Really dodgy wiring
Discussion
[quote=Who me ?]
Hence the reasoning behind the half hearted legislation on wiring. But then,there's ONE saying, that applies in life, but more so to electrics- "NEVER ASSUME". The purpose of test kit ( EVEN the simple Neon driver) is to prevent fingers getting into a live circuit.
One other idiom worth working to is a modification of a biblical saying. "In an old house ,there are many cavities. I go to prepare a place for you, IF you fail to look for live cables lurking there".
As Alucidnation said- IF you'd carried out even a basic isolation ( shut down the ring you thought was live, then test, and shut down till circuit was dead) you'd have found out what ring the circuit was powered from.
[/quote]
When the house has been newly renovated and sold as 'everything done, everything completed to a top standard' and the labelling on the main board is wrong it is irriatating. I could/should have done a 'full' isolation, but even I'm not perfect all the time. Unlike you chaps obviously!
Hence the reasoning behind the half hearted legislation on wiring. But then,there's ONE saying, that applies in life, but more so to electrics- "NEVER ASSUME". The purpose of test kit ( EVEN the simple Neon driver) is to prevent fingers getting into a live circuit.
One other idiom worth working to is a modification of a biblical saying. "In an old house ,there are many cavities. I go to prepare a place for you, IF you fail to look for live cables lurking there".
As Alucidnation said- IF you'd carried out even a basic isolation ( shut down the ring you thought was live, then test, and shut down till circuit was dead) you'd have found out what ring the circuit was powered from.
[/quote]
When the house has been newly renovated and sold as 'everything done, everything completed to a top standard' and the labelling on the main board is wrong it is irriatating. I could/should have done a 'full' isolation, but even I'm not perfect all the time. Unlike you chaps obviously!
SCEtoAUX said:
Unlikely if he can afford a house. Not a baby boomer are you?
Harsh! Manners2001 said:
When the house has been newly renovated and sold as 'everything done, everything completed to a top standard' and the labelling on the main board is wrong it is irriatating. I could/should have done a 'full' isolation, but even I'm not perfect all the time. Unlike you chaps obviously!
If a house is openly documented as having been fully re-wired, and it transpires it is not, then you might have something. I would expect 'everything complete to a top standard' might be a bit woolly to get leverage against. But also, while assumptions are good for getting you going, any assumption should be tested or at least considered if the risk of it being wrong is life or death, the premise that the labelling is right being an assumption. I can see how its happened, but if I am turning of a circuit I usually turn something on first and ensure its gone off before opening it up, and then touch it with a neon before wading in with fingers. Certainly if the house is new to me or known to be a bit rough. That said, i've also cut through a live cable I turned of, checked, but the turned back on!Daniel (Millennial who owns a house, thanks in no small part to support from Baby Boomer parents)
I "found" a bank of 4 x wall sockets, of which the feed was twisted/taped wires split from the oven cable.
Scary.
I also have a socket in the living room that I cannot isolate. Even switching all the power off to the house, this socket still works. Oh, and wall lights that were permanently live - no switches at all.
Electricals are the biggest DIY bodgery going IMO.
Scary.
I also have a socket in the living room that I cannot isolate. Even switching all the power off to the house, this socket still works. Oh, and wall lights that were permanently live - no switches at all.
Electricals are the biggest DIY bodgery going IMO.
dhutch said:
OpulentBob said:
I also have a socket in the living room that I cannot isolate. Even switching all the power off to the house, this socket still works.
Obviously, thats the socket for the sparkie to make a brew with!
t out of you when you're drilling TV mounting brackets in the other side of the wall! dhutch said:
Houses cause problems.
Old houses have the same issues and anything bought second hand and with plenty of things to go wrong. From what I've seen of others experiences, new houses are rairly much better, but you've paid a premium for it so you feel even more aggreved with each fault.
Daniel
Agree, but most of that ‘premium’ is on the land value.Old houses have the same issues and anything bought second hand and with plenty of things to go wrong. From what I've seen of others experiences, new houses are rairly much better, but you've paid a premium for it so you feel even more aggreved with each fault.
Daniel
OpulentBob said:
I am the end house on a small cul-de-sac. I wouldn't be surprised if they took a spur directly pre-meter for the construction guys, and didn't remove it. But yeah, the only time it's ever been dead is during a power cut. Scares the st out of you when you're drilling TV mounting brackets in the other side of the wall!
I presume you are powering half the house of it, using a christmas tree of 4-ways?t out of you when you're drilling TV mounting brackets in the other side of the wall! Pica-Pica said:
Agree, but most of that ‘premium’ is on the land value.
I very much doubt it.Just bought half an Edwardian house which was split 50 years ago into a pair of 4bed semi's, the previously owner (sadly?) sold the end of the garden off as a development plot, however the plot I have left is still large enough that you could get 3-4 of the new builds at the end of the road on it, yet I olny paid about twice what they are on the market for for the house.
Daniel
OpulentBob said:
dhutch said:
OpulentBob said:
I also have a socket in the living room that I cannot isolate. Even switching all the power off to the house, this socket still works.
Obviously, thats the socket for the sparkie to make a brew with!t out of you when you're drilling TV mounting brackets in the other side of the wall! Everything!!
SHutchinson said:
OpulentBob said:
dhutch said:
OpulentBob said:
I also have a socket in the living room that I cannot isolate. Even switching all the power off to the house, this socket still works.
