Has this consumer unit been installed correctly?

[danny199]

Hello,

Had a sparky install a new consumer unit, has it been done correctly. Bare in mind the chap cut corners on other bits of work he was contracted to do.

 

[westward10]

That is a seriously rough job. The connections of those conductors is dire.

 

[danny199]

Just me looking at it, as a non-sparky thought it looked a bit off.

What should it look like?

 

[westward10]

Like this.

 

[westward10]

The person that fitted yours is totally unskilled. Have you been given Certification.

 

[Cid]

Eww so much green and copper

 

[Cid]

How much did you pay for this service? Quite often this is the result of the customer cutting costs. You get what you pay for.

 

[danny199]

No, and originally he was going to come back and do some more stuff. I contacted him and he said he will sort certificate etc when he comes back. I don't think I want him back.

I didn't think that the copper wires should be showing like that.

How much will it cost to fix this to you think?

 

[DPG]

Has he done any testing?

 

[westward10]

How much did you pay for this service? Quite often this is the result of the customer cutting costs. You get what you pay for.

That is no excuse you either carry out a professional job or you don't.

 

[Taylortwocities]

The work done needs to be certified as being compliant with the relevant standards. The work also must be notified to the local authority. This should be done by the person doing the work.

 

[westward10]

No, and originally he was going to come back and do some more stuff. I contacted him and he said he will sort certificate etc when he comes back. I don't think I want him back.

I didn't think that the copper wires should be showing like that.

How much will it cost to fix this to you think?

I could rip all that out and reinstall in a couple of hours. Then it requires a full test so 3 to 5 hours.

 

[danny199]

How much did you pay for this service? Quite often this is the result of the customer cutting costs. You get what you pay for.

This cheapo customer paid £500 for a new consumer unit, 3 new plug sockets and moving two ceiling lights.

 

[telectrix]

This cheapo customer paid £500 for a new consumer unit, 3 new plug sockets and moving two ceiling lights.

that is about the right sort of price to have the job done properly, not like that. might be worthwhile contacting Trading Standards.

also see if he's registered with niceic or one of the other schemes. if so, report him to them.

 

[Taylortwocities]

Probably about right, if the work is done properly and completed correctly.
You might expect certificates for the minor works carried out as well.
Was this artisan a member of any of the competent person schemes? He/she should be.
You should be able to find them here
Home - http://www.electricalcompetentperson.co.uk

 

[danny199]

Member of NAPIT. Called earlier. Asked for postcode of the chap. Said "that postcode sounds familiar, did you call the other day?". Didn't make me feel confident.

 

[Michael J]

How much did you pay for this service? Quite often this is the result of the customer cutting costs. You get what you pay for.

That’s no excuse for poor workmanship

 

[Michael J]

How much did you pay for this service? Quite often this is the result of the customer cutting costs. You get what you pay for.

That’s no excuse for poor workmanship

 

[davesparks]

This cheapo customer paid £500 for a new consumer unit, 3 new plug sockets and moving two ceiling lights.

Sounds a bit cheap to me, but not ridiculously so.

 

[Wilko]

Hi - it’s compulsory that all the connections are properly made with good workmanship and materials. And it’s nice to be neat. Mostly these things will all go together. So, in my view the poor looking terminations in the board are all suspect. I’d just rebuild and retest. The other work may need looking into as well, just saying.

 

[danny199]

Just pulled up the floorboard to see this... not sure if this is ok.

 

[westward10]

Oh dear. You want to be sending these pics to NAPIT. I dread to think what else he had done.

 

[telectrix]

i'd send the pics to "Professional Electrician" magazine as well. they're asking for hall of shame pics.

 

[Dustydazzler]

OP

Is that the 'before' picture ?

 

[Marcus Vaughan]

Sounds a bit cheap to me, but not ridiculously so.

Hmmmm. I’ve just come across a CU much worse than this on an EICR. It’s a new customer so I quoted £400 for a new consumer unit, new bonding, a couple of hours of other remedial work. The £400 fee included the EICR which took much of a day. He’s knocked me back - saying I should do it all for £350.
Stalemate because I’ve already done the EICR. My bad. Lessons learnt. He hasn’t got his ‘Satisfactory’ EICR and I’m out of pocket - but that’s another story.

My point is that my ‘customer’ (the landlord by the way), has, I suspect, paid a very low amount for a rewire and CU only a few years ago (harmonised colours). The work is appalling. He called me in when he realised there was no earthing or certs. He went for the lowest quote and got John Wayne. I did think it might have been done by a competent electrician who just got fed up with haggling and walked off the job. I doubt it though, because it was done so badly - we are obliged to leave everything in a safe state no matter which way the customer relations is going.

Back to this post - I would do this job for £500, properly, and be happy.

