Drilled through wire

rottcodd

I had someone around installing blinds. They drilled through a wire which immediately tripped the fuse and turned off electricity to part of the flat. They said they weren't expecting to find wires so near to a. Window. 

They have left (without installing the blinds) saying they now need to get electrician. Is it super dangerous in the meantime having a damaged wire in the wall ? The electricity is working fine now, but I don't know whether it is bad to keep it on with a damaged wire whilst I await to get it fixed? I keep trying to ring them but they're busy so just asking here, should I keep all the electricity off in the meantime? I swear I could start to smell a literally fishy smell which I googled could signal something going wrong with electrics.... What should I do? 

pramsay13

I think you should get your own electrician out immediately. 

ThisIsWeird

It's potentially risky, but hardly in reality.

Unless you poke that hole with a nail. But, best have power off until sorted.

Ideally you'd know which circuit was affected, and could then isolate just that one at your CU. But, if you don't know, then best to leave it all off if you can.

If you need to cook, and your kitchen has its own circuit breaker, then you should be ok turning just that on. If you need lights later on, could you run an extension lead from a kitchen socket and plug in a freestanding lamp?

Any idea where that cable is going? Is there a new power socket fitted in that area in the room above? Or, are there light switches mounted near that window? Or even a wall socket near the floor, but roughly in-line?

If there are no obvious sockets or switches, then it isn't really their fault - tho' you'd think they'd have detectors?!

EDIT: "They drilled through a wire which immediately tripped the fuse and turned off electricity to part of the flat." Which 'part' - could you have a look at your CU and see what has actually tripped? If one breaker is off as a result, and it ties in logically with that cable, almost certainly everything else is still ok to use.

tacpot12

It's not super dangerous, but it is not a situation that should be left for any length of time. I agree with pramsay13 that you or the person responsible for the damage need to get someone to repair the damage asap. 

If the power is back on, but the damage circuit hasn't been isolated (turned off), then there is a risk, albeit very small, of a fire, and there is a risk of electrocution if anyone goes near the hole that was drilled. If you can isolate that circuit (turn it of) this would be the best thing to do until an electrican can attend. If you need it on now, but can have it off overnight, this would be the next best thing to do if an electrican can't get out to you for a couple of days. (Have that circuit on only when there is someone in the flat that could turn the power off if the damage started a fire).

Although wires are suppose to run in predefined zones, all tradespeople (including handymen) know that you can't assume that the wires have been installed in these zones, and it is best practice to use a voltage detector to find cables and pipes in walls before drilling into them. If the person who was fitting the blinds is a profressional, they should cover the cost of repairing the damage. This is an easy repair for an electrican,  who will splice the wires back together.

The person that caused the damage seems to have accepted that they are liable, and quite correctly, stopped work. There might be an issue as to whether the blinds can be fitted with the wires where they are. They might need to be moved before the blinds can be fitted at all. However, they might not need to be moved very far. 

BarelySentientAI

I disagree with the sanguine responses above.

It is extremely dangerous to have that cable energised and the first thing you will notice is a fire inside your wall.

I have attended many fires where a damaged electrical cable has been sparking inside a wall without anyone noticing or the circuit breaker tripping.  Your insurer would be very interested to discover that you knew the cable was damaged but decided to just have it turned on anyway.

Do not have that circuit turned on.  Keep whichever is the relevant switch in your consumer unit turned off until an electrician has inspected the circuit and deemed it safe.

If, as previously suggested, you know which is the circuit breaker that protects that circuit (the one that tripped), then the others will be OK to have on.

rottcodd

Thanks everyone. The blinds people are denying it's there problem because the wires were not installed "according to regulation". I don't really know where I stand with that seeing as they are the ones that drilled the hole in the wall, but to be on the safe side I've just turned all electricity off and shelled out for an electrician to come this evening. 

tacpot12

The blinds 'people' are liable. Not checking the walls for wires was negligent. You gave them an oppotunity to pay for an electrician themselves, but they declined to do so, so now they should pay for your electrician, providing the charge is reasonable.

Section62

rottcodd said:

Thanks everyone. The blinds people are denying it's there problem because the wires were not installed "according to regulation". I don't really know where I stand with that seeing as they are the ones that drilled the hole in the wall, but to be on the safe side I've just turned all electricity off and shelled out for an electrician to come this evening. 

Their method statement for a safe system of work should highlight that not all electrical cables will be installed "according to regulation" and therefore the installer should use a suitable device (which is periodically maintained and checked for functionality) to check for cables (and pipes for that matter) before drilling any holes.

It is fundamentally unsafe to assume cables will only be found in locations that the current regulations permit.

You could - if you want - contact the HSE to report this unsafe working practice.

https://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/tell-us-about-a-health-and-safety-issue.htm

Maybe let the blinds company know what you are thinking of doing and whether that affects their view on who is responsible?

Risteard

I don't entirely agree. IF it can be demonstrated that cables were indeed run outside of prescribed zones, and not otherwise suitably protected, then surely the blind installers cannot possibly be held liable.

Eldi_Dos

Blind installers do not normally drill very deep or far from window frame so might have done the Op a favour highlighting the cable run.

BarelySentientAI

Risteard said:

I don't entirely agree. IF it can be demonstrated that cables were indeed run outside of prescribed zones, and not otherwise suitably protected, then surely the blind installers cannot possibly be held liable.

I think both have made significant mistakes.

Original electrical installer for putting unprotected cables outside the zones (edit: if they were outside - see next post).

Blind installer for not checking for wires prior to drilling.