Why oh why, especially this estabilishment!!!

[uksparks]

Hi,

Ok so I went to look at a job today, the customer said "We have had some building work done and extending the shop and need the wiring done and connecting etc" Sure no problem, ill come and take a look.

So it was a Post Office, in the next but one village to me, they have had a large extension and redoing all the shop. Theres no lighting in the whole shop at the moment.

I said, Oh, i see there's a load of wiring in place already, who did this?

yes the builder has done it all, I said why is he not finishing it then. he said he is a builder, but does electrical work too.

Well he has got to America for a while... (India more like), it was the owner of the Post Office's son or something.

Anyway, to cut a long storey short, he expected me to come along, put a new consumer unit in on the adjacent wall round the corner, connect all the circuits, put 25 flush down lighters in the ceiling abd connect everything and put a fire alarm panel in and sensors etc...

Just glanced at the back boxes and no runner grommets, bare pyro hanging out the ceiling, it wasnt FP200, it was rigid.

I said, how the hell to you expect me to drill 25 holes for lights without knowing where to drill....

I said, so you expect an unqualified non competent builder to put all the wiring in and then me come along and connect it for you and take responsibility. Are you having a sodding laugh?

He said, well all the wires have been put in above the new ceiling now, and all in the walls etc.

Anyway, a few photos for you to look at.

 

[telectrix]

so what you going to do after lunch?

 

[uksparks]

Well im not going to be doing this job, thats for sure, they can do one.

Tomorrow, I'm just preparing a few bits and bobs and collecting peoples house keyes for my assessment on Thursday, its a pain in the bum trying to get 5 people all to let you have access the same day.

 

[Octopus]

May be take your assessor to this establishment and ask them when they are going to do anything about the cowboys????

 

[uksparks]

True, you know the job that got bogged by a cowboy where Elecsa are involved, well Elecsa are going tomorrow to look, and just by chance on Thursday I'm going over there with the NIC bloke, I think I'll let him have a look too.

 

[davesparks]

That's one i'd be inclined to steer clear of, and I normally like a challenge. Unless things have changed since I last worked in one everything in a post office is regulated by Royal mail. All post office related wiring was on its own board and all labelled up with 'Post office property, do not touch' etc on it. There will be timelock safes and various other important stuff in there.
Its a can of worms I wouldn't want to open!

 

[telectrix]

i've just done a sub main for a sub P.O.... SWA feeding a 4 way CU, 100A main switch, and they can do what they want from there.

 

[Pete999]

Hi,

Ok so I went to look at a job today, the customer said "We have had some building work done and extending the shop and need the wiring done and connecting etc" Sure no problem, ill come and take a look.

So it was a Post Office, in the next but one village to me, they have had a large extension and redoing all the shop. Theres no lighting in the whole shop at the moment.

I said, Oh, i see there's a load of wiring in place already, who did this?

yes the builder has done it all, I said why is he not finishing it then. he said he is a builder, but does electrical work too.

Well he has got to America for a while... (India more like), it was the owner of the Post Office's son or something.

Anyway, to cut a long storey short, he expected me to come along, put a new consumer unit in on the adjacent wall round the corner, connect all the circuits, put 25 flush down lighters in the ceiling abd connect everything and put a fire alarm panel in and sensors etc...

Just glanced at the back boxes and no runner grommets, bare pyro hanging out the ceiling, it wasnt FP200, it was rigid.

I said, how the hell to you expect me to drill 25 holes for lights without knowing where to drill....

I said, so you expect an unqualified non competent builder to put all the wiring in and then me come along and connect it for you and take responsibility. Are you having a sodding laugh?

He said, well all the wires have been put in above the new ceiling now, and all in the walls etc.

Anyway, a few photos for you to look at.

View attachment 26122View attachment 26123View attachment 26124View attachment 26125
View attachment 26126View attachment 26127View attachment 26128
View attachment 26125View attachment 26129

Was the post master of Asian origin? I ask because we had a similar repair in a Chinese Restaurant and he wanted us to bodge it.

 

[uksparks]

Was the post master of Asian origin?

Yes... in the same sense as if I said he was a pharmacist or owned a small convenience shop that was on the corner of a road.

The best bit, he says if you do a good job, I've got various other properties that all need electrical work... They all play that card.

 

[Pete999]

You aint wrong there mate, they do try it on don't they?

 

[HappyHippyDad]

Are you not a bit tempted UK? Just a little? :smiley2:

 

[SPARTYKUS]

Like you've decided, I'd walk, skint or not.

 

[SPARTYKUS]

Just leave them a card for when it all goes horribly wrong.

 

[trev]

I've walked away from jobs like this, I'll probably do it again too.
The problem is that they don't give a damn about their staff's safety or that of their customers. They want the job done as cheaply as possible and if that means using 1.5 to feed a 9kw appliance then so be it. It works so it must be right.