Help please,advice regarding the way electric shower has been wired and left

[noobienoclue]

Hi people, as title says, my local council has been installing new kitchens and bathrooms, all electrical cable was fitted at the start of the build (4 weeks ago) The plumber put shower on the wall last week, next morning electrician came to my door saying " you've got a problem with your shower, the cables in the wrong place" This was news to me as nothing was mentioned by the plumber. Electrician came in had a look and said he wasn't fixing it as it wasn't him that done it (thanks, why bother coming to my door then) So anyway after a number of phone calls and days later 2 electricians appear at the door yesterday, after all of 10 minutes leave saying "that's you shower on" this is how they've left it ( im trying to upload photo, but cant seem to) Can someone please tell me if this is correct and acceptable, I've looked at the instruction manual and it shows the wire coming in from behind the shower, not coming in from the left hand side of it, Also it says the shower head should be positioned so that it discharges down the centre line of the bath, it's been fitted to the right hand side of the bath. Now I don't know much about electrics but im always eager to learn, if you look at the pic, what the electrician has done is because the cable was to short, where you see the cable in the photo, he's cut it there and added 3 wires to it,then the 3 wires go to the terminal in the shower.Would I be right in saying "this is a bodge job and really the whole thing needs redone,shower removed and new cable put in the right place,then retiled? thanks for any replies

 

[noobienoclue]

sorry cant upload photo yet as i need 6 posts first

 

[driverman]

just say hi another 5 times

 

[noobienoclue]

aaaarrrrhhhh still cant upload photos

 

[driverman]

sens separate messages on here and not on theads.

 

[oldtimer]

on the quick reply box click go advanced ten up;oad the pic then select it to attach it to a new post

 

[driverman]

Looks like the plumber decided where to fix the shower i.e on the end of existing plumbing. ( I'm guessing though). I'm pretty sure if the electricians had been fist in, possibly the hole in the wall would of been covered with the new fitting. It would of been better if the exact same model was used to replace faulty one.....if still available.

 

[noobienoclue]

there wasn't a shower there, this is all new, the electricians where in first putting new sockets in kitchen putting cable for shower, then tiler came in, then plumber came and put the shower on wall, this is where its at now

 

[driverman]

Bad first fixing then, by one or both trades. Was the shower on site when first fixing carried out? If so it could of been used a template to get the services into the correct positions.

 

[cobrauk]

It will just need another tile replacing that one from what I can see but agreed the first fix was not thought out very well

 

[bartkusal]

A complete bodge, get them back to sort it out, thats unaceptible

 

[Octopus]

welll..... probably not how I would have done it. Did the OP pay for this or the Council?

 

[telectrix]

i had exactly the same done on me. cable installed, shower position marked on wall, then along comes mr. wet-fart and plumbs the shower 12" lower.

 

[Richard Burns]

They haven't even sealed the wall!

 

[noobienoclue]

Bad first fixing then, by one or both trades. Was the shower on site when first fixing carried out? If so it could of been used a template to get the services into the correct positions.

As far as I know both trades where given all measurements before any work started, on the first day of the build I had 2 electricians in as all the sockets in kitchen got moved to new places, they done a bodge job in the kitchen as well, they channelled all the wire and used back boxes for new sockets on 3 walls, but because they where in such a hurry to get out the door, on the 4th wall they didn't bother channelling the wire it was just surfaced mounted with a bit trunking and then 2 surface mounted sockets this was for my cooker, now because they used surface mounted sockets this left my cooker sticking out further than the worktop not to mention the 3-4 inch gap from the wall to the back of cooker, on the second day plumber was in,took old bathroom suite out and put new one in, next day joiners where in to fit new kitchen units, 1 week later painter and decorator arrived done what he had to do, then tiler came in put tiles in kitchen and bathroom, couple of days after that the same plumber came back to fit the shower to the wall and plumb in, the following morning an electrician came to my door saying that I had a problem with the shower and that the cable had been put in the wrong place,this was news to me as plumber never mentioned anything to me,anyway electrician took one look at it and said it wasn't him that done it so he wasn't fixing it and left, exactly 1 week later (yesterday) the 2 electricians that done the work to start with arrive to fix it, 10 minutes later they leave saying "there's your shower on" the cable you see in the pics was to short to come in through the service tunnel and to the terminal in the shower, so they cut it where you see it in the pics and added 3 separate wires onto the cable then to the terminal, personally I think the whole lot needs redone but im not an electrician nor a plumber, this is why im on here for advice to see if this has been done properly and if its acceptable? After all this is the council that's carrying out the work and they like nothing better than cutting corners to save pennys, they've been installing these kitchens and bathrooms for at least 8 years, surely they shouldn't be making mistakes like this, also is the shower head not meant to be inline with the centre of the bath? that's what it says in the user manual

 

[noobienoclue]

welll..... probably not how I would have done it. Did the OP pay for this or the Council?

its the local council that's doing it all

 

[Silly Sausage]

I'd love to read oldtimer's (a very good Edinburgh electrician!) appraisal of the work done in your flat, it sounds appalling, sympathies noobienoclue! :-(

 

[noobienoclue]

They haven't even sealed the wall!

