I did my apprenticeship starting in 1968 and in all my years as an electrician I have never seen such a bloody mess as this.. Well done sorting it out.
You should see some of the 'work' here in Brasil! Especially as some areas have dual. Voltage 127/220v! Dual outlet sockets, one of either voltage, but physically exactly the same are common!
I really hope there will be litigation. The builder is responsible for damage to the existing installation and a complete rework of the kitchen etc. Unfortunately, they have probably gone bankrupt!
It's what we would call, in the old days, 'a bugger's muddle'. There's nothing worse than sorting out someone else's mess. I'd be sorely tempted to pull the whole lot out and start from scratch - to hell with the cost.
All the Qualifications and requirements for good honest electricians to have, update regularly, pay for annually, to be deemed competent to do domestic work. And then there's the people with nothing that get these jobs and make a right mess of someone home.
Fact is, lots of people want the sh1t job, turned down proper quotes, and boast of the low cost until sh1t hits the smoke detector (if installed!). Not talking of buy to let either. Continue to be astonished at some neighbours' choice of tradespeople. Trouble is - we've used registered, professional, long-established, recommended sparks who have been very sloppy too - despite me installing conduit and boxes and them saying it's "an electrician's dream"
And for the record…….CPC’s must be connected through, regardless whether it is a class 2 fitting or not. Anyone who says different needs to continue with their education.
@@lewishardy3622 Nah, i know a guy who did the same thing but on an industrial 3 phase system and it blew a literal hole in his arm. It was so deep he didn't even feel it and he had to have plastic surgery to fix it. Always use tools unless entirety of the board is dead.
How far do you go down the rabbit hole there? It's like the argument against ring circuits - most of the arguments are "... so if some dickhead splits the ring"... well... dont let dickheads work on electrical installations!
As a norwegian electrician, i gotta say, those "ring circuits" are a silly and outdated way of doing things. they were done because of the price of copper, and by doing it in a ring circuit you save money on wire circumference. But this was wayy back, like in the 1920s. If you UK sparks did it "normally" (like the rest of the world does it) you'd have them connected in series, and you'd have a much easier time fault finding.
35:35 The 1mm T+E to the UFH spur actually (probably) complies with the requirements for overload protection. 433.3.1(ii) allows you to omit overload protection where the characteristics of the load means it's unlikely to carry overload current (and fault current protection is met, which it will be by the 32A breaker). UFH, being a simple resistive load, has these characteristics. So unless the UFH is intended to pull more than 16A (the rating of 1mm T+E method C), it can't overload the 1mm cable. 1mm doesn't, however, meet 524.1 (min conductor for power circuit 1.5mm). None of this changes the fact that it's a crock and need sorting, but food for thought though.
The table 52.3 allows non sheathed and sheathed flexible cable to be used for a specific appliance as specified in the product standard and for any other application down to .75 mm. Signalling and control can be 0.5 mm.
@@brianoneill350 Flexible cable, as defined by BS7671: A cable whose structure and materials make it suitable to be flexed while in service. This means fine stranded flex. The 1mm T+E between the FCU and RCDFCU wouldn't meet this.
I hope you are on a day rate for this fine bodgery. You will keep finding bodges the deeper you dig. Fair play for taking this work on though lots will turn straight back out the door.
As a plumber all I see is those two (probably live) isolation valves facing the board, just a disaster waiting to happen But damn that is a mess. Even I know some of that's wrong and I can barely change a lightbulb Right, so....
Wow that’s a right mess. This is definitely a prime example of why you shouldn’t ever let builders do the electrical work. I’m no spark I’m a mechanic but I’m sure I could have done a better job than that builder did. Brilliant and quality work as always Nick and Adam and thanks for sharing this with us take care
It also illegal in a kitchen to do it without it being singed off by an electrician. Few electrician are willing to sign off for amateurs. You can't sell your house or at least you would be liable if you managed to.
@@paulthomas8262 Your knowledge on Part P is... 9 years out of date. As long as it isn't a whole new circuit (as in from an extra protective device in the CU) kitchen work isn't notifiable.
i ahd a similar job back in the late eighties a nice Kensington town house with a basement kitchen , very pretty i went to check it all out and started by cct identifying , so i knocked them all off , put in six amp lighting ..kitchen lights on , great , turned it off , nest six amp onb kitchen lights working ............ok turn it off try a 32 amp kitchen lights on !!! cut a long story short found a sixty amp switch fuse behind the coats in the hall way with ALL the lives IN and all the lives out !!!!
Should be dividing by 230v I believe. Not that it makes a massive difference to your calculation, a little under an amp but regs uses 230 as nominal voltage for its calcs.
