You need to call the network provider, hoping is not really an option.
Drilled through power supply when doing Fascia & Soffits
- Thread starter diyer1000
- Start date
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No from different causes but to cables clipped to a building.
In reality call the DNO in the morning, if I was made aware of this situation locally I would leave it until then as it is low risk and trying to investigate and fix it in the dark is not an easy
Definitely the DNO first (and NOW!) - if you're not sure who that is look on your phone bill, it should have a phone number for emergencies (this may or may not be your DNO, but they should be able to put you through).
They will then sort it out and make it safe, which is the first priority, then you need to look at who to blame etc later (as said, your contractor will probably deny all knowledge and leave you to face the music, however if you've got a bill from him showing the work he's done then that should help).
They will then sort it out and make it safe, which is the first priority, then you need to look at who to blame etc later (as said, your contractor will probably deny all knowledge and leave you to face the music, however if you've got a bill from him showing the work he's done then that should help).
you can phone the number on your electricity bill (you are not required to understand the multiplicity of companies in the electricity industry) and say a contractor damaged an electrical supply cable on the outside of your property. They should be round quite smartish.
When I was working for an electricity company in Ipswich we had a safety bulletin after a signage contractor drilled into a rendered shopfront and went into a supply cable. Apparently the display was quite spectacular and went on for some hours as the damaged cable fizzed and burned itself away and the sparking section travelled down the wall. As these supply cables are effectively unfused, once they start to flare they will not stop until they are burned away. This is very dangerous. This is why supply cables are supposed to be surface-fixed and not hidden under cladding, boxing or rendering.
Report it without delay and let the company chase the contractor.
When I was working for an electricity company in Ipswich we had a safety bulletin after a signage contractor drilled into a rendered shopfront and went into a supply cable. Apparently the display was quite spectacular and went on for some hours as the damaged cable fizzed and burned itself away and the sparking section travelled down the wall. As these supply cables are effectively unfused, once they start to flare they will not stop until they are burned away. This is very dangerous. This is why supply cables are supposed to be surface-fixed and not hidden under cladding, boxing or rendering.
Report it without delay and let the company chase the contractor.
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thats right, the cable isn't fused until it gets to your 100A fuse.
That fuse protects things AFTER it such as the meter, meter tails and consumer unit, it DOES NOT protect the cable from the road to this fuse. That cable is protected by a much larger fuse further downstream, and in a few cases (mainly older large built up areas), there may be no fusing at all.
Isn't two fires locally to you bad enough?
I find it hard to believe the contractor "took the screw back out", unless he managed to unscrew it with his drill-driver (I guess he was screwing threw the facia at the time).
Any chance of a photo of the type of cable? And the suspected location of the damage. Not expecting you to go anywhere near the faulty part!
Isn't two fires locally to you bad enough?
I find it hard to believe the contractor "took the screw back out", unless he managed to unscrew it with his drill-driver (I guess he was screwing threw the facia at the time).
Any chance of a photo of the type of cable? And the suspected location of the damage. Not expecting you to go anywhere near the faulty part!
For crying out loud, you have come on here asking advice on what to do and have been advised to contact your electrical supplier / DNO yet you are fannying about trying to justify not doing so. That damaged cable is an immediate risk and needs to be repaired, as for whos to blame and proving it then i assume you have paid the contractor and have a bill or some paperwork. If its obviously been damaged by the contractor then it will be covered under their insurance.
So stop fannying around and make that call NOW! If you dont then hey i dont really care as its not my house but dont come crying to me if the cable begins arching and causes a fire or your sat in the dark if/when the cable fails. If a problem occurs later down the line you will probably have to foot the repair cost yourself as the contractor may have gone out of business.
So stop fannying around and make that call NOW! If you dont then hey i dont really care as its not my house but dont come crying to me if the cable begins arching and causes a fire or your sat in the dark if/when the cable fails. If a problem occurs later down the line you will probably have to foot the repair cost yourself as the contractor may have gone out of business.
The head end of the screw probably came out of the hole by itself ..... pushed out by molten and vaporised metal.
You and the contractor were lucky that the arc extinguished before too much damage was done. There is every possiblity that the damaged and weakened cable could fail when you draw a lot of current in the house. With luck it will fail to an open circuit with minimum arcing until the gap is too long for the arc to continue. But it could trigger an arc between Live and Neutral and this time the arc continues burning along the cable for several minutes. Big fire risk.
But an important question,
Why did the contractor not see the cable. ? Was it already concealed, hidden or otherwise not visible ? Or was the contractor fitting something that concealed the cable. Neither of those is acceptable on safety grounds.
I hope by now you have contacted the DNO to have the cable inspected and repaired.
If the contact was sufficient to melt the screw the internal damage to the cable will be significant due to copper melting at 300-400 degrees lower than steel. It is possible that the reduction in it's current carrying capacity is diminished to less than 1/10th of it's proper capacity. DON'T RUN ANY HIGH CONSUMPTION APPLIANCES!!!!!!!!!!!
IT IS a fire risk!!!!!!!!
IT IS a fire risk!!!!!!!!
The wire wasn't covered up. it runs across the original wooden soffits.
The contractor has boxed over the exisiting.
I called the DNO, they have said that you can't overclad power cables and if we had requested they would have removed foc until the cladding was done and returned to re fix afterwards ?
The DNO says they can't remove the cladding and we need to request the contractor to come back to remove so that they can inspect.
I assume this is for safety reasons ?
Could they not test the current ?
P.S they've said someone will have to pay for the repair if needed !!
The contractor is coming back to remove. WHAT A NIGHTMARE.
The contractor has boxed over the exisiting.
I called the DNO, they have said that you can't overclad power cables and if we had requested they would have removed foc until the cladding was done and returned to re fix afterwards ?
The DNO says they can't remove the cladding and we need to request the contractor to come back to remove so that they can inspect.
I assume this is for safety reasons ?
Could they not test the current ?
P.S they've said someone will have to pay for the repair if needed !!
The contractor is coming back to remove. WHAT A NIGHTMARE.
Which the contractor should have known!
Unfortunately they are a DNO and will send linesmen to do the job, they, however, are not cladding contractors!
No it needs a physical examination, the current will only be relevant if it starts to arc
Why does that come as a surprise/shock to you?
Take photos of it in place before he does that, in case he tries to wriggle out of accepting the blame.
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