I was told yesterday after the electricians left, that the tiler would be up today, as per usual nobody appeared, and was also assured that the shower is safe to use

 

[Octopus]

Can you post a picky of the joint made to extend the cable?

 

[noobienoclue]

I'd love to read oldtimer's (a very good Edinburgh electrician!) appraisal of the work done in your flat, it sounds appalling, sympathies noobienoclue! :-(

thank you very much, that's really appreciated, its just been one thing after another with them, it gets better, 2 weeks ago today I had to get the gas engineer up as the boiler had lost pressure and wasn't working, I noticed the pressure going down over a couple of days after a radiator was removed from kitchen, gas engineer lifted a floorboard up,noticed there was a leak and was trying to say it was coming from my living room, he also said he didn't have time to fix it and that he would show me how to top the pressure up on boiler, and if I have to keep topping it up over the weekend to phone up again on the Monday, so obviously I had to do this over weekend, phoned repairs direct on the Monday morning, they sent a plumber out who found the leak, IN THE KITCHEN, a nail from a floorboard had hit a pipe! It was just luck that my neighbour under me never got flooded, its absolutely terrible, this is EDINBURGH CITY COUNCIL AT ITS BEST

 

[noobienoclue]

Can you post a picky of the joint made to extend the cable?

here is some pics, also now ive looked at it ive remembered it was actually the electrician that drilled the hole for the plumbing, and as you can see he's put it to the right of the cable, when if im right in saying the hole should have been under the cable? Also ive got a bit wrong the cable hasn't been extended, sorry I couldn't get a proper look this morning.

 

[noobienoclue]

personally I think after everything ive been put through, the amount of cock ups, do you think im being unreasonable by asking to get the job redone?? shower off, tiles off, cable put in right place, new tiles up then shower up in the right place this time??

 

[Octopus]

personally I think after everything ive been put through, the amount of cock ups, do you think im being unreasonable by asking to get the job redone?? shower off, tiles off, cable put in right place, new tiles up then shower up in the right place this time??

Good luck with that request.

You may need to get your wallet out.

 

[specs]

And don't forget to wipe your window ledge down after every shower, looking at the finish on the bit of window I can see in pic 3 you will be suffering from a bit of damp in the very near future, which will soon bring off all those new tiles beneath it, what are your windows made of?. going back to the actual install, its a bodge, no thought given to position of shower head. you are correct in saying that shower head should be central. I would be ashamed to call that install 'mine'. Unit should be more to the side of bath leaving space for head be centralised in bath. Typical council, i'm surprised they didn't run the cable in surface trunking.

 

[leestocks]

This install looks very dangerous. If water can get into the shower enclosure or where the cable have been extended then you are in danger of being electrocuted. I would never of connected this shower. You need to turn the shower off at the local isolation point assuming there is one if not then the breaker and contact the council and the Niceic.

 

[noobienoclue]

And don't forget to wipe your window ledge down after every shower, looking at the finish on the bit of window I can see in pic 3 you will be suffering from a bit of damp in the very near future, which will soon bring off all those new tiles beneath it, what are your windows made of?. going back to the actual install, its a bodge, no thought given to position of shower head. you are correct in saying that shower head should be central. I would be ashamed to call that install 'mine'. Unit should be more to the side of bath leaving space for head be centralised in bath. Typical council, i'm surprised they didn't run the cable in surface trunking.

your spot on with what you've said, ive used the shower once and within a couple of minutes a puddle starts forming in the corner of window ledge then starts to spread half way along the ledge. To be honest all the work has been bodged, every trade has came in and just rushed the job, That's the PROFESSIONAL painter and decorators handy work, paint on every socket,light switch, some sockets are squint, I left the tiler alone for a few hours and came home to my sink all scratched, he had his cutter up on the part where you put your dish rack, there's tiles that stick out further than others, in the first set of pics ive put up you'll notice that in pic 3 the tiles with the border look wonky, that's cause they are as there not in line where they meet in the corner, some people can say im being pernickety, but these people are professionals, and granted its the council and they don't give a ----, but I think the standard should be a bit better than this! :banghead: That smiley sums up how iv felt the last few weeks

 

[telectrix]

i agree. it's totally unacceptable and they should be made to put it right. a call to your local newspaper is in order if you get no luck with the counccil.

 

[Octopus]

i agree. it's totally unacceptable and they should be made to put it right. a call to your local newspaper is in order if you get no luck with the counccil.