Last time I saw anything quite that bad it was a neighbour whose husband had replaced their Consumer Unit himself just before he left her. Amongst many many faults he'd left was a fabulous (sarcastic!) situation where two different MCB's switched off the Boiler and Central Heating ... one was a 32, one was a 16, both had 1mm cable to them, and both had to be on for the CH and boiler to work. Heaven alone knows how on earth there had not been a fire or someone electrocuted. It was only discovered when the pumped shower mixer would not turn off and it was found that there was no isolator (or fuse) on the shower pump supply and the only way to switch if off was to knock off the mains. Turned out the shower pump was being supplied from a 13a plug into a 'floating' socked under the floorboards on the ring final circuit. Anyway, fab video as always, Happy Birthday for last week Adam and keep up the fab work both of you. 💯💯💯
Oh yeah, ex-husbands... I was once called to a job where a lady thought someone was stealing her power because her bills seemed high and her meter was spinning much faster than her neighbour's (block of flats). The first issue was sorted rather quickly, unplugging her fridge and freezer made the meter stop spinning completely, so nothing untoward. Besides, the neighbour's meter was one doing 75 revolutions of the little disc per kilowatthour while hers did 480. Hardly surprising hers spun faster. The kicker was the CU though. The place was built in the mid-50s, council flats. In Austria, earthing became mandatory in 1959 for all circuits, prior to that it was only required for kitchens. The incoming mains was 2.5 mm2 on a 20-amp cutout, pre-1965 colours, i.e. red earth and grey neutral. The original sparks had just joined the three CPCs together, no earth bar in the original fuse board. When the lovely ex replaced that, he didn't recognise the CPC and simply left all the CPCs of his rewire floating. He also fused all the neutrals and connected the lives to the neutral bar. "Yes, he said we didn't have an earth here!".
@@normanboyes4983 Yes! Personally have this installed and have never had nuisance tripping or any issue. It's in the regs for domestic cooker installations for a reason... I dont have an issue if you want to give the client the option of having two circuits, but it's not something that needs rectifying in an existing installation IMO.
Had a run in with a kitchen fitter ,a friend asked me to snag the job ( he said he would outsource the elecs and plumbing) but he did the elecs badly 2 a4 sheets of snags later ,usual answer that's how it was before I just connected it , works don't it? I did sort it for her, just annoying could have done the Job in the first place .
I'm a kitchen fitter and loose so much work for being to experience and it's always the electrical work that's 2 expensive as I use a qualified sparky. Home owners need to learn that this is what happens when you go for cost over quality. Ime a very competent person but still wouldn't dream ov doing my own electrical work. Horses for course as my dad says. The guy who has done this work should be stoned in the streets if you ask me
a mate of mine told me he was rewiring a terraced house when he found the upstairs of one house was fed from the upstairs of the next one, ''s'cuse me missus, can yer turn yer power off please"
Consider cable finder and reflectometer (TDR time domain reflectometer) similar to what we use here in the EU. Please get familiar with Finder and reflectometer concept based on market leading Sonel WMPLLKZ720, and Sonel WMPLTDR420 units. You can then decide if something similar would do the job for you.
If this is the worst case? Try finding the home owner using old two wire door bell wire his basement suite. Or a shed/ work shop. Where a piece triplex is strung to the shed and every wire inside is add to the triplex by twisting on it. With bits of old tape to hold it in place. One look and back into the truck I go.
I love fault finding, but bollocks to when sorting out sombodys cluster fuck. I feel bad for the customer, but I gotta charge accordingly for fixing it.
Wow. Great watch but absolutely shocking work! I'm no spark but think i could do better than the way they've left it all! Great stuff as ever Nick and Adam!
As a fellow electrician I did go to a house that had a new owner....the preious own built, plumbed and wired the entire house. Trouble was he did the entire wiring with figure 8 1mm squared wire usually used for sound system speakers at the most... (about 20 gauge) good for 8 amps max. Everything cooker, power outlets, etc no connectors, no junction boxes or anything.....just twist wires together and tape them up.... We went there to install a ceiling fan, but left by disconnecting the supply and calling in the regulator....(Energy Safety here). How it did not burn down amazed and scared me! Of course insurance would never have paid out on any claim.... What stopped it killing people was only the timber walls floors and ceiling making an earth isolated situation inside. Scary shit.
Talking about screws through wires my mum and dad bought a new build in about 1990. We moved out on my 13th birthday in 2006. When the house wasnput up for sale we had tonhave an electrical survey of some sort. Turns out the gas pipe was screwed through one of the main feeds to the board had been like it 16 years.
Wow! I’ve seen some poor work in my time but that’s up there with them! Jeez! Builders that “Do electrics” I’m not talking a firm who subs it out but this lot is atrocious! Just dangerous how people can leave stuff like this is beyond me!😳🤯😱
Trouble is on jobs like that is not what you can see it's what you can not see ie chased in walls and under floors,every sparks likes a challenge and help people out but in my mind why should you get a headache putting your name on the certificate,a runner comes in mind 👍
Kitchen is a complete mess. If you're going for the whole works , skim the ceiling/ walls , do any plaster board work, block sand the walls flat , clean up everything and paint the kitchen. Also fit any new architrave ect. Do all this before any fitting up. This gives a good base and if careful there's no painting around units afterwards. This kitchen has rough walls, woodwork, paint all over the window frames, no window sill ect and the builder has just slung the kitchen in over a complete mess. Outside there's crap everywhere with no sign of cleaning up as you go. As for the electrics Stevie Wonder could have done better. Imo that house is ruined with the standard of work done and the builder shouldn't be paid.
Wow, flaming hot mess!! If I was asked to sort this out, my brain would be on a meltdown! 🤯 Regarding underfloor heating, would it be better to wire up to 3 pin plug and plug it in the socket there?
In the words of David Savery; "that is a cluster-f**k"! There are those jobs done by people with some knowledge, these tend to be untidy, but fairly safe. Then you get the job shown in this video where there is no knowledge and it's just an utter mess, thrown together with the cheapest materials available! No continuation of the CPC, basic insulation exposed, overloading of circuits etc. The problem I find nowadays is people think electrical work is easy and want it all doing for fifty quid and a pat on the back! Jog on. Pay a proper price and get a proper job done by a proper spark, we do exist! Never let the builder do it!
at 3:11 you have 2 15mm ball valves directly aimed at your fuse box that are not caped off, although turned off you cannot trust that. That is the most worrying thing imo. Hopefully no running water in those pipes.
