot more often than things like "Can't you do it a bit cheaper ?"

I can appreciate that Andy and as said I wasn't trying to come accross that there is anything wrong with Domestic Electricians in fact it's the opposite I have a lot of respect for Electrcians that choose to do domestic ( which is how it should be phrased ) Not Domestic electrician, An Electrician is an Electrician and should then choose which field to work in.
I just hear a lot of bad things plus I do sometimes have to get involved for my industrial customers homes and have yet to find an enjoyable domestic job lol.

 

[Dave OCD]

I can appreciate that Andy and as said I wasn't trying to come accross that there is anything wrong with Domestic Electricians in fact it's the opposite I have a lot of respect for Electrcians that choose to do domestic ( which is how it should be phrased ) Not Domestic electrician, An Electrician is an Electrician and should then choose which field to work in.
I just hear a lot of bad things plus I do sometimes have to get involved for my industrial customers homes and have yet to find an enjoyable domestic job lol.

A nice surface job in a garage or large workshop can be very enjoyable, particularly with a large mug of tea supplied hourly.

 

[telectrix]

i've been doing mailnly domestic for the last few years and, apart from repeat work from regular customers, i hate it. sick of scratching around for a few quid, price being contested, extra work added at no additional cost, plumbers banging their plastic spagetti above my cable runs so i can't get my grubby mitts inbeing asked to work barefoot as they have new carpets laid when i'm half way through a job. dosing up with anti-histamines coz they have 4 cats pi$$ing all over the house, would love to get back into industrial but sadly too old now apart from some occasional subbing work.

 

[davesparks]

Which reminds me, I need to chase a lovely woman who seems to have forgotten to pay me for her bathroom extract fan, despite having a hideous light fitting fitted in her living room 'while I was there' and a new bathroom light and pull switch.