No excuse for the amount of copper showing at every connection. Crazy - and it makes me wonder if everything is tight and whether prongs of busbars are on the right side of MCB clamps etc. Just does not inspire confidence.

 

[Dustydazzler]

No excuse for a connector block / tape joint these days....

5 quid for a MF box is all it requires

 

[Dustydazzler]

£500 is cheap for a board change with EICR

In my neck of the woods you are looking at £600-650

 

[Marcus Vaughan]

Just pulled up the floorboard to see this... not sure if this is ok.

View attachment 49369

Definitely not!

 

[telectrix]

this is how it should look

 

[Marcus Vaughan]

this is how it should look

Not tried those yet. Recommended?

 

[telectrix]

Not tried those yet. Recommended?

brilliant. that's a 3 way splitter, up to 1.5mm but they're working on a 2.5mm version. the other one is a feed in, switch line, and load out for light switching. beauty of them is , no earth sleeving, just strip and push in.

 

[Dustydazzler]

brilliant. that's a 3 way splitter, up to 1.5mm but they're working on a 2.5mm version. the other one is a feed in, switch line, and load out for light switching. beauty of them is , no earth sleeving, just strip and push in.

Can they be taken off and re-used ?

 

[Spoon]

Can they be taken off and re-used ?

If I remember correctly, they come with an extraction tool... So, Yes.

 

[The Ghost]

You can just pull them back out with your hands quite easily, in fact as easily as using the extraction tool. Thay are brilliant and do a switch wire version. Literally 30 secs and you have done a switch wire MF junction which is small enough to push into the average hole left by a ceiling rose.

 

[Marcus Vaughan]

:bananas:

brilliant. that's a 3 way splitter, up to 1.5mm but they're working on a 2.5mm version. the other one is a feed in, switch line, and load out for light switching. beauty of them is , no earth sleeving, just strip and push in.

Cool. I’m gonna get me some.

 

[Michael J]

Oh dear. You want to be sending these pics to NAPIT. I dread to think what else he had done.

 

[MJPD29]

Like this.View attachment 49368

Good neat board, never fitted a single phase Schneider board but just noticed the neutral is on the left. Have you got a pick without bus bar cover on? Just out of interest

 

[westward10]

Good neat board, never fitted a single phase Schneider board but just noticed the neutral is on the left. Have you got a pick without bus bar cover on? Just out of interest

Thank you. No pic without the cover but is a weird set-up as the busbars from the bottom of the main switch cross over each other, seems a bizarre thing to do.

 

[Charlie_]

Those BG boards are currently for sale at screw fix, fully populated with 5 double sockets... £60...

I can’t get my head round why these numpties do such poor work..
To do the job in that haphazard manner must take 5 times longer than methodically dressing everything in prim n proper

 

[MJPD29]

This really is a butchered job how can someone leave it like that I feel an urge to re do it

 

[danny199]

Why NAPIT?

i'd send the pics to "Professional Electrician" magazine as well. they're asking for hall of shame pics.

At least it's good for something.

 

[danny199]

This really is a butchered job how can someone leave it like that I feel an urge to re do it

Feel free to pop round. As much tea and biscuits as you want .

 

[MJPD29]

Feel free to pop round. As much tea and biscuits as you want .

That would involve me flying or getting a boat if your in Essex! But change the tea to beer and it's a game changer

 

[Dustydazzler]

This really is a butchered job how can someone leave it like that I feel an urge to re do it

I have been know to do this

Imo your consumer unit neatness is the window to your work

If you can’t get a simple consumer unit looking neat then your in the wrong business or simply don’t give a sh%t

 

[MJPD29]

I have been know to do this

Imo your consumer unit neatness is the window to your work

If you can’t get a simple consumer unit looking neat then your in the wrong business or simply don’t give a sh%t

I agree generally if I see a messy consumer unit the rest of the installation tends to follow suit

 

[ferg]

Mine aren't as neat as some of the ones members post up in here but I do make some effort.

But if they looked like this one I'd sack myself and find something to do that I was good at.

 

[peterhyper]

Thanks for the info on the quickwire boxes I didn't even know they existed, so I have ordered some from superlec who seem to be the cheapest.

 

[Midwest]

I’m a Wagos Connexbox man myself.

 

[Richard Williams]

That would never pass the 'finger' test.
There is a reason for the insulating strip covering the bottom buss bar

 

[SteveF]

My apprentices would do a better looking, better functioning and tested installation than that. It's really not up to snuff. Dangerous? Not by glancing at it but it certainly needs to be tested and certified. If the installer is a hopeful amateur then you won't be able to have confidence that his knowledge of conductor routing, rating factors, cable selection, cable sizing, protective device selection etc etc is correct. It's why it takes a long time to make a good sparks.