Obviously, thats the socket for the sparkie to make a brew with!t out of you when you're drilling TV mounting brackets in the other side of the wall! Everything!!
Oh and for some strange reason, it's been installed rotated by 90 degrees so the cable coming from the bottom of the plug sticks out to the right. Go figure.
Alucidnation said:
Oh, and MK products are shyte.
I've not found their quality bad, at DIY level. Replaced all the face plates in our early 80s house when we moved there in the early noughties, and were still fine when we moved out late last year, as were the ceiling pendants.Got Schneider wall plates in the new house throughout, but the cheapest, nastiest GU10 LED downlighters all over the house that are driving me fecking mental - all spring loaded wiring and no screw terminals.....that and the quality bodge job wiring for the kitchen downlights under the cupboards with a mile of excess cable floating about on top of the units.....house built in 2015 (and not cheap).
What brands are considered dependable, from any of the qualified folk commenting?
wibble cb said:
Years ago now, but a qualified electrician told my father he could remove an old piece of cable as it was not live, my father woke up the other side of the room, we learnt that even qualified people can be wrong, it’s nit just the diyers...
When ever someone tell a story about getting a shock, they always seem to be thrown across the room. I've had a few shocks, nature of the job. I reckon the day I get lifted off the ground, I'll be going to hospital. It amazes me how resilient some people are though.
xstian said:
wibble cb said:
Years ago now, but a qualified electrician told my father he could remove an old piece of cable as it was not live, my father woke up the other side of the room, we learnt that even qualified people can be wrong, it’s nit just the diyers...
When ever someone tell a story about getting a shock, they always seem to be thrown across the room. I've had a few shocks, nature of the job. I reckon the day I get lifted off the ground, I'll be going to hospital. It amazes me how resilient some people are though.
Manners2001 said:
When the house has been newly renovated and sold as 'everything done, everything completed to a top standard' and the labelling on the main board is wrong it is irriatating. I could/should have done a 'full' isolation, but even I'm not perfect all the time. Unlike you chaps obviously!
Not perfect at all, just carefull and paying heed to the old adage "NEVER ASSUME". Adrian E said:
I've not found their quality bad, at DIY level. Replaced all the face plates in our early 80s house when we moved there in the early noughties, and were still fine when we moved out late last year, as were the ceiling pendants.
Got Schneider wall plates in the new house throughout, but the cheapest, nastiest GU10 LED downlighters all over the house that are driving me fecking mental - all spring loaded wiring and no screw terminals.....that and the quality bodge job wiring for the kitchen downlights under the cupboards with a mile of excess cable floating about on top of the units.....house built in 2015 (and not cheap).
What brands are considered dependable, from any of the qualified folk commenting?
Recently had a LA kitchen rewire and re socket. Sparky( large national firm ,working to LA standards) told me that for price vs quality, they reckon on :HAGAR stuff. Got Schneider wall plates in the new house throughout, but the cheapest, nastiest GU10 LED downlighters all over the house that are driving me fecking mental - all spring loaded wiring and no screw terminals.....that and the quality bodge job wiring for the kitchen downlights under the cupboards with a mile of excess cable floating about on top of the units.....house built in 2015 (and not cheap).
What brands are considered dependable, from any of the qualified folk commenting?
Problem with GU10 stuff is heat. Contact quality is not good enough and contact heat occurs, added to that lamp heat damages wiring to lamp contact and lamp fails. By then lamp contacts have semi welded to holder and it needs force to part lamp and holder. As an experiment, I've replaced all my GU10 50W mains spots with 50W equivalent LED units. Mains units lasted at best three months. So far ,after a year, all eight are still working.
OpulentBob said:
I hadn't thought about it, but I run TV, PS4, WiFi, alexa, nest and the free view box from it, but to be honest that's purely down to the handy location rather than it being free
Oh and for some strange reason, it's been installed rotated by 90 degrees so the cable coming from the bottom of the plug sticks out to the right. Go figure.
how long have you been in the house ? maybe someone was growing cannabis plants previously ?Oh and for some strange reason, it's been installed rotated by 90 degrees so the cable coming from the bottom of the plug sticks out to the right. Go figure.
xstian said:
wibble cb said:
Years ago now, but a qualified electrician told my father he could remove an old piece of cable as it was not live, my father woke up the other side of the room, we learnt that even qualified people can be wrong, it’s nit just the diyers...
When ever someone tell a story about getting a shock, they always seem to be thrown across the room. I've had a few shocks, nature of the job. I reckon the day I get lifted off the ground, I'll be going to hospital. It amazes me how resilient some people are though.
after i and my plumber mate stopped laughing i mentioned how glad i was i waited on him to do it properly
First thing I did when I bought my house was test every light fitting and every socket with each of the breakers off in turn and note down the results. Fortunately there was nothing scary.
But I've been helping a friend out with a bit of DIY and that house is scary with spurs off spurs into the extension from the most 'convenient' wire, rather than the correct wire so there's some lights in the back room which are off the upstairs ring-main, some off the downstairs lighting circuit and the downstairs shower room shares power between the kitchen and the hall for the lights and extractor respectively.
But I've been helping a friend out with a bit of DIY and that house is scary with spurs off spurs into the extension from the most 'convenient' wire, rather than the correct wire so there's some lights in the back room which are off the upstairs ring-main, some off the downstairs lighting circuit and the downstairs shower room shares power between the kitchen and the hall for the lights and extractor respectively.
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