Completely agree. Shoddy workmanship by half rate rushed staff and the worse is that the Council clearly don't do any checking on the quality of their sub contractors.

 

[whichone'slive?]

I also agree this is unacceptable. This catalogue of errors would have seen me out the door of my old firm. I was once reprimanded for slightly scratching a nice, shiny new cooker-hob that had just been installed for a customer (I hadn't covered it properly...oops!!...my boss had an eagle's eye as well).

It shows a lack of professionalism and pride in one's work.

 

[SPARTYKUS]

Local papers works. Good luck.

 

[noobienoclue]

Completely agree. Shoddy workmanship by half rate rushed staff and the worse is that the Council clearly don't do any checking on the quality of their sub contractors.

Theses are all tradesmen that work for the council only, the only sub contractors where the company who do the flooring, we have a resident liaison officer and team manager who where meant to be on site most days to visit us periodically to check the work standards and discuss any issues, both of them have only been in my house once when I had the issue with the wall mounted sockets behind the cooker, trying to get hold of the rlo has been a nightmare, she was of for a week, when you phone up you get pushed from pillar to post and keep repeating yourself over and over to the next person they put you through to, I was told that they get paid by the job this is obviously why they rush so they can move on to the next house, still doesn't excuse the shady workmanship.

 

[noobienoclue]

I also agree this is unacceptable. This catalogue of errors would have seen me out the door of my old firm. I was once reprimanded for slightly scratching a nice, shiny new cooker-hob that had just been installed for a customer (I hadn't covered it properly...oops!!...my boss had an eagle's eye as well).

It shows a lack of professionalism and pride in one's work.

This is exactly what iv noticed and said from day one, that none of them seem to take any pride in the work that they do whatsoever.

 

[noobienoclue]

Local papers works. Good luck.

I have seriously been thinking about contacting local news paper over the last few days, but have doubts as to weather they would be interested, you guys have been the only ones interested and have shown compassion, which is very much appreciated and I thank everyone that has took the time to read and comment, cheers everyone

 

[noobienoclue]

I have another question people, before the work was carried out the house was all earth bonded, now the work has been done (if you can call it done) nothing has been bonded, I asked the electrician about this and his reply was " it doesn't need done as your new consumer unit is a good one" Is this correct?

 

[trev]

The bonding situation is possibly correct, subject to certain provisos supplementary bonding can be omitted. As far as the shower goes though, there should be a site office, go there and ask to speak to the project manager and don't be fobbed off. There will possibly be a clerk of works who inspects and accepts the work on completion, if your CoW is anything like some of them that I've come across he'll take one look at that and demand it be put right.
Don't put up with this crap! Fight the power!

 

[KAS1]

Just ring the council and either 1, tell them you can smell burning coming from the shower or 2, you received an electric shock................................. That will make them react............

 

[noobienoclue]

The bonding situation is possibly correct, subject to certain provisos supplementary bonding can be omitted. As far as the shower goes though, there should be a site office, go there and ask to speak to the project manager and don't be fobbed off. There will possibly be a clerk of works who inspects and accepts the work on completion, if your CoW is anything like some of them that I've come across he'll take one look at that and demand it be put right.
Don't put up with this crap! Fight the power!

Thanks very much for your reply, I have a feeling that they are going to try and just put a tile at the shower, or some sealant, but im going to demand it gets fixed properly, to how it should have been in the first place, like ive said its been one ---- up after another, and the fact that not one person has respected my house, and that ive cleaned up after them, which I don't mind if they've done a good job, and that in a letter I received it stated that they must clean up after themselves, the joiners cleaned a little bit, by sweeping all the sawdust and cut off bits of wood and then hiding it all under the units behind the plinths the cheeky fooks!!

 

[trev]

To be honest with you Nobbie that's just about par for the course on council jobs. I was on one a while back and was disgusted at how the subbies treated the properties. Fair enough it's not your house, but it is your home. Some of the directly employed council guys weren't much better.

 

[noobienoclue]

Just ring the council and either 1, tell them you can smell burning coming from the shower or 2, you received an electric shock................................. That will make them react............

That's a good idea, I would have to say something like that, if I phoned up now to report it, cause its out of working hours it has to be an emergency, they would turn round and say "its not an emergency and if the electrician left it like how it is then it must be safe to use" The Edinburgh council are a total nightmare, if you have no hot water and no heating they don't class it as an emergency, ive been in that situation before and they wouldn't send anyone out.

 

[trev]

Chances are if you ring them now they'll send someone out who will just isolate the shower and walk out. Project manager/ Clerk of works/ local papers with a "this is the standard of work" story are your ways forward imho.

 

[noobienoclue]

To be honest with you Nobbie that's just about par for the course on council jobs. I was on one a while back and was disgusted at how the subbies treated the properties. Fair enough it's not your house, but it is your home. Some of the directly employed council guys weren't much better.