Damn. Done for cheap, by someone without even basic knowledge, to standards which are hopelessly outdated. That’s British residential electrics in a nutshell… (And then - you pay again to have one of the few competent folks fixing the mess…)
Curious American here. He referred to the hole in the ceiling as "a 4 inch hole" @29:21 . I had to do a double take. Is it normal over there to reference holes in inches?
American in Britain here. The UK is really halfway metric. Everyone knows inches/feet/yard; people use feet and inches for their own height. Road signs are in miles and MPH. Most weight is metric, but people talk about their own weight in "stone" and lbs/oz is used in some industries.
I have had a few jobs like this , I do not have good news . Ended up taking everything apart and redoing all the boxes . So at that point it all got new switches and receptacles and plates . Only way to know for sure .
Fault finding should be an Olympic event......you would certainly win a medal!....if a builder can be that lax with electrics, what else is he useless at?.
To stop this kind of work that you found cant the last sparky be tracked down to make sure they can get retrained and cannot leave dangerous work behind
Full rewire again. Ditch the dual rcd board and install rcbos and surge. Going to the hassle of having a rewire only to install a dual rcd board. Would have expected to see a BG special installed given the workmanship is terrible.
Oh, just come to Poland and work on 1960s...90s wiring, especially improperly maintained. Aluminum or very thin copper wires, rust, loose contacts, burnt insulation, unauthorized connections, switches on neutral, self-repaired fuses (illegal here), no wire color-coding etc. That is the real WTF. Sometimes it's so bad that it makes me want to throw a grenade in and start it all from scratch. By the way it's so mind-boggling to see single phase high current utility, rather than three phase that is all over the place here, increasingly so in domestic settings.
Even an enthusiastic amateur wouldn't generally make a mess like this. It's such lazy work just hooking into whatever existing cabling they could find rather than running new. I mean splicing into a cooker circuit to power the heating controls, I have never seen that done before.
I am always whining about our electrical inspections that are required by local jurisdictions which are after rough in (1st fix) and finish (2nd fix), however that would prevent something like this. Obviously there has to be oversight somewhere needed there. Most any electrical work requires a building permit, and that triggers the inspections. It's not perfect, and really depends on how through the inspector is at catching stuff. But that takes all the testing (EICR) off the table and holds who ever did the work responsible.
Rough as f😀😀😀 looks like my Howdens kitchen units, I would strongly suspect they’d drop the kitchen fitter if he’s been doing wiring too, and that badly in a notifiable area.
Thanks guys, another great vid. What a headache this must have been. But between you's sussed as always . Keep up the good work and of course your standard of workmanship.
I used to be a royal navy cook, I did domestic electrical for my NVQ to the 11th IEE. Even I can see this is one awful mess that should have never happened. Who ever did that job shouldn't be allowed near a screwdriver again, or a kitchen for that matter.
I've heard this from UK sparks on youtube several times, this thing about a neutral having been from another circuit on another RCD, thereby causing the right RCD to be bypassed and the circuit to be backfed via the neutral, several times. It's so odd to me that this is ever done. I mean, if you pinch a neutral from a nearby circuit, why not take ground and live from the same circuit? Is it common that houses are wired with unsheated wires, so that it's quite easy when you don't have instruments to measure with to mistake one for another, and end up with backfed circuits? Here in Sweden, whether you're doing wiring in walls or extending a circuit on the outside of walls, the only place where you're allowed to have single-insulated wires is inside connection spaces, i.e. in boxes or inside light fixtures. There's virtually no chance that even a terminally unqualified person could cause this sort of issue here. What's more, it's very rare to have more than a couple of RCD's here. Beyond the first that serves all sockets, lights, hob and what have you, you only ever install additional ones for very specific circuits, i.e. heater and fridge/freezer. It's very restricted how an installation is supposed to be segmented. Having half a house on one RCD and the other half on another is never done, even if the installation in question is huge.
Looks like a classic EU (Greek, Spanish, Italian, Maltese, polish) install to me. Having said that I would walk away I would not touch that with a barge pole......not enough 3 phase for me.
Even worse than what we found when gutting prior to refitting our 1930s semi in 2014. Since realised that lots of home owners actually want cowboy builder to do cowboy electrics at minimal cost - even rejecting proper quotes from proper pros. They just want it covered up so out of sight and out of mind. Not talking about buy to let - it's for raising family in the time bomb! Similar to what found in daughter's ex-council maisonette a three years ago - 3 or 4 eras of 'electrical work' by council since original superb building in late 1950s - with all subsequent coal dust, sawdust, loose cables, light fittings, etc still under first floor boards.
I had the misfortune of having to fit some of those LAP downlights. What a load of old shit! No terminal for the CPC to maintain continuity and you can't wire directly into them with T&E without having conductors exposed outside the enclosure.
To install it like this is probably a skill in it's own right. I couldn't do it if I tried. 😀😁😂 When you see this sort of thing I often what's inside their heads. Be interesting to interview them.
How people can get away with that? Shocking! Also I've noticed no one has mentioned those downlights are not fire rated. Might be worth swapping them out when you go back.
