Discuss Consumer unit in the UK Electrical Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

Call andy today no delay the diligent spark , 30 year guarantee, they defo wont believe you
I don't give a 30 year guarantee, my quotes do not even mention a guarantee.
Just simply that I'm confident enough of my own standards to not have to worry about if failing after 12 months.
I'm sorry that you feel you can't say the same about your work.
 
Never thought about it much , and when I did I came to conclusion that electrical equipment normally lasts a long time, it's robust enough
 
You will know if it's a mistake that you made, think about it, if you're called to a fault years later then it's not going to be down to you. What on earth could that fault be all those years later.

If you installed correctly then terminals working their way loose will not be down to you, so chargeable.

That's right.

So there you go, it hasn't happened to me either and probably no one else on this forum that does the work diligently.

So I ask the question, why would you try to discharge all responsibility for your workmanship a year and a day after installing it?
There's not much more that I can add to what I have already said Andy. Consumer units get mucked around with. As you say, after years pass any fault isn't going to be my fault, so a long guarantee is pointless, and probably misleading to many.
 
If you installed correctly then terminals working their way loose will not be down to you, so chargeable.
I can't agree with your comment and the "lifetime" workmanship guarantee you claim
From experience all terminals work loose over time no matter how diligently they are tightened during installation.
With copper creep you can torque a terminal and 10 minutes later you can re-torque it and it will tighten a little bit more
It is not unusual to find terminals that are not as tight as they should be on a 2 year PPM or a 5 year EICR so without a regular maintenance visit yes problems can and will occur
 
IMO workman ship has a lifetime guarantee as long as regular EICRS are done and the installation isn’t abused or miss used. Lifetime being 25years.

and any works done after your works becomes the responsibility of next installer.

any existing materials (including cables and conductors) re used are not part of that guarantee.

who ever supplies new materials holds the guarantee on them. I normally extend any guarantee I give on materials to 3 years. but mark up is essential to make this Viable.

That’s reasonable.
 
I can't agree with your comment and the "lifetime" workmanship guarantee you claim
From experience all terminals work loose over time no matter how diligently they are tightened during installation.
With copper creep you can torque a terminal and 10 minutes later you can re-torque it and it will tighten a little bit more
It is not unusual to find terminals that are not as tight as they should be on a 2 year PPM or a 5 year EICR so without a regular maintenance visit yes problems can and will occur

Especially if the terminals are subjected to any thermal stress the heating and cooling/expansion contraction will loosen them.
This totally misses the point and it's getting a bit tedious now.

What's so hard to understand about workmanship???

Of course terminals can loosen over time, if the termanitations were made correctly then that’s fine, you've done the job correctly so what’s the problem? You’re not guaranteeing the job itself forever.

Let me give you an example then I’m out of here.

You do a rewire, a couple of years later you get a call from your client asking to come and look at an issue he has with the rcd tripping. You investigate and discover that you nicked a cable with a screw when refitting the floorboards and it’s just showing now. You sort it and leave.

Now, that was my fault, I did this and I’m responsible, I would not charge. This is 2 years later so you guys would, Now what do you do? Do you come up with some cock and bull story such as ‘this happens over time guv, them there screw move due to harmonics and go through cables on their own £100 please’? Or do you say ‘that’s my fault, I screwed through a cable but it’s over 12 months later so pay up’?

That’s me done with this thread.
 
This totally misses the point and it's getting a bit tedious now.

What's so hard to understand about workmanship???

Of course terminals can loosen over time, if the termanitations were made correctly then that’s fine, you've done the job correctly so what’s the problem? You’re not guaranteeing the job itself forever.

Let me give you an example then I’m out of here.

You do a rewire, a couple of years later you get a call from your client asking to come and look at an issue he has with the rcd tripping. You investigate and discover that you nicked a cable with a screw when refitting the floorboards and it’s just showing now. You sort it and leave.

Now, that was my fault, I did this and I’m responsible, I would not charge. This is 2 years later so you guys would, Now what do you do? Do you come up with some cock and bull story such as ‘this happens over time guv, them there screw move due to harmonics and go through cables on their own £100 please’? Or do you say ‘that’s my fault, I screwed through a cable but it’s over 12 months later so pay up’?

That’s me done with this thread.
No-one suggested that in specific circumstances where they knew that they had been at fault that they wouldn't rectify it, even after the year. This does not mean that it is sensible to commit in writing to more than a year's warranty on labour, however. I'm a decent person and wouldn't check the calendar for a decent customer who had an issue where it was clear that it was something which was pre-existing. (That said, I'm careful not to leave issues!) But I certainly won't tie myself in knots by guaranteeing beyond a year subject to statutory rights. It's not sensible as a business to do that in my opinion.
 
