Advise regards work carried out *help Electricians*

catgirl1990

morning,

long story short, we needed a full rewire to a unlived in house. got a recommendations, i googled it and called the number (this person wasnt the person that was recommended just similar name and area #fail)

right to the issues, the work took 2 weeks, during this time the house was like a building site total mess, items inside smashed and broken that we left in boxes. Plaster wiped on items etc, can live with this but not great. we went on holiday for half a week as it wasnt fun for the kids being near it at the time so thought it would be better coming back and just seeing it completed.....

came back to, outside lights hanging on outside walls (loose) plaster over cables as if someone had a food fight (total mess) no ducting etc over cables ( apparently not needed) cables showing on surface or through plaster ( apparently okay as cables are RCD protected so dont need to be a certain depth in wall????) vent in bathroom vented and left on insulation in attic , sockets squint, wrong sockets wrong places, old cables left poking out of walls,

the house is a brick wall house and the main issues are in the kitchen and living room

my partner wants to go down the route of not paying/major discounts etc and seeking advice from the CAB and getting someone else to come out and check work

this would delay our renovations etc

what are peoples thoughts on the above? its hard to find exact info on regards depths RCD cables need to be fitted or if its RCD it needs to be fitted at all x mm?

any help would be great

DRP

Is the guy an electrician? If so he will sign off that the installation is safe.

The mess/finishing is a different issue -  a full rewire is a messy business. Is the making good and redecoration part of the job? Or are they leaving it to you?
It is v unlikely the qualified electrician will be getting involved in that.

catgirl1990

DRP said:

Is the guy an electrician? If so he will sign off that the installation is safe.

The mess/finishing is a different issue -  a full rewire is a messy business. Is the making good and redecoration part of the job? Or are they leaving it to you?
It is v unlikely the qualified electrician will be getting involved in that.

thank you for the reply, it has been signed off yes and small/mid sized electrician business

its more the concerns on the quality of the work like the cable poking out of plaster etc

reading different things regards the depth cables need to be in from the wall, then comments about RCD protected cables being different.

catgirl1990

in the uk i believe all we need is a domestic electrical installation certificate for the work, we have this from them signed off by a qualified installer and reviewed and signed off by a qualified supervisor NIC EIC Approved contractor

the main issue other than overall poor work is the cables/depth or lack of. In the certificate (defualt sheet)

8.15 provisons of additonal protection by RCD
C) For cables concealed in walls/partitions at depths of less than 50mm

does that mean its okay to run a RCD protected cable on the surface basically of the wall?

knightstyle

So was this done by a registered electrician?   Are they a member of any trade organisation?
IMO you must put your concerns in writing to them and give them a fixed period (14 days?) to deal with your complaints before paying in full.
Old thread here, may be out of date...https://www.mybuilder.com/questions/v/17851/how-deep-should-wires-be-chased-in-to-walls

Ectophile

The RCD thing is in case people accidentally drive screws or nails into buried cables.  But with the rules as they are now, you should really have an RCD on all circuits unless they were specifically designed not to need them.  All sockets should be on an RCD anyway.

You don't need an RCD if the cable is armoured, if it buried more than 50mm into the wall or if it's run on the surface.  Nobody should be stupid enough to nail into a cable run on the surface!

catgirl1990

Ectophile said:

The RCD thing is in case people accidentally drive screws or nails into buried cables.  But with the rules as they are now, you should really have an RCD on all circuits unless they were specifically designed not to need them.  All sockets should be on an RCD anyway.

You don't need an RCD if the cable is armoured, if it buried more than 50mm into the wall or if it's run on the surface.  Nobody should be stupid enough to nail into a cable run on the surface!

so its okay for the below?

a cable coming out of the kitchen floor along the floor and up wall around 2 feet then burred in wall and plastered over?  all cables are RCD protected

We are thinking of calling NIC EIC for them to come and check the work carried out.

there was also other things like grommets and socket earthing to casing not done as they said not required? 

FreeBear

Grommets should always be used on metal back boxes unless round conduit is being used. In that case, a suitable (preferably) female adaptor should be used.

By the sounds of it, you have had a shoddy job done, and in your shoes, I would certainly be chasing NICEIC and getting a second opinion from another electrician. Perhaps ask for an Electrical Installation Condition Report without saying anything about the recent work - If it comes back with a bunch of faults, you have additional ammunition to throw at the NICEIC.

catgirl1990

FreeBear said:

Grommets should always be used on metal back boxes unless round conduit is being used. In that case, a suitable (preferably) female adaptor should be used.

By the sounds of it, you have had a shoddy job done, and in your shoes, I would certainly be chasing NICEIC and getting a second opinion from another electrician. Perhaps ask for an Electrical Installation Condition Report without saying anything about the recent work - If it comes back with a bunch of faults, you have additional ammunition to throw at the NICEIC.

can any qualified electrician carry out the EICR report? maybe go with the person we meant to do the job originally ( i am also getting a lot of grief over this     what a stupid mistake) 

when I phone NICEIC are they independent or are they generally on the defensive of the electrician? will they come out and look, without further info or will i need to provide photos etc. i assume there is a fee to getting them out? 

DanDare999

catgirl1990 said:

FreeBear said:

Grommets should always be used on metal back boxes unless round conduit is being used. In that case, a suitable (preferably) female adaptor should be used.

By the sounds of it, you have had a shoddy job done, and in your shoes, I would certainly be chasing NICEIC and getting a second opinion from another electrician. Perhaps ask for an Electrical Installation Condition Report without saying anything about the recent work - If it comes back with a bunch of faults, you have additional ammunition to throw at the NICEIC.

can any qualified electrician carry out the EICR report? maybe go with the person we meant to do the job originally ( i am also getting a lot of grief over this     what a stupid mistake) 

when I phone NICEIC are they independent or are they generally on the defensive of the electrician? will they come out and look, without further info or will i need to provide photos etc. i assume there is a fee to getting them out? 

Don't go with someone who'll do it cheap, say £80 all in.

Expect to pay something like £200 for an average job, location and size of property will dictate cost adjustment.

catgirl1990

DanDare999 said:

catgirl1990 said:

FreeBear said:

Grommets should always be used on metal back boxes unless round conduit is being used. In that case, a suitable (preferably) female adaptor should be used.

By the sounds of it, you have had a shoddy job done, and in your shoes, I would certainly be chasing NICEIC and getting a second opinion from another electrician. Perhaps ask for an Electrical Installation Condition Report without saying anything about the recent work - If it comes back with a bunch of faults, you have additional ammunition to throw at the NICEIC.

can any qualified electrician carry out the EICR report? maybe go with the person we meant to do the job originally ( i am also getting a lot of grief over this     what a stupid mistake) 

when I phone NICEIC are they independent or are they generally on the defensive of the electrician? will they come out and look, without further info or will i need to provide photos etc. i assume there is a fee to getting them out? 

Don't go with someone who'll do it cheap, say £80 all in.

Expect to pay something like £200 for an average job, location and size of property will dictate cost adjustment.

its a small 2 bed terrace house, thank you for your comments. by the comments above sounds like its worth spending the extra money to get a EICR report

if the report comes back clean is it worth contacting NIC EIC?