Hell, what a complete mess you have been left to sort out, unbelievable. I’m amazed you can make any sense of that mess to even begin to put it right. Well done, stunning work. 👍👍👍
To my understanding: the Matt-e device is a PEN fault detector and not a car charger itself. These are for those chargers which don't have it inbuilt. On that note, why do you not fit car chargers Nick?
OMG ! I appreciate I’m coming late to this. But good idea to do a one day check I think this is one I’d walk away from. Just where do you start with that bodge job. The customer just isn’t going to pay for the weeks of work to fix this
Hi mate I watch all your videos.. I'm a joiner in Scotland... This is absolutely disgusting to see this idiot is playing with people's lives... As they say in Scotland every man to there own... BTW how can you possibly price a job like this 🤷♂️
Nick definitely has a passion or atleast a place for electrian(saw his little electric symbol tattoo on his thumb). People just don't care do they, the electricals in this video looked like noodles hanging everywhere after a chef cooked but, couldn't be bothered to clean his kitchen.
When ever I go to work at a property with an extension (of any kind) new kitchen or bathroom or any new building work i’m always expecting ruff electrical work. I’d like to say nothing surprises me anymore but then something does!
You're right. Nearly all new extensions , kitchens have some sort of bodge and unfinished work . People seem to accept this and just use it as a finished job.
If your going to be chucking some conduit in for the hob why not chuck some 1-1.5mm in there as well to do the underfloor heating,must be better than it hanging off the oven circuit.O and adam,to save you reaching for yer phone every time you wanna roughly work out your amps and kilowatts, just multiply your kw by 4 and youll be close enuff
That be builder is 10th edition. If it works or can be made to work... Call me lazy but I just don't have the patient to sort out that mess. I was wondering why there was two holes so close, forgot about the smoke alarm. That cooker hob oven combo fantastic. How can someone not be able to do math for load calculations.? Customers who go for the cheap quote and combined job... Or did they just say that as it was DIY.
What a mess to have to fix because someone hacked it up. Whomever the person was that did this if they are a licensed electrician that license needs to be taken away period. I'd guess they didn't have a license to do any electrical work at all and they should be fined to the point they never ever try to do wiring like this ever again. How any of this actually works and don't trip all the breakers is just flat amazing.
Nick and Adam , top job again lads , great video. That cowboy should be exposed as that is just dangerous in my opinion as nick said with kids . That customer once its complete the correct way will be so grateful and will be a customer for life . Well done again lads setting the standards 💪
Hager Board and 2 car chargers, sure Artisan hasn't been there? 😂
I did my apprenticeship starting in 1968 and in all my years as an electrician I have never seen such a bloody mess as this.. Well done sorting it out.
You should see some of the 'work' here in Brasil! Especially as some areas have dual. Voltage 127/220v!
Dual outlet sockets, one of either voltage, but physically exactly the same are common!
How anyone this incompetent actually gets the thing to work at all, is impressive.
Probably cause they were the cheapest?
Usual reply is " works don't it ? " ,which is when I bang my head on the wall.
Well, on the plus side, the plumbers pipe work is nice :-)
Agree, however non of the pipes are insulated.
I really hope there will be litigation. The builder is responsible for damage to the existing installation and a complete rework of the kitchen etc. Unfortunately, they have probably gone bankrupt!
It's what we would call, in the old days, 'a bugger's muddle'.
There's nothing worse than sorting out someone else's mess. I'd be sorely tempted to pull the whole lot out and start from scratch - to hell with the cost.
Just to keep from seeing smoke and fire a week later
That's a great name I'm taking that XD Applying this to software dev from now on
All the Qualifications and requirements for good honest electricians to have, update regularly, pay for annually, to be deemed competent to do domestic work. And then there's the people with nothing that get these jobs and make a right mess of someone home.
Fact is, lots of people want the sh1t job, turned down proper quotes, and boast of the low cost until sh1t hits the smoke detector (if installed!). Not talking of buy to let either. Continue to be astonished at some neighbours' choice of tradespeople.
Trouble is - we've used registered, professional, long-established, recommended sparks who have been very sloppy too - despite me installing conduit and boxes and them saying it's "an electrician's dream"
What a mess...
And for the record…….CPC’s must be connected through, regardless whether it is a class 2 fitting or not. Anyone who says different needs to continue with their education.
Completely agree. I think diyers don't understand that it's also there to protect the cable too.
@@chrisjones7504 Plus its regulation that a CPC is present at each point in a circuit
People who don’t get this don’t understand their fundamental principles
I mean that’s first week at college stuff, if you’re not doing things like that then what other corners are you cutting?
@@chrisjones7504 even as a DIYer i understand that!
Adam, don't go putting your hand into a live board or touch random cables use a long nose insulated pliers if you want to move a cable.
Grow up
@@lewishardy3622 safety first
@@lewishardy3622 Nah, i know a guy who did the same thing but on an industrial 3 phase system and it blew a literal hole in his arm. It was so deep he didn't even feel it and he had to have plastic surgery to fix it. Always use tools unless entirety of the board is dead.
@@lewishardy3622 Pipe down
@@AllStarNES what are you? A plumber?
Best argument against dual RCD boards, allows total bollocks but will still work, should be mandatory to fit full RCBO boards!
How far do you go down the rabbit hole there? It's like the argument against ring circuits - most of the arguments are "... so if some dickhead splits the ring"... well... dont let dickheads work on electrical installations!
