urgent problem !!!

[waitees]

hi all

got a bit of a problem got a assesment on tuesday with the niceic , got a cancellation assesment as i had nearly finished second job. th problem is the gas is bonded however i cannot locate the incoming water supply, its a massive victorian house, there is a 10mm earth cable coming from under the floor boards and i am getting continuity on the water pipes, so it is bonded somewhere. however i cannot confirm its 600mm from incoming or where it is, do you think he will fail me or do i write on the certicate unable to locate and this is ok ?

please help

 

[Guest123]

What is the scope of the work you have done there???

Ideally clamp needs to accessible for inspection.

Are you able to run new MPB in??

 

[DurhamSparky]

why not play clever and tell the examiner that its bonded under flooring that you lifted then replaced but customer dont want you to lift again??

 

[waitees]

sorry mate not sure what mpb is, all the floors are solid and they have had a new extension a couple of years ago the old kitchen has all new cupboards and it must be located behind one of them but its impossible to dismantle, not a clue what to do !

new board has been fitted

 

[Guest123]

MPB.....main protective bonding.

 

[waitees]

all the floors are solid so running a new mpb will be tricky however i still wont have anything to clamp it to

 

[DurhamSparky]

what work have you done?? new fuse box!??

as long as you have proved continuity on water i would not be worried to much as you cant be expected to rip apart customers houses to put a tick in the box if you follow!! if your happy that its the water bonding and its doing the job tick the box

i did a house about 9 months ago where main feed was in the wall..! only thing showing was isolation co-ck head sticking from concrete

we bonded the nearest bit of copper that went to the cold water under kitchen sink! it was further that 600mm but it was only accessible part..! you got to follow common sense some times as the regs were written in the perfect world by perfect lawyers sat in perfect offices not day to day sparks!!

 

[waitees]

thanks for the responses, i have changed the cu from two really old boards to one 15 way 17th board. use the the r2 wander lead and got a reading. if i was to use this as continuity what sort of readinfg would be acceptable?

 

[ezzzekiel]

think im inclined to disagree on this one,
a high importance is placed on bonding conductors and for the right reason.
i could ignore this situation , but if you were prepared to ignore for an assesment then what would you do on jobs that werent being assesed.

(not aimed at you in particular just at the situation and another opinion)

at the least (if no time to correct) i would admit to it and say that it is to be corrected or cannot be but dont try sweep under carpet. although having said depends on what the assesor is like and cosidering the standards turned out by a lot then i dont suppose it would matter if you never fitted any bonds in the first place.


usual acceptable read is 0.05 although its more about proving cont exists than the reading itself

think im missing an s in assesment, assessment yup think i am, my spellings worse than my math

 

[waitees]

bit confused on what to do in this situation as its a first that i am unable to locate. i do agree with the last response time should should be set aside to locate these things however i also agree with another response it really should also take in to account common sense. the customer is not really wanting me to pull all the cupboards apart to locate this bonding. its not at all old and it might not even be located in there, god knows where it is !

i am getting a reading on the water so it is bonded, i think i will just be honest and tell the niceic man that i have taken these measurements and explain situation and see what happens.

honesty is the best policy, and i am a crap liar

 

[acat]

hi all

got a bit of a problem got a assesment on tuesday with the niceic , got a cancellation assesment as i had nearly finished second job. th problem is the gas is bonded however i cannot locate the incoming water supply, its a massive victorian house, there is a 10mm earth cable coming from under the floor boards and i am getting continuity on the water pipes, so it is bonded somewhere. however i cannot confirm its 600mm from incoming or where it is, do you think he will fail me or do i write on the certicate unable to locate and this is ok ?

please help

Have a read of 544.1.2 page 135 of BRB "Where practicable the connection shall be made within 600mm"

 

[waitees]

have had a read on that reg, good point !

 

[ezzzekiel]

let us know how you get on, best o luck

 

[acat]

Remember that reg for your assessement as the others have said no one expects you to tear the house apart to find it. If you can prove continuity and get a reading below 0.05 as recommended by guidance note 3 I think you would be home and dry. Its all about safety and safe procedures.


Good luck



Chris

 

[ezzzekiel]

theres also a good chance he wont menton bonding, he got a huge area to cover and cant ask you everything, as long as you have a reasonable answer for anythng he throws at you

 

[SEC-Tom]

This may sound fairly silly but here goes..

When your inspected what most importantly are they looking for? Safety? Correct regs being followed?

 

[acat]

Safety then safety and after that safety. You are not expected to know the regs but you are expected to know where the answer can be found.

Hope that helps

Chris

 

[SEC-Tom]

Safety then safety and after that safety. You are not expected to know the regs but you are expected to know where the answer can be found.

Hope that helps

Chris

So they're not particularly there to try and trick you out?

 

[acat]

No they are not city and guilds with sneaky questions. Your assessment is a two way affair and they come out with helpful info for you. Obviously safe isolation procedure, inspection and testing, expected results and what could be wrong if you dont get the reading you expect you need to really know the rest just where to find it.

When I had mine I disagreed with assessor and he accepted my point of not shorting out in CU I use a choccy for that he smiled and said I was right to do what I thought was correct. Think he was testing my bottle and it almost gave way


Chris

 

[Des 56]

To throw common sense to one side for a moment

No addition or alteration shall be made until it has been ascertained that etc etc

Ascertained definition - To make certain, definite, and precise.


If he was of a mind.then he could play the awkward part
The situation of the main bonding is not definite
Will testing make it so, maybe,maybe not,it depends on the assessor I suppose

In the day to day job,testing for continuity of the cable to the water pipe would satisfy my addition,but this is an assessment and leaving yourself open to interpretation is a weakness for your application

The reg quoted by Accat gives you a way out
Can you not install another bond in the nearest accessable position

 

[chris gray]

you cant be sure that the reading youre getting is actually off the mpb can you? for all you know it could be off the boiler feed cpc.
you need to prove location otherwise you run another cable in.
location is as stated, 'where practical'.

 

[ezzzekiel]

the point i was tring to make

To throw common sense to one side for a moment

No addition or alteration shall be made until it has been ascertained that etc etc

Ascertained definition - To make certain, definite, and precise.


If he was of a mind.then he could play the awkward part
The situation of the main bonding is not definite
Will testing make it so, maybe,maybe not,it depends on the assessor I suppose

In the day to day job,testing for continuity of the cable to the water pipe would satisfy my addition,but this is an assessment and leaving yourself open to interpretation is a weakness for your application

The reg quoted by Accat gives you a way out
Can you not install another bond in the nearest accessable position