This totally misses the point and it's getting a bit tedious now.

What's so hard to understand about workmanship???

Of course terminals can loosen over time, if the termanitations were made correctly then that’s fine, you've done the job correctly so what’s the problem? You’re not guaranteeing the job itself forever.

Let me give you an example then I’m out of here.

You do a rewire, a couple of years later you get a call from your client asking to come and look at an issue he has with the rcd tripping. You investigate and discover that you nicked a cable with a screw when refitting the floorboards and it’s just showing now. You sort it and leave.

Now, that was my fault, I did this and I’m responsible, I would not charge. This is 2 years later so you guys would, Now what do you do? Do you come up with some cock and bull story such as ‘this happens over time guv, them there screw move due to harmonics and go through cables on their own £100 please’? Or do you say ‘that’s my fault, I screwed through a cable but it’s over 12 months later so pay up’?

That’s me done with this thread.
In this example, I would put my hand up, fix it and make no charge. But not a great example as either I'm using ridiculously long screws, or it's a blatant non compliance as the cables are <50mm under the floor. It is clear that the fault is mine.

Let's change the example to "RCD tripping, the cables under the floor are damaged, but it's unclear how they were damaged".

Within 12 months, it's a fair bet that the damage occurred on installation, and it was my fault. After 12 years, I would say it was possible, but unlikely that the damage was there from the start. At some point between the 2 dates, the fault has gone from being my responsibility, to not being my responsibility. When exactly is this cut off point?

With a lifetime guarantee, there is no cut off point, and, after 12 years, my customer may reasonably argue that I should fix the above FOC.

With a 12 month guarantee, everyone knows where they stand. I fix all faults with the installation free of charge, be they due to failing materials or poor workmanship, unless it's clear that the problem was caused by rats or the plumber. After that date, I can still fix any problems that I feel are my fault, at my discretion.
 
Well I’ve definitely ruffled a few feathers here amongst those in the trade but it certainly wasn’t my intention and unlike some who have assumed I want a lifetime guarantee it’s far from the truth. Nothing nowadays lasts for more than 10 years unless you’re lucky.
The analogy with a car repair isn’t that far from the truth in one respect - it’s done either to be roadworthy again or to simply pass an MOT but not necessarily done with any sense of professionalism nor rigour. With respect we’re talking about something slightly different for which I don’t have the choice about the ‘garage’ to have this done but ultimately I’m responsible
Still waiting for the agent’s reply after a month - maybe I’m just a moaner who should cough up whatever the consequences. Anyone who demands their rights is seen oddly in a negative sense nowadays
 
Well after nearly two months and after following it up I finally managed to prise a NAPIT compliance certificate via the agents. I suppose this is about as much as I can expect as it at least puts in black and white that I'm covered for 6 years even if the contractor goes out of business. Thanks for all your imput - varying opinions but it's nice to know there are serious people out there even if you don't all agree !
 
A 6 year warranty that's long enough for 2 regs amendments to be issued and possibly even a new edition and have a non compliant consumer unit
 

Reply to Consumer unit in the UK Electrical Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

Similar Threads

Ok, most new Consumer unit seem to come with a 63A RCCB and two MCBs. Most house consumer units now will also have RCD of some type be it a dual...
Replies
24
Views
1K
Hi all, what is the best way to configure surge protection in domestic dwellings when you have multiple consumer units? Does each consumer unit...
Replies
21
Views
5K
Hi I have a job where customer has two families one families lives upstairs and one family will live downstairs. As the property is going through...
Replies
12
Views
770
Hi all! I'm not a spark but know enough to be able to install off grid solar etc. I've just purchased a new house and have noticed the consumer...
Replies
30
Views
5K
Hello, Is there an actual age limit on house wiring that would prevent a traditional fuse box being replaced with a consumer unit please...
Replies
8
Views
1K

OFFICIAL SPONSORS

Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Electrician Courses Green Electrical Goods PCB Way Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Pushfit Wire Connectors Electric Underfloor Heating Electrician Courses
These Official Forum Sponsors May Provide Discounts to Regular Forum Members - If you would like to sponsor us then CLICK HERE and post a thread with who you are, and we'll send you some stats etc

YOUR Unread Posts

This website was designed, optimised and is hosted by untold.media Operating under the name Untold Media since 2001.
Back
Top
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Sure, ad-blocking software does a great job at blocking ads, but it also blocks useful features of our website. For the best site experience please disable your AdBlocker.

I've Disabled AdBlock