Yeah only people don't wanna pay several hundred quid for a board. Make RCBO's cheaper and people will use them.
As a norwegian electrician, i gotta say, those "ring circuits" are a silly and outdated way of doing things. they were done because of the price of copper, and by doing it in a ring circuit you save money on wire circumference. But this was wayy back, like in the 1920s.
If you UK sparks did it "normally" (like the rest of the world does it) you'd have them connected in series, and you'd have a much easier time fault finding.
@@TheFenrirulfr You are free to fit "radials" if you want.
35:35 The 1mm T+E to the UFH spur actually (probably) complies with the requirements for overload protection.
433.3.1(ii) allows you to omit overload protection where the characteristics of the load means it's unlikely to carry overload current (and fault current protection is met, which it will be by the 32A breaker). UFH, being a simple resistive load, has these characteristics.
So unless the UFH is intended to pull more than 16A (the rating of 1mm T+E method C), it can't overload the 1mm cable.
1mm doesn't, however, meet 524.1 (min conductor for power circuit 1.5mm).
None of this changes the fact that it's a crock and need sorting, but food for thought though.
When he says it feeds the heating.if he means feeds the heating controls then 1 mm would be fine.
The table 52.3 allows non sheathed and sheathed flexible cable to be used for a specific appliance as specified in the product standard and for any other application down to .75 mm. Signalling and control can be 0.5 mm.
@@brianoneill350 Flexible cable, as defined by BS7671: A cable whose structure and materials make it suitable to be flexed while in service.
This means fine stranded flex. The 1mm T+E between the FCU and RCDFCU wouldn't meet this.
I hope you are on a day rate for this fine bodgery. You will keep finding bodges the deeper you dig. Fair play for taking this work on though lots will turn straight back out the door.
As a plumber all I see is those two (probably live) isolation valves facing the board, just a disaster waiting to happen
But damn that is a mess. Even I know some of that's wrong and I can barely change a lightbulb
Right, so....
I spotted those and shuddered!
Wow, well done.. I think I would have taken a quick look at that lot and just said rewire cause god knows what else is hiding under the floorboards...
That's what I did
Wow that’s a right mess. This is definitely a prime example of why you shouldn’t ever let builders do the electrical work. I’m no spark I’m a mechanic but I’m sure I could have done a better job than that builder did. Brilliant and quality work as always Nick and Adam and thanks for sharing this with us take care
It also illegal in a kitchen to do it without it being singed off by an electrician. Few electrician are willing to sign off for amateurs. You can't sell your house or at least you would be liable if you managed to.
There is limits to what amateurs can do like the odd spur.
@@paulthomas8262 Your knowledge on Part P is... 9 years out of date. As long as it isn't a whole new circuit (as in from an extra protective device in the CU) kitchen work isn't notifiable.
Wow, I do diy electrics and I’d be ashamed to do such a poor job. Though I would only touch stuff within regs.
i ahd a similar job back in the late eighties a nice Kensington town house with a basement kitchen , very pretty i went to check it all out and started by cct identifying , so i knocked them all off , put in six amp lighting ..kitchen lights on , great , turned it off , nest six amp onb kitchen lights working ............ok turn it off try a 32 amp kitchen lights on !!!
cut a long story short found a sixty amp switch fuse behind the coats in the hall way with ALL the lives IN and all the lives out !!!!
What a state that was, props to you both for making it all safer. A great example of keeping your cool and working your way through the s***
Should be dividing by 230v I believe. Not that it makes a massive difference to your calculation, a little under an amp but regs uses 230 as nominal voltage for its calcs.
Last time I saw anything quite that bad it was a neighbour whose husband had replaced their Consumer Unit himself just before he left her. Amongst many many faults he'd left was a fabulous (sarcastic!) situation where two different MCB's switched off the Boiler and Central Heating ... one was a 32, one was a 16, both had 1mm cable to them, and both had to be on for the CH and boiler to work. Heaven alone knows how on earth there had not been a fire or someone electrocuted. It was only discovered when the pumped shower mixer would not turn off and it was found that there was no isolator (or fuse) on the shower pump supply and the only way to switch if off was to knock off the mains. Turned out the shower pump was being supplied from a 13a plug into a 'floating' socked under the floorboards on the ring final circuit. Anyway, fab video as always, Happy Birthday for last week Adam and keep up the fab work both of you. 💯💯💯
Oh yeah, ex-husbands... I was once called to a job where a lady thought someone was stealing her power because her bills seemed high and her meter was spinning much faster than her neighbour's (block of flats). The first issue was sorted rather quickly, unplugging her fridge and freezer made the meter stop spinning completely, so nothing untoward. Besides, the neighbour's meter was one doing 75 revolutions of the little disc per kilowatthour while hers did 480. Hardly surprising hers spun faster.
The kicker was the CU though. The place was built in the mid-50s, council flats. In Austria, earthing became mandatory in 1959 for all circuits, prior to that it was only required for kitchens. The incoming mains was 2.5 mm2 on a 20-amp cutout, pre-1965 colours, i.e. red earth and grey neutral. The original sparks had just joined the three CPCs together, no earth bar in the original fuse board. When the lovely ex replaced that, he didn't recognise the CPC and simply left all the CPCs of his rewire floating. He also fused all the neutrals and connected the lives to the neutral bar. "Yes, he said we didn't have an earth here!".
I am sure Dave would have got more satisfaction helping sort out that mess, than a beer in his right hand or maybe not 😂 great work guys
6mm and 32a breaker is fine for 32a hob and 18a oven once diversity applied.
