Have a major problem

[james stas]

Hi guys, i'm not an electrician ,I'm a builder.

a month ago we had an electrician in first fixing, after he left some capping fell off and i put it back on with a nail. turns out i nicked the cable but it wasnt live until yesterday when he second fixed the outside light and powered on and left. I wasnt on site but later the customers got a shock from the wall several feet from the cable, the whole wall was live , because it was damp from the plastering i had done (like 3 weeks ago) and i nicked the cable. so its all my fault i am told.

Should this not have been picked up on the insulation resistance test?
And why did the electrics not trip? i mean if i put the nail into the cable today would it trip or would the whole wall be live? i got a severe telling off for putting customers lives at risk but builders sometimes damage hidden cables and it always trips and never in my life have i heard of a whole wall being live like this was.

Please post honest opinions. i need to know if its my fault.

thanks
James

 

[james stas]

forgot to add he just changed the fuseboard also

 

[Pete999]

Hi guys, i'm not an electrician ,I'm a builder.

a month ago we had an electrician in first fixing, after he left some capping fell off and i put it back on with a nail. turns out i nicked the cable but it wasnt live until yesterday when he second fixed the outside light and powered on and left. I wasnt on site but later the customers got a shock from the wall several feet from the cable, the whole wall was live , because it was damp from the plastering i had done (like 3 weeks ago) and i nicked the cable. so its all my fault i am told.

Should this not have been picked up on the insulation resistance test?
And why did the electrics not trip? i mean if i put the nail into the cable today would it trip or would the whole wall be live? i got a severe telling off for putting customers lives at risk but builders sometimes damage hidden cables and it always trips and never in my life have i heard of a whole wall being live like this was.

Please post honest opinions. i need to know if its my fault.

thanks
James

This Electrician that did the first fix, was he the same Electrician who di the 2nd fix and testing and eventually livening up the installation?

 

[james stas]

yes he was the same one

 

[james stas]

how can you test a cable with a nail though it an it passes? and doesnt even trip out the electrics but shocks people 6 feet away through plaster ?

 

[Dave OCD]

He couldn't have been up to much if the capping just fell off the wall. Sounds as though he didn't do the required testing to me as well.

 

[Pete999]

yes he was the same one

Any testing carried out by this bloke? I would suggest he is the one responsible, your repair was the cause, but he should have picked it up during the testing procedure, that is if he did any testing

 

[Dave OCD]

If the problem only shows with the light in question switched on the fault is between the switched live and earth and if said switch was off [which it shouldn't have been] when he tested it wouldn't have shown up. But regardless it should operate the RCD - unless the nail has severed the CPC and there's no continuity on it back to the CU.

 

[westward10]

No guarantee any testing would have highlighted it unless there was a path to earth from the damp plaster say through an earthed metal back box.

 

[Pete999]

Was an Electrical Installation certificate EIC issued