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OK , this is a wee bit complex but here goes
New kitchen in flat I rent out. Unsure of state of wiring and fitting a new double oven so need good ,safe, secure supply.
Buy 6mm T+E from work, 32A MCB, board is newish and has spare ways so simple enough.
Come home from work. Hole drilled through cavity wall , T+E poked through, tacked along side of house , hole drilled in cavity wall next to kitchen - T+E inserted and fed to new cooker switch.
So I now have an unprotected cable , approx 1mtr up from ground level and some nice blow through holes in the walls. I thought this would be a floorboard up in kitchen , run it through void under adjoining bathroom, up into cupboard containing CU and connect up.
Bathroom is 2mtr wide ,, Kitchen 2.5mtr wide and empty.
Suppose its my fault as I didnt ask how, or specify the method, but although more than likely within regs, Im not ecstatic about the execution. Might look to fit rectangular white conduit over it, give it some protection and as the wall is white it would hide it pretty well. hmmmm
I’m finding more and more this kind of approach is the norm. Path of least resistance = least cost. I’m now very careful exactly how they’re to achieve the cable routing, and specify under no circumstances to drill through cavity walls unless absolutely necessary. Amazing how many sparkles don’t get back to me! Unfortunately for you, they’ve achieved what you’ve asked for. I’d question the external cabling being unprotected though.
External cable unprotected and also query whether the pvc is sheathed in the cavity too.
You shouldn’t run twin clipped direct outside, uv light degrades the insulation and makes it go brittle. I’d code it as a c2 on an EICR which would give an unsatisfactory assessment. You could put trunking over it which would sort it but some conduit and a couple of end boxes would be neater and would remove the risk of someone pulling the lid off.
Also Is the new mcb the same brand as the board
No that’s not on. T+E not suitable for running externally. What scheme is the spark on (NIC-EIC etc). Complain to them.
Or you could be brave and get on the screwfix forum lol. The couple of sparks on there will rip it to shreds then have an argument amongst themselves.
Yes , that might work. If I buy round 20mm conduit and cut it lengthways with a Stanley. Then get 2 x round wall ends to go with. I can remove the T+E clips , wiggle the T+E in and then silicone the cut and saddle clamp it onto the wall with the cut at the bottom. This way it would drain if there was any chance of any ingress ( doubtful if I use outdoor builder silicone or Sticks Like /EB25/ The works)
Unsure about teh CU brand ,will check. How essential is matching ?
Edit.- I have PVC solvant weld pipe glue already, pretty sure this will re-weld the conduit.
Why should you have to fix someone else's mess?
Don't pay them until they come back and do it properly.
Because I follow the path of least resistance (Ohmm) and the parts will cost me less than a tenner. I am doing it so it will be done better and I will spend the right amount of time to correct the issue.
As its a rental this is all being done to a tight timeline. Its not on leaving a tennant without a kitchen for a month whilst I argue the toss and the plasterer is in tomoro. Its happened , Its not going to unhappen. I am not happy, but for a few quid and an hour of my time it will be sorted to a satisfactory standard.
This not a Valentines Day thread then?
Hang on, just re read your first post, you haven’t let a kitchen fitter wire your cooker have you?!
The mcb should be the same brand to ensure where it attaches to the busbar lines up, unless it’s a Wylex board in which case all bets are off as they change theirs every other week
Hole drilled through cavity wall , T+E poked through, tacked along side of house , hole drilled in cavity wall next to kitchen
I had an intermittent fault with the horn on my car - could have been the horn sounder itself, could have been the 'clock spring' around the steering column - possibly a bit of a bad earth on the steering wheel boss itself. My mechanics - who up to this point had been very good - booked a 'freelance auto-electrician' to do the work they were worried about taking a guess and replacing the clock spring unnecessarily, as they can be a bit expensive. So the 'freelance auto-electrician' ruled out all three potential faults by ignoring the existence of any of it - the horn sounder and the horn push on the steering wheel and anything in between... he put a new horn sounder under the bonnet - fair enough, then drilled a big hole in the dash board, fitted a big red button there - then connected the two with a cable that came back out of the face of dash, then went out the drivers door - as in left the car, through the door - wrapped around the A pillar, over the wing, and in through the side of the bonnet.
They were really really surprised that I was a bit upset about that.
No. Jesus I am not that crazy.
The sparks is doing 1st fix only .Kitchen fitter in next week when plastering and painting completed.
T+E is allowed to be outside but not ideal, bridging the cavity is bad though.
I'd go 25mm conduit, way easier with thicker cables or pull it out and use SWA.
I think bridging the cavity isnt so much an issue. I can seal the external hole easily enough
Its the risk and longevity of bare cables being outside.
Trouble is the sparks is a really nice guy, local and well thought of.
Some local oiks could rip it off the wall with a bit of effort
Conduit is ridiculously cheap so will go down that route
I was expecting an online dating horror story. Very disappointed.
If bridging the cavity is such a problem how do you go about fitting outside lights, sockets, car chargers etc? And that’s before you’ve looked at your doors and windows…
I assume the lovely well regarded electrician who did this high quality installation has issued you the relevant certificate so you’re covered if anything happens to your tenant
Bridging the cavity is sometimes necessary and in a "normal" domestic property is a problem if water can get from outside to inside. STM has that in hand with sealant
Using the cavity to run a cable from upper to lower floors can be a problem if the vertical drop puts a mechanical strain on the installation. The last time that I looked more than 5m of cable needed support, which isn't easy to arrange inside a cavity wall, but that isn't the case here
In the cold light of today it gets worse.
Its not even been bodged very well. The cable out of the wall is at a jaunty up angle of around 30'.
The Straight run has been helpfully aimed straight at a waste pipe , so it does this little loopy up and over manoevere. If i was to conduit it in along the same path the pipe would be very in the way.
Because the lift is at an angle it means I cant square it away as the wire will be too short. SF sell 90' conduit angles ,This is the best fix to a gash job which now cant be acheived as to route it through 90's make the distance further so the wire wont reach the socket!.
Trucking Bell people can be annoying . Dont want to mount a JB mid run behind the cupboards to gain the extra 8" with an extension length, but this might be the only option.
If he’s done such a shoddy job of running the cable, how good a job has he done calculating the cable and protective devices?
Has he issued a MWC to you for the install?
Suggest you go cap in hand to an actual electrician before you end up ripping apart your shiny new kitchen to put it right...
Any extruded plastic will degrade in UV but some cables are better than others. PVC isn't good in this respect and on that basis alone I'd get the whole job independently checked.
If the job is essentially safe and certificated will a split nylon flexible conduit help? It's better in UV and against vermin