Is it sensible to apply diversity to an Oven and a Induction hob? Really - they are often on together.
Of course you can.
@@normanboyes4983 Yes! Personally have this installed and have never had nuisance tripping or any issue. It's in the regs for domestic cooker installations for a reason...
I dont have an issue if you want to give the client the option of having two circuits, but it's not something that needs rectifying in an existing installation IMO.
Builder needs reporting to trading standards. That is absolutely disgraceful
Had a run in with a kitchen fitter ,a friend asked me to snag the job ( he said he would outsource the elecs and plumbing) but he did the elecs badly 2 a4 sheets of snags later ,usual answer that's how it was before I just connected it , works don't it? I did sort it for her, just annoying could have done the Job in the first place .
I'm a kitchen fitter and loose so much work for being to experience and it's always the electrical work that's 2 expensive as I use a qualified sparky. Home owners need to learn that this is what happens when you go for cost over quality. Ime a very competent person but still wouldn't dream ov doing my own electrical work. Horses for course as my dad says. The guy who has done this work should be stoned in the streets if you ask me
Lose
Finally a title that lives up to its name. 2 minutes in and it’s completely justified.
I’m loving the fact that there are two open pipes with isolation valves right above the consumer unit …
Someone somewhere probably thought they knew what they were doing! Good work men..
The real fun of being an electrician. Looking at around 2 days to sort through all that mess. But believe it or not I have seen far worse.
a mate of mine told me he was rewiring a terraced house when he found the upstairs of one house was fed from the upstairs of the next one, ''s'cuse me missus, can yer turn yer power off please"
Consider cable finder and reflectometer (TDR time domain reflectometer) similar to what we use here in the EU. Please get familiar with Finder and reflectometer concept based on market leading Sonel WMPLLKZ720, and Sonel WMPLTDR420 units. You can then decide if something similar would do the job for you.
If this is the worst case?
Try finding the home owner using old two wire door bell wire his basement suite.
Or a shed/ work shop. Where a piece triplex is strung to the shed and every wire inside is add to the triplex by twisting on it. With bits of old tape to hold it in place. One look and back into the truck I go.
I love fault finding, but bollocks to when sorting out sombodys cluster fuck. I feel bad for the customer, but I gotta charge accordingly for fixing it.
The wiring maybe bad, but the builder did a good job on the plumbing. Would put PB plumber to shame.
No way on earth the same person is responsible for both. He got a pro in for the plumbing work was thinking the same thing about pb.
All that intro needs is Dave Savery in the corner waving his fist while ranting about kitchen fitters, surprised any of that mess actually works!
Wow. Great watch but absolutely shocking work! I'm no spark but think i could do better than the way they've left it all! Great stuff as ever Nick and Adam!
ruf arsed builder for yer.
As a fellow electrician I did go to a house that had a new owner....the preious own built, plumbed and wired the entire house. Trouble was he did the entire wiring with figure 8 1mm squared wire usually used for sound system speakers at the most... (about 20 gauge) good for 8 amps max. Everything cooker, power outlets, etc no connectors, no junction boxes or anything.....just twist wires together and tape them up.... We went there to install a ceiling fan, but left by disconnecting the supply and calling in the regulator....(Energy Safety here).
How it did not burn down amazed and scared me! Of course insurance would never have paid out on any claim.... What stopped it killing people was only the timber walls floors and ceiling making an earth isolated situation inside. Scary shit.
Talking about screws through wires my mum and dad bought a new build in about 1990. We moved out on my 13th birthday in 2006. When the house wasnput up for sale we had tonhave an electrical survey of some sort. Turns out the gas pipe was screwed through one of the main feeds to the board had been like it 16 years.
I'm the only diy guy. I really admire your work and knowledge. Keep doing a good work lad !
This installation is that screwed up I’d say it needs an full rewire just to get all the problems sorted
Wow! I’ve seen some poor work in my time but that’s up there with them! Jeez!
Builders that “Do electrics” I’m not talking a firm who subs it out but this lot is atrocious! Just dangerous how people can leave stuff like this is beyond me!😳🤯😱
Trouble is on jobs like that is not what you can see it's what you can not see ie chased in walls and under floors,every sparks likes a challenge and help people out but in my mind why should you get a headache putting your name on the certificate,a runner comes in mind 👍
I’d be really interested to know how much the quote was for the remedial work - looks expensive!!
Nice work on 61k Subs Nick, hopefully 100k by the end of the year!
Kitchen is a complete mess. If you're going for the whole works , skim the ceiling/ walls , do any plaster board work, block sand the walls flat , clean up everything and paint the kitchen. Also fit any new architrave ect. Do all this before any fitting up. This gives a good base and if careful there's no painting around units afterwards.
This kitchen has rough walls, woodwork, paint all over the window frames, no window sill ect and the builder has just slung the kitchen in over a complete mess.
Outside there's crap everywhere with no sign of cleaning up as you go.
As for the electrics Stevie Wonder could have done better.
Imo that house is ruined with the standard of work done and the builder shouldn't be paid.
Wow, flaming hot mess!! If I was asked to sort this out, my brain would be on a meltdown! 🤯
Regarding underfloor heating, would it be better to wire up to 3 pin plug and plug it in the socket there?
In the words of David Savery; "that is a cluster-f**k"!
There are those jobs done by people with some knowledge, these tend to be untidy, but fairly safe.
