Tea and sympathy or tough luck?

I always harbour a degree of empathy with contractors....been at the coal face myself for many years and I am well aware of the ups and downs.

However, I am not sure that I would warm the teapot and get the buns out in this case.

A contractor friend just completed 112 mid-range dwellings. He and the guys working for him are meticulously neat but far too nonchalant when it comes to regulatory requirements.

The site is complete, not one single EIC asked for or issued. That is until one of the last people to purchase one of the units was a contractor specialising in electrical I+T. That contractor identified the lack of certification and a number of concerning issues in his own home. 

1. 16mm2 tails almost 15m in length supplied directly via an isolator from mains intake in the cubicle recessed in the exterior wall to a remote consumer unit. 100A service head fuse in each property (confirmed by NIE). 

2. Cables enter the consumer unit from the rear without fire stopping. Timber frame house.

3. Ground floor ceilings peppered with downlights with a suggestion that this is unacceptable and

4. No certification issued and no inspection and testing carried out for any of the properties.

Parents
  • Interesting, but tough luck for whom?

    1. Can be sorted by installing a switch-fuse, rated for the installation method.

    2. Add fire stopping.

    3. Depends upon the fire rating of the lamp fittings. Presumably the purchaser was aware of them when he decided to buy, so not a lot of sympathy for this one.

    4. Easy enough to issue an EIC, but harder to do the I&T.

    None of it seems to be insurmountable. Be very very nice to the purchaser before he talks to his new neighbours. :-)

Reply
  • Interesting, but tough luck for whom?

    1. Can be sorted by installing a switch-fuse, rated for the installation method.

    2. Add fire stopping.

    3. Depends upon the fire rating of the lamp fittings. Presumably the purchaser was aware of them when he decided to buy, so not a lot of sympathy for this one.

    4. Easy enough to issue an EIC, but harder to do the I&T.

    None of it seems to be insurmountable. Be very very nice to the purchaser before he talks to his new neighbours. :-)

Children
  • 1. Can be sorted by installing a switch-fuse, rated for the installation method.

    If a lower rating would be suitable - over here new dwellings are meant to include a EV charge point, so there may not be much room for manoeuvre.  Where to locate such a switch-fuse?, unless NIE are more tolerant than those here, the meter cabinet won't be acceptable. Also if the cables is shallow concealed in walls, 30mA RCD requirement (which you probably wouldn't want up-front).

      -  Andy.