Oh don't I know it, Its all council workers that's been doing it, the only sub contractors is the flooring company.

 

[trev]

The Mears sanatogen rewire squad (one a day every day) were truly disgusting when I subbed for them.

 

[noobienoclue]

Chances are if you ring them now they'll send someone out who will just isolate the shower and walk out. Project manager/ Clerk of works/ local papers with a "this is the standard of work" story are your ways forward imho.

That's exactly what I think would happen, i'll be phoning first thing tomorrow morning as I want my liaison officer and project manager to come to my house and look at the work. I don't think there on holiday tomorrow as they've already been off twice this month (6th and 20th)

 

[trev]

Let us know how you get on mate.

 

[noobienoclue]

Let us know how you get on mate.

Will do, thanks trev and everyone else who has replied, cheers people.

 

[SPARTYKUS]

Yeah just ring them & mention the shock & something about Atrial fibrulation. That should do it.

 

[SPARTYKUS]

Not allowed to say who or where, as it was part of the settlement (im not supposedmto know) but the council erroneously cut my mums tree down once at the back ofmthe garden. They even eventually admitted ( after amlong protracted and stressful fight by my mum, withs legal rep) that they had screwed up. Would they replace the 30 foot tree? Would they eck.

my sisters boyfriends sisters husband happened to be a top lawyer that lead in winning for things just like this - he did it for free and wiped the court with them.

My mum was " chuh ching"

sorry about spurious letters, blinking ipad keyboard

 

[noobienoclue]

Hi guys, just a quick update to let yous know what's happening, tiler appeared at the door yesterday saying he had been told to just put up a new tile where the hole is, I told him I wasn't letting him do it, 1) I was just going out the door to dentist appointment, 2) Im not happy with him just doing that and I would rather wait as I want the team manager and my resident liaison officer to come and have a look at the standard of the work. Got a missed call from my RLO this morning, left a message saying she wanted to talk to me and left a number for me to phone back, ive been phoning every half hour, cant get her as it just rings and doesn't go onto an answering machine like its supposed to. The tiler was practically saying he was getting the blame for it, I personally don't think he's to blame.

 

[specs]

You are correct, he is not to blame , having said that, was he meant to tile around the window reveal and ledge, because that should have been tiled/grouted and silicone sealed before any water was allowed anywhere near that window opening. Back to the install, the tiler has tiled and left a small opening for cable and water supply around these points, exactly as he/she is supposed to do , as is normal. he /she didn't plan this install, it was already done before tiler arrived on the scene ok he/she could have cut tiles to fit closer to entry point of said cable and pipe, however plumber /electrician should have noticed this when plumbing/installing/wiring said unit and rectified or reported this Or had a quick word with tiler to fill said hole with grout/silicone Or they could have requested that tile be removed and re-cut before shower unit was installed, thus eliminating possible ingress of water. Of course they didn't, they are probably on price work and were 20 flats away by the time you noticed it. This whole bodge is down to the person who planned the shower install and the contractor/s who agreed and carried out this typical council bodge. The council don't care if it looks ugly and will only last 6 months, as long as they can fill in a form to say 'property upgraded ', They Just Don't Care.

 

[noobienoclue]

You are correct, he is not to blame , having said that, was he meant to tile around the window reveal and ledge, because that should have been tiled/grouted and silicone sealed before any water was allowed anywhere near that window opening. Back to the install, the tiler has tiled and left a small opening for cable and water supply around these points, exactly as he/she is supposed to do , as is normal. he /she didn't plan this install, it was already done before tiler arrived on the scene ok he/she could have cut tiles to fit closer to entry point of said cable and pipe, however plumber /electrician should have noticed this when plumbing/installing/wiring said unit and rectified or reported this Or had a quick word with tiler to fill said hole with grout/silicone Or they could have requested that tile be removed and re-cut before shower unit was installed, thus eliminating possible ingress of water. Of course they didn't, they are probably on price work and were 20 flats away by the time you noticed it. This whole bodge is down to the person who planned the shower install and the contractor/s who agreed and carried out this typical council bodge. The council don't care if it looks ugly and will only last 6 months, as long as they can fill in a form to say 'property upgraded ', They Just Don't Care.

Hi there, I think I know where your talking about (what you can see in photo 3) To be honest I don't know if it was meant to get tiled, probably not, Ive got the RLO and team manager coming up in an hour which I thinks going to be a waste of time, when I was talking to the RLO yesterday, how they're really looking at is, 1) the showers working, 2) We can put a tile up and that will cover the hole, 3) So why have I got a problem with it? Toatlly disregarding the fact that its been installed incorrectly, because they don't think it has been installed incorrectly for the reasons given above.