Inspecting and Testing work

[mike73]

Firstly, hello to all, this is my first foray onto this board.

Secondly - my question -

Do any of you sparks on this board do inspecting and testing work. I am wondering if this is a viable option of just doing I & T work.

I've just passed the 2391 exam - the july exam (still got the practical to do). I am currently sparking in my area but have wondered about going down the route of just doing inspecting and testing.

If there is anyone here who does just this - where does most of your work come from - local council, estate agents, mortgage companies?

Any advice much appreciated.

 

[Pensdown]

//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=451871&highlight=#451871

 

[mike73]

Thanks for the link, there's some good info on there.

Still though, is it a viable option as a job on its own (self emplyed contractual) or should it be backed up with installation work.

Cheers,

Mike

 

[plugwash]

i'd imagine that depends entirely on where you live and what your reputation is like.

afaict most sparkies start out taking any work they can get, as they build up a reputation they can then start getting more choosey about which jobs they preffer.

 

[Pensdown]

Sorry Mike, I should have said "Welcome to the forum"

Testing & "band wagon" spring to mind. Over the last couple of years there seems to have been a flood of companies/franchises that just offer testing, PAT, PIR thermal imaging etc.

If you search PAT or PIR and read their claims maybe you will get a better feel about the type of company you will be competing against (bollshit & deception)

Testing is one thing, inspecting is something else. To quote dingbat, you need an "encyclopedic" knowledge of 7671 just for starters. When you're testing you need to fully understand the results and know where to quickly look if they are not as expected.

When you're inspecting you will have to hang your hat on your own judgement of an installation based on a visual snapshot.

And will you get enough work to do just testing...I doubt it, it's less than 1% of our turnover and like others on here we do our fair share of PIR's

 

[scousespark]

Hi there Mike. I'd suggest that starting out you should look for as wide a range of jobs as possible. Carrying out PIRs involves a lot of interpretation and this comes with experience. As has been stated you'll find that PIRs will always be a small part of the work available to any sparks. Good luck mate, whichever way you choose to continue. I'd also say never be afraid to ask as there is a wide knowledge base on this and similar sites.

 

[mike73]

Thanks for the replies, excellent info.

I am pretty much starting out. I do intend going the grass routes way - whatever work comes my way etc.

By the sounds of it, you need a shedload of experience beofre PIRing just to keep you from getting your fingers burnt.

One thing I've noticed since starting, is the unbelievable crap that I've been finding in people's houses, botched jobs etc. Astounding in some cases.

Oh well, there you go.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[Paul Barker]

Yes there are many botched jobs, well most older houses are botched. Very hard to work out what the history has been in some cases.

We found a ring in one room run in 1mm and one of the sockets had a spur off it. Three sockets on the ring, the spur into one socket turned out to be the feed which was a spur off the real ring. So the room had 4 double sockets and four single sockets, the double sockets were on one of the proper ring mains, the single sockets were in a ring of their own of the double socket circuit (but not fused down). I suppose the previous owner had known he was only ever going to plug lamps into his single sockets.

 

[dingbat]

Yesterday I removed seven junction boxes, all between two joists under one run of floorboard, where both pipes and cables ran in both notches and holes. Lovely.

My favourite had a length of lead-sheathed cable, the sheath terminating three inches from the JB and the insulation all but completely crumbled away. (I believe lead cables were last used in 1948) Into the same box was a length of vulcanised rubber sheathed twin and earth (phased out by 1963?). Again the sheath did not enter the box. Two more cables, both PVC, also terminated there. One was an old imperial, stranded cable, with undersized cpc and lovely green goo, circa 1970. The other was more modern, probably only 20 years old. All the CPCs were twisted together outside the box, unsleeved, of course.

This item is now in my 'museum'!

It was all still live and serving a mixture of lighting and sockets, by the way.

I'm really glad my PIR of two weeks ago was damning enough to persuade the owner (landlord, naturally) to get it sorted out.

 

[RF Lighting]

Sounds a bit like this mess I found under a floor.
All I have done to it is remove the joint box lids

We love pictures™

 

[Paul Barker]

Looks like one of my colleages has been doing his own Yplans again

 

[JohnD]

We love pictures™

Oi!

 

[Steve]

RF, that piece of iron bottom right of that picture, what did you use it for? Attacking the person who created this monstrosity? That'd be the most useful purpose for it on this job, i expect. Did they have metal switches? Bet your crimpers had a lot of work that day!

 

[RF Lighting]

Cut it off and start again

The grey t&e on the left of the picture fed the burglar alarm off the lights in 2.5mm² with no earth connected. It was 6 months old and wired in old colours too

There were 3 plastic switches controling one light, but instead of an intermediate switch we found a nice shiny new 20A DP switch!

Guess what, all this after a PIR. Rented properties eh!

Sadly the bit of metal is my little pry bar and not nearly big enough to inflict sufficient damage to the perpitrator of this mess

 

[dingbat]

RF, that picture was a model of compliance compared to what I cut out! But, joking aside, this is what most domestic sparks encounter on a daily basis.