Then you get the job shown in this video where there is no knowledge and it's just an utter mess, thrown together with the cheapest materials available! No continuation of the CPC, basic insulation exposed, overloading of circuits etc.
The problem I find nowadays is people think electrical work is easy and want it all doing for fifty quid and a pat on the back! Jog on. Pay a proper price and get a proper job done by a proper spark, we do exist! Never let the builder do it!
at 3:11 you have 2 15mm ball valves directly aimed at your fuse box that are not caped off, although turned off you cannot trust that. That is the most worrying thing imo. Hopefully no running water in those pipes.
Those pipes aren’t conned to anything dude , it’s new pipes for the front extension , they are being moved 👌
Damn. Done for cheap, by someone without even basic knowledge, to standards which are hopelessly outdated.
That’s British residential electrics in a nutshell…
(And then - you pay again to have one of the few competent folks fixing the mess…)
Honestly, if this isn't criminal, it should be.
Curious American here. He referred to the hole in the ceiling as "a 4 inch hole" @29:21 . I had to do a double take. Is it normal over there to reference holes in inches?
American in Britain here. The UK is really halfway metric. Everyone knows inches/feet/yard; people use feet and inches for their own height. Road signs are in miles and MPH. Most weight is metric, but people talk about their own weight in "stone" and lbs/oz is used in some industries.
Yep. It’s a mix of imperial and metric here in the UK. It’s contextual, I guess.
Shame because the plumbing looks really good. Great horror film, the stuff of nightmares.
Have you considered a bell ringer for circuits seen them being used by other sparks for tracing?
Great video as always guys. LAP = lousy and problematic.
I have had a few jobs like this , I do not have good news . Ended up taking everything apart and redoing all the boxes . So at that point it all got new switches and receptacles and plates . Only way to know for sure .
Fault finding should be an Olympic event......you would certainly win a medal!....if a builder can be that lax with electrics, what else is he useless at?.
Lining up holes...
To stop this kind of work that you found cant the last sparky be tracked down to make sure they can get retrained and cannot leave dangerous work behind
The supply and hob were wired in the same side of the fused spur, that's why it wasn't blowing.
Full rewire again. Ditch the dual rcd board and install rcbos and surge. Going to the hassle of having a rewire only to install a dual rcd board. Would have expected to see a BG special installed given the workmanship is terrible.
He said in the video that another reputable spark that he knows did the rewire 2-3 years ago but someone has been in and fcked it all up since
Oh, just come to Poland and work on 1960s...90s wiring, especially improperly maintained. Aluminum or very thin copper wires, rust, loose contacts, burnt insulation, unauthorized connections, switches on neutral, self-repaired fuses (illegal here), no wire color-coding etc. That is the real WTF. Sometimes it's so bad that it makes me want to throw a grenade in and start it all from scratch.
By the way it's so mind-boggling to see single phase high current utility, rather than three phase that is all over the place here, increasingly so in domestic settings.
Even an enthusiastic amateur wouldn't generally make a mess like this. It's such lazy work just hooking into whatever existing cabling they could find rather than running new. I mean splicing into a cooker circuit to power the heating controls, I have never seen that done before.
As you say, I’m sure it’s more difficult to make that mess than to do it properly!!
Looking forward to the part 2 video from this!
I am always whining about our electrical inspections that are required by local jurisdictions which are after rough in (1st fix) and finish (2nd fix), however that would prevent something like this. Obviously there has to be oversight somewhere needed there. Most any electrical work requires a building permit, and that triggers the inspections. It's not perfect, and really depends on how through the inspector is at catching stuff. But that takes all the testing (EICR) off the table and holds who ever did the work responsible.
It's a wonder Nick how many places like this don't burn down and frankly, I don't envy you having to put things as they should be.
Rough as f😀😀😀 looks like my Howdens kitchen units, I would strongly suspect they’d drop the kitchen fitter if he’s been doing wiring too, and that badly in a notifiable area.
… not quite the same unis, there’s a 10mm gap between doors here, badly fitted wickes?
Why are is the breaker panel so small? There is almost no room in there.
Thanks guys, another great vid. What a headache this must have been. But between you's sussed as always . Keep up the good work and of course your standard of workmanship.
I used to be a royal navy cook, I did domestic electrical for my NVQ to the 11th IEE.
Even I can see this is one awful mess that should have never happened.
Who ever did that job shouldn't be allowed near a screwdriver again, or a kitchen for that matter.
a job left like that has a good possibility of killing someone in the future.
its a good job there are good electricians like you around, good vlog
I've heard this from UK sparks on youtube several times, this thing about a neutral having been from another circuit on another RCD, thereby causing the right RCD to be bypassed and the circuit to be backfed via the neutral, several times. It's so odd to me that this is ever done. I mean, if you pinch a neutral from a nearby circuit, why not take ground and live from the same circuit? Is it common that houses are wired with unsheated wires, so that it's quite easy when you don't have instruments to measure with to mistake one for another, and end up with backfed circuits?
Here in Sweden, whether you're doing wiring in walls or extending a circuit on the outside of walls, the only place where you're allowed to have single-insulated wires is inside connection spaces, i.e. in boxes or inside light fixtures. There's virtually no chance that even a terminally unqualified person could cause this sort of issue here.
