Was a wire hit with a drill?

[Fijifranny]

Hello
I live in Spain in an older building but I do have a pretty modern Fuse Box....
Ok so today my internet was installed and the young guy drilled 2 holes next to the power socket ,in order to attach his little cable box.
Later he asked me if I do not yet have electricity in the house ....
We checked and the main fuse was knocked out( the one that shuts everything off) and also the fuse that is in charge of all my lamps and sockets.
I did not think much about it and the internet was ok...so he left.
However later I got paranoid...could it be he drilled into a wire? Cause i can not imagine anything else that would cause this to happen. No major appliances were on.actually nothing was on except the fridge.
And it did happen when he was here cause i cooked about 10min beforehand and still had power.
Now,after we switched the breaker back,everything seemed fine.but should i nbe concerned?

 

[Spoon]

Welcome to the forum.
Is there any chance of you taking some pics of the cable box and socket and post them here.
A basic was of checking if they may have drilled into a cable is to switch off the power and remove the power socket front. See which way the cables go into the backbox for the power socket. If they come from above and the 'little cable box' is above the power socket then maybe they have drilled into a cable.

 

[Fijifranny]

Welcome to the forum.
Is there any chance of you taking some pics of the cable box and socket and post them here.
A basic was of checking if they may have drilled into a cable is to switch off the power and remove the power socket front. See which way the cables go into the backbox for the power socket. If they come from above and the 'little cable box' is above the power socket then maybe they have drilled into a cable.

Here is a pic...the box he installed is on the left. I do not see how else the Breakers could have been off suddenly. I might call them again to check?

 

[Megawatt]

Hello
I live in Spain in an older building but I do have a pretty modern Fuse Box....
Ok so today my internet was installed and the young guy drilled 2 holes next to the power socket ,in order to attach his little cable box.
Later he asked me if I do not yet have electricity in the house ....
We checked and the main fuse was knocked out( the one that shuts everything off) and also the fuse that is in charge of all my lamps and sockets.
I did not think much about it and the internet was ok...so he left.
However later I got paranoid...could it be he drilled into a wire? Cause i can not imagine anything else that would cause this to happen. No major appliances were on.actually nothing was on except the fridge.
And it did happen when he was here cause i cooked about 10min beforehand and still had power.
Now,after we switched the breaker back,everything seemed fine.but should i nbe concerned?

Yes you should be concerned because what you stated was obviously when he drilled into the wall. My question is why beside an outlet did he decide to drill. As far as wires running horizontal through the walls there should be a nail plate at every stud to prevent this from happening. My suggestion is open the box and take out the outlet and shine a flashlight and see if you have obvious damage DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS UNTIL THE POWER IS OFF

 

[Spoon]

Here is a pic...the box he installed is on the left. I do not see how else the Breakers could have been off suddenly. I might call them again to check?

Looking at the picture I would usually expect the cables to come from above or below but it's no guarantee.
In your original post you say "We checked and the main fuse was knocked out( the one that shuts everything off)" Usually this is a RCD and not a breaker. Can you take a pic of the consumer unit and the item that was 'off'? RCD's can trip for a few reasons.
Best to get him back and ask him to check it though.

 

[Fijifranny]

Looking at the picture I would usually expect the cables to come from above or below but it's no guarantee.
In your original post you say "We checked and the main fuse was knocked out( the one that shuts everything off)" Usually this is a RCD and not a breaker. Can you take a pic of the consumer unit and the item that was 'off'? RCD's can trip for a few reasons.
Best to get him back and ask him to check it though.

Hello thecone on the very leftvwas off and thatvisxthevmain one..the onecon the rightvwas also off,which is for the lights and sockets.the others are connected to appliances.

 

[mattg4321]

Yes you should be concerned because what you stated was obviously when he drilled into the wall. My question is why beside an outlet did he decide to drill. As far as wires running horizontal through the walls there should be a nail plate at every stud to prevent this from happening. My suggestion is open the box and take out the outlet and shine a flashlight and see if you have obvious damage DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS UNTIL THE POWER IS OFF

That’s almost certainly not a stud wall so it probably won’t be possible to do what you said.

Most dwellings in Europe are of solid wall construction, although timber frame builds are occasionally found now. Can be difficult to get a mortgage on them in the U.K. though, presumably because they are not as long lasting/are prone to blow away in a stiff breeze.

 

[pirate]

Almost certain that is a solid wall. Likely too that the cable runs are vertical. usually, on the walls, high up, you will find plastic cover-plates and when you unscrew them you have access to the conduit system installed in the walls. Low-level sockets are often wired back-to-back through the walls, so maybe the installer did indeed nick a cable when drilling.

 

[richy3333]

That’s almost certainly not a stud wall so it probably won’t be possible to do what you said.

Most dwellings in Europe are of solid wall construction, although timber frame builds are occasionally found now. Can be difficult to get a mortgage on them in the U.K. though, presumably because they are not as long lasting/are prone to blow away in a stiff breeze.

Not sure thats correct. Most houses in north Scotland and on the Islands from 1970's (ish) onwards are of timber frame construction. Mine is and no issue getting a mortgage. In fact we have some of the strongest winds in the UK and I've not seen a house blow away yet

 

[Fijifranny]

Hello
Well I assumed right...the electrician from the Internet company came and yes,solid wall and wires run inside a plastic tubing systhem and go all criss cross to rooms next door and so on.
They got the wire out and yes,he had nicked a cable....but the guy said this is NOT dangerous...can't cause a fire cause the fuse would just go out if anything happened.
However then they could not put a new wire back in,cause some blockage in the tube.they had to hammer a hole in the wall to find the tube and cut itbopen.oh maan.now i have a hole in the wall..about 1 foot big..they covered it with a plastic plate.grrrrr

 

[Megawatt]

Hello
Well I assumed right...the electrician from the Internet company came and yes,solid wall and wires run inside a plastic tubing systhem and go all criss cross to rooms next door and so on.
They got the wire out and yes,he had nicked a cable....but the guy said this is NOT dangerous...can't cause a fire cause the fuse would just go out if anything happened.
However then they could not put a new wire back in,cause some blockage in the tube.they had to hammer a hole in the wall to find the tube and cut itbopen.oh maan.now i have a hole in the wall..about 1 foot big..they covered it with a plastic plate.grrrrr

To start with an internet person is not an electrician so who is he to tell you a load of s—- talking his way out of trouble. He or his company should have to pay for all damages and have a real electrician to make sure it’s been fixed correctly before it gets covered up and forgot about. Get mean

 

[nicebutdim]

.they had to hammer a hole in the wall to find the tube and cut itbopen.oh maan.now i have a hole in the wall..about 1 foot big.. .grrrrr

Hard to believe they'd even try to get away with that.