Periodic inspection report

loulou41

I have paid £135 for A PIR on my electrics. The electrician has identified 7 items that need urgent attention and another further 7 corrective actions which most probably do not meet current regulations. Is this a fair quote, he also wrote that it needs to be tested again for a full periodic after 6 months? I was not aware that there are two types, does that mean that the full one will be more expensive. Why he did not do the full one in the first place, I have been trying to contact him to discuss? My main concern was re-wiring, will the PIR mentioned it if the house needs rewiring. I just want somebody else's opinion as well. Thanks

jonnysparks

hi
it would help if we had what the items flagged were and the numbers wrote next to them
cant tell if its a fair quote as you have not entered a price for remedial works
what he is saying by full periodic test in six months is that if the work to be done is extensive he will have to test the circuits again
if you can post more info i could probably advise better
many thanks

fluffpot

don't forget that you don't have to use him to do the works. Once you have the PIR in your hands you can use it to get other prices. £135 sounds a bit cheap though unless it's a very small property...

loulou41

This has been flagged no gas equipotential bond. Not sure whether I have read this right, cannot underdstand his hand writing. code 2.Light switch become live (screwed through wire) code 1. Obviously this will need immediate attention.No CPC to metal fittings (lights) Code 2Absence of supplementary bonding. Code 2Insulation resistance readings. Code 3Cables concealed LV walls. Code 4RCD absent for sockets ground. Code 4No RCD for circuits in bathroom. Code 2Accessories with flex outlet (bathroom) exposed but fuse removed. Code 2Switch cables not sleaved. Code 4CPC cables not sleaed. Code 4Labels missing at consumer unit. Code 4.No paper work (cert. etc). Code 4.I have copied this as best as I could, he recommends urgent remedial work for 1,2,3,4,5,9 &10. Does this make sense to anybody as I do not understand it? How much are we talking about? He recommends to replace the switch line (cables from light poiont to switch) or whatever part of the lighting circuits need earth. Install main bonding conductor to the gas. How much? Investigate why there there is an insulation failure on the house power circuit. Install supplementary bonding conductors in the bathroom area or meet all three conditions as required y the current regs. To bring the installation up to the current regs, it would be advisable to change the fuse fox for a 17th edition one as to install 4 xRCBO's to the existing could work out more expenisve cost wise. All these are foreign to me. Do I understand that the house does not need a full rewire which I was dreading? I have been trying to get hold of the electrician to discuss the report, by the way, he is fully competent and registered. Will be grateful if anybody can enlighten me a bit and give an idea of the costs. As far as I understand the code 1 is very important and I should act on it. Code 4, I could leave as regulations keep changing, it does mean that the house is unsafe, am I right? Basically if somebody could tell me which work need doing now and which can wait due to budget. It is a small 2 bed Edwardian house. Thanks

loulou41

fluffpot wrote: »

don't forget that you don't have to use him to do the works. Once you have the PIR in your hands you can use it to get other prices. £135 sounds a bit cheap though unless it's a very small property...

Yes, it is a small property, the kitchen and bathroom have been rewired and are new. It may me wonder why all these issues are still flagged. You would have thought the electrican would have picked this when he installed the new unit.

jonnysparks

from what i can gather from the information he is intending install a new consumer unit ( fuse box ) run a new earth wire from this to your gas meter.
not sure about the lights but could be a case of rewiring them to give an earth.
spend some time testing the socket circuit thoroughly to find why the readings are low could turn out to be a 2 minute fix or something more serious.
then retest the installation.
don't know what he is quoting to remedy these items but if it helps it would cost you about £1800 to have it rewired

loulou41

Thanks, jonnysparks, have been trying all day to get hold of him, he must be very busy by rewired, do you mean the whole house? Do you think it will be better to rewire the house rather than rectify these items? Would a PIR flag whether the house need a complete rewiring?

jonnysparks

hi
yes i did mean the whole house obviously if the kitchen bathroom wiring is ok you work backwards from the full figure.
whether to rectify or rewire depends on what you would gain in paying for rewire rather than rectify.
ie sockets where you want them and at the quantity desired
you have already had a pir done so that should give you the information you need to decide on a rewire.
the second pir metioned is just the second test to check any work done to rectify faults is correct.
it should or will probably be an installation certificate
i am in the north west so the price metioned previously would probably only apply to this area.
could be cheeper or dearer depending on area you live in for instance where i work i would probably only charge £80 for the pir in the first place
hope this helps

loulou41

Thanks, I live in Greater London, therefore £150 is the norm for a PIR. I managed to speak to the elctrician, his estimate can be as high as 2k depending on investigations as well, as he could not throughly check everything as the house is not legally mine until next week. I have asked abour re-wire, he said it does not need one for at least 10 yrs or may be 5 yrs. I am thinking if it is going to cost a lot for remedial works, may be we should go for a full rewire, what do you think? Shall I ask him and act upon his advice. I do not think I can put up with all these hassles but in the long run it will be worth it. Thanks

fluffpot

Based on the info you have given:

Pending the invstigation into the low insulation resistance readings, personally (as sparks) I would not recommend a full rewire. The no cpc (earths) to lights can be dealt with by only having plastic light fittings and swithes (or rewire if you do want metal ones). A fuseboard upgrade and bonding to gas and water would be what I would recommend and would sort out most of the codes he has flagged up.

However, if you haven't got enough sockets and/or they are in the wrong place, then it might be the time to get it rewired so you can have it just how you like it before you decorate. I think £1800 is a bit optimistic for a a rewire in London, although it depends on how many sockets and lights you want!

If you are at all unsure, use his PIR to get an second opinion from another electrician.

Hope this helps

loulou41

Thanks fluffpot. The current owners have replaced most of the switches with brass ones. His report said that 80% of the switches in the property do not have earth connection. Do you think 2k+ is too much for the issues he has flagged. He will be working for 5 days. He seems a decent chap and a registered contractor. I will not be needing any sockets, quite happy the way they are at the moment. I want as little disturbance as possible, I guess you have answered my query and thanks for that.