Does this ring true?

[WabbitPoo]

In the process of having my bathroom installed the spark tells me that, in order to sign off on the work, he has to put right all the faults on any circuit he touches.

In our case, the loft is full of wires, red black and green all separate. I agree its a mess and wouldn't be done that way now, and am happy in principle to him putting it right, but if he says he needs to do a complete rewire of the top floor lighting, do I have any choice, given that I need him to sign off?

I guess what I am asking is, do issues like this, which wouldn't be done that way today, need to be put right now just because he has to move a few lights in the bathroom?

 

[Maxxy]

Most likely yes. A mechanic wouldnt fit a bigger engine to a car if the breaks didnt work properly.

A complete re-wire may not be necessary, but if its just the upstairs lighting it shouldnt really take him more than a day.

If he doesnt put it right, and he signs it off as safe, and you have a fire the day after, then he would be in big trouble.

 

[Maxxy]

Although it would have been nice of him to tell you that before he started work, so you could check your budget, and see if you still wanted the work done!

 

[DESL]

The sparky should have picked this up when carrying out pre installation inspection & Test

 

[WabbitPoo]

To be fair, he has done just that - pointed it out beforehand. I was just wondering if he was trying to up the size of the project un-necessarily.

Surely a sign off is on the work done, not what's already there. There's nothing inherently wrong with seperate strands, is there, so why change it?

 

[mst]

Theres proberly more wrong than just the seprate strands.

I think its on his side of things he wants it right for you and not just to make more work for him.

Aa classic one is when people need there mains bonding done and they argue and say "Why does it need doing , its been fine for years"

Its got to be done by law....

if we dont do it and get found out the odds are we would never work again and could even be looking through bars for 8 years!

 

[WabbitPoo]

fair enuff.

 

[Lectrician]

A common way to get over this is to run a new circuit for the bathroom lights and fan.

We used to do a lot of work for bathroom guys, and fitted new circuits where required - lack of earth on lighting circuit being the most common reason.

Always did main and supp bonding. The install always required a shower circuit, so installing an extra 1mm for lighting or 2.5 for a towel rad etc wasn't too hard.

The existing installation would be commented on in the cert.

If an install was REALLY poor, further action would be taken.

 

[RF Lighting]

We often used to do the same on council grant jobs. If the existing circuit was not upto scratch we would not connect to it, and just run a new circuit fed from a seperate CU and note it down on the EIC.

 

[dingbat]

Surely a sign off is on the work done, not what's already there.

Regulation 130-07-01: "No addition or alteration, temporary or permanent, shall be made to an existing installation, unless it has been ascertained that the rating and the condition of any existing equipment, including that of the distributor, whch will have to carry any additional load is adequate for the altered circumstances and the earthing and bonding arrangements are also adequate."

There should be no recorded non-compliances on an installation certificate. As soon as you alter a circuit you have to certify what you've done, which includes inspecting and testing that circuit, which often puts an electrician in an awkward position. If your 'red, black and green wires' are unsheathed, poorly installed, ageing or damaged in any way then I would say he is entirely justified.

 

[WabbitPoo]

well then I fully accept all you have said and will gladly let him crack on with it. If he ever shows up. Stopped answering his phone now. Ho hum

 

[sparkybird]

Maybe he read your post....

I know it's extra expense, but if the circuit is not safe to add on to, it's not safe and could cause you problems (fire, electric shock) in the future. Unfortunately electricity is not like a leaky pipe where you can SEE the problem!

SB