warning to other sparks about safe zones!

[tanglewood]

Hi all, First fixed refurbished kitchen in old property, stripped out old wiring, ran in new ring main to kitchen and cooker circuit. Really awkward cable runs due to new steel RSJ across width of kitchen, and no access from 2nd floor. All cables run in 17th edition 'safe zones' , problem comes from kitchen fitters (bless um) drilling 150mm core hole for extractor hose within 150mm from ceiling! Yep, straight through cables with 6" core drill ! Customer blaming me for ,'because you knew there was an extractor going there' Me explaining that cables had to be run there and showing safe zone diagram to customer and kitchen fitter. Result...kitchen fitters arent electricians and we as sparkys have to make sure (although our job is hard enough as it is) that other trades are aware of safe zones!

 

[Thomas21]

Got to watch out for that

 

[GLENNSPARK]

I mentioned safe zones to one of my neighbours earlier this week and was met with a very puzzled look.

Its all very well having safe zones, Part P etc BUT this important information needs to be marekted to Joe Public.

As for your kitchen fitters - they REALLY should know better![/QUOTE]PMSL!!..come on murdoch....their as bad as each other...if it isn`t `kevin kitchen installer` then its `barry bathroom fitter`....take your pick their both thick...

 

[BertUK]

I mentioned safe zones to one of my neighbours earlier this week and was met with a very puzzled look.

Its all very well having safe zones, Part P etc BUT this important information needs to be marekted to Joe Public.

As for your kitchen fitters - they REALLY should know better![/QUOTE]PMSL!!..come on murdoch....their as bad as each other...if it isn`t `kevin kitchen installer` then its `barry bathroom fitter`....take your pick their both thick...

shallow......very shallow

 

[EastAnglian]

"As fitted" drawings or photographs - given to the home owner in the hope that they remember to show them to the person they contract with. This assumes the trades are not all on-site together in which case the answer is talk to each other!

Also, the term 'safezone' is a bit misleading isn't it? Its safe for us, but for anybody else its actually unsafe!

 

[R G]

If I wire a kitchen , I allways ask to see a plan off the kitchen , I found that you need to know where all the wall unit fixing brackets are going , to avoid these areas , also make a plan or drawing and if poss mark the walls where the cables and tubes are , you just have to know what kitchen fitters are like

 

[Engineer54]

I see everyone is quick to slag kitchen fitters off and tar them all with the same brush.ive been a kitchen fitter for 18 years and am also a fully qualified electrician and work stringently to the regs whatever I do.only last week,i saw a niceic registered contractor submit an installation certificate for electrical work in a property which he had never even been to or done any electrical work at just so he could get payed off the kitchen company who did the project,there are bad eggs in every trade not just kitchen fitting.

You can count the amount of ''Fully Qualified'' electrician kitchen fitters on one hand!!

Plenty of these so-called limited scope competent persons around though!! They also tend to call themselves qualified!! ... lol!!

 

[Toonlad]

I put my 1st fix in to the prescribed zones, and layout to kitchen plan. If the wood butcher wants to drill through cables thats his problem, and will have to pay a spark to get it fixed. They put enough kitchen units in to know where to drill. They could invest in a cable finder, cheap as chips.

 

[Dave 85]

To be honest, I have never, in all my days, seen circuits chased horizontally arround a room in the 150mm from the cieling 'safe zone' Personally I would never do it unless there was absolutely no choice. Its all very well following what it says in the regs book but a little bit of common sense never hurt anyone. If this had happened to me...ie. I'd run cables in a highly unorthadox way and not bothered to mention it to the kitchen fitter, then I wouldnt really feel it fair to blame him for cutting a hole through them.

 

[Stroppy]

I agree, the ceiling safe zone doesn't seem particularly safe or logical.

 

[Darkwood]

We have technology now and although we shouldn't have to i always take photo's of first fix and leave them for the attention of other trades as they give a visual layout of the cable runs..... been doing this 3yrs now and to press not one idiot ignoring basic building reg's has gone into my cables... it takes a few mins to take the photo and print of and saves hours of repairs or replacements.

 

[valleybilly]

Pure basics , either remove plaster before drilling or use a dodgy cable finder . 150mm from the corners/top is one big flawed ideal and always will be but thats arrogance for you

 

[GLENNSPARK]

We have technology now and although we shouldn't have to i always take photo's of first fix and leave them for the attention of other trades as they give a visual layout of the cable runs..... been doing this 3yrs now and to press not one idiot ignoring basic building reg's has gone into my cables... it takes a few mins to take the photo and print of and saves hours of repairs or replacements.

but the point is dark mate is you shouldn`t bloody have to!!
if all trades were made aware of these safe zones....or more accurately took any notice of it....then it would all run better...wouldn`t it