What's more, it's very rare to have more than a couple of RCD's here. Beyond the first that serves all sockets, lights, hob and what have you, you only ever install additional ones for very specific circuits, i.e. heater and fridge/freezer. It's very restricted how an installation is supposed to be segmented. Having half a house on one RCD and the other half on another is never done, even if the installation in question is huge.
Blinding video Nick/ Adam. Thanks for the continued knowledge bro! 👊🏽
Great video sorting out the mess left by someone who should never be allowed to touch electrics. Well done
I would let them touch electrics.. left hand on line, right hand on neutral while standing in wet socks on a 33kVA substation…
Looks like a classic EU (Greek, Spanish, Italian, Maltese, polish) install to me. Having said that I would walk away I would not touch that with a barge pole......not enough 3 phase for me.
Young guys taking it seriously. Well done guys.
WTAF has been going on here! It’s a shame Dave Savery couldn’t be there to see it, the air would have been blue! 😂
Even worse than what we found when gutting prior to refitting our 1930s semi in 2014. Since realised that lots of home owners actually want cowboy builder to do cowboy electrics at minimal cost - even rejecting proper quotes from proper pros. They just want it covered up so out of sight and out of mind. Not talking about buy to let - it's for raising family in the time bomb!
Similar to what found in daughter's ex-council maisonette a three years ago - 3 or 4 eras of 'electrical work' by council since original superb building in late 1950s - with all subsequent coal dust, sawdust, loose cables, light fittings, etc still under first floor boards.
would it not be easier to just disconnect every fitting, and reconnect properly?
I had the misfortune of having to fit some of those LAP downlights. What a load of old shit! No terminal for the CPC to maintain continuity and you can't wire directly into them with T&E without having conductors exposed outside the enclosure.
To install it like this is probably a skill in it's own right. I couldn't do it if I tried. 😀😁😂 When you see this sort of thing I often what's inside their heads. Be interesting to interview them.
I'd say this is beyond a cowboy job 😮😮😮
Was harder to do it wrong 😑 from a gas engineer 2.5 ring, 1.5 radial for lights no copper showing and sleeve cpc 🎣
Videos like this are why if ever a builder, kitchen/bathroom fitter says they can sort the electrics, I tell them to jog on.
How people can get away with that? Shocking! Also I've noticed no one has mentioned those downlights are not fire rated. Might be worth swapping them out when you go back.
Hell, what a complete mess you have been left to sort out, unbelievable. I’m amazed you can make any sense of that mess to even begin to put it right. Well done, stunning work. 👍👍👍
isolate, rip it out and start from scratch.
Jeez that work would give cowboys a bad name ….
To my understanding: the Matt-e device is a PEN fault detector and not a car charger itself. These are for those chargers which don't have it inbuilt.
On that note, why do you not fit car chargers Nick?
Nick doesn’t fit car chargers because people in Stafford are sensible and drive real cars! Only the milk man has an electric vehicle!
So when you get a light fitting without an earth connection what should you do with the earth wire ?
Well done for sorting out that mess you guys are legends builder needs a slap
why they don't use PVC pipes for cabling in UK?
OMG ! I appreciate I’m coming late to this. But good idea to do a one day check
I think this is one I’d walk away from. Just where do you start with that bodge job. The customer just isn’t going to pay for the weeks of work to fix this
Nick Bundy Investigates. Could be a TV show. Well done sorting the mess guys . Good learning for Adam also.
Hi mate I watch all your videos.. I'm a joiner in Scotland... This is absolutely disgusting to see this idiot is playing with people's lives... As they say in Scotland every man to there own... BTW how can you possibly price a job like this 🤷♂️
Nick definitely has a passion or atleast a place for electrian(saw his little electric symbol tattoo on his thumb).
People just don't care do they, the electricals in this video looked like noodles hanging everywhere after a chef cooked but, couldn't be bothered to clean his kitchen.
When ever I go to work at a property with an extension (of any kind) new kitchen or bathroom or any new building work i’m always expecting ruff electrical work. I’d like to say nothing surprises me anymore but then something does!
You're right. Nearly all new extensions , kitchens have some sort of bodge and unfinished work . People seem to accept this and just use it as a finished job.
how often does the stagecoach come thru. and were did he tie up his horse .
If your going to be chucking some conduit in for the hob why not chuck some 1-1.5mm in there as well to do the underfloor heating,must be better than it hanging off the oven circuit.O and adam,to save you reaching for yer phone every time you wanna roughly work out your amps and kilowatts, just multiply your kw by 4 and youll be close enuff
The wiring is a good bit different than here in the US . New England
Dudes huge red flag when a job is left like that. I hope the client payed you out properly.
Do sparks ever do anything other than put other sparks work right 🤔
That be builder is 10th edition. If it works or can be made to work...
Call me lazy but I just don't have the patient to sort out that mess. I was wondering why there was two holes so close, forgot about the smoke alarm.
That cooker hob oven combo fantastic. How can someone not be able to do math for load calculations.?
Customers who go for the cheap quote and combined job...
Or did they just say that as it was DIY.
What a mess to have to fix because someone hacked it up. Whomever the person was that did this if they are a licensed electrician that license needs to be taken away period. I'd guess they didn't have a license to do any electrical work at all and they should be fined to the point they never ever try to do wiring like this ever again. How any of this actually works and don't trip all the breakers is just flat amazing.
Nick and Adam , top job again lads , great video. That cowboy should be exposed as that is just dangerous in my opinion as nick said with kids . That customer once its complete the correct way will be so grateful and will be a customer for life . Well done again lads setting the standards 💪