Rewire - house not earthed/neutralised

Hannaho

My sister had her house rewired - also extension work done - which is another issue. The cost of the renovation project, including rewire was 130k. However, 6 weeks after the builder handed over the keys, my sister got another electrician, not related to the builder, to come and hang lights for her. The new electrician came, took a look at the fuse board and meter, and said he couldn't hang any lights or do anything in the house, as the house wasn't earthed, and there was a problem with the neutral wire also. He also said the seal on the electricity meter was broken - my sister didn't know what the significance of this was. This new electrician said it was illegal; he also said that my sister should have had a RECI Cert and the ESB out before this to inspect the rewire, the builder had not mentioned the RECI Cert or ESB coming to inspect, until this new electrician phoned him, in my sister's presence, and said the wiring wasn't safe, house not earthed etc. The builder came the next day and said the issue was sorted, but my sister lost faith in him, and informed Safe Electric anyway. They are now coming out to inspect the property. Builder now says he is trying to get RECI Cert, but is threatening my sister and the New Electrician that when he gets the RECI CERT, he will take matters further with both of them. What can he take further, he was clearly in the wrong? The New Electrician said anyone of her family could have had an accident because of the way the wiring was left. Is earthing and the neutral wire as important as he said - I understand the very basics of it, as does my sister. The New Electrician said also that there should have been smoke alarms in every room downstairs as per new regulations but there was only one in the hallway - is this true also?

Gumbo

Not afire about he wiring problems but the extra smoke detectors are the new IS3218/ TGD Part B (Fire Safety) Regulations, they cannot force every house to comply with new regs when they come out.

Of course it would have been nice to add them if getting a substantial refurb done but in my opinion it would be an extra above the minimum on an existing dwelling.

Metric Tensor

"He will take matters further with both of them ..."


Bullish1t

If the problem is solved, as he says, then safe electric will say the house is safe and he can thank his lucky stars that your sister isn't suing the hole off him.

If on the other hand it's still not safe it's your sister who will be taking matters further.

Most tradesmen and professionals have a degree of professional respect between them - if your new electrician thought it was so bad that he had to ring the builder in your sister's presence it must have been really bad!!

MackMack

Was the original electrician RECI certified? A quick search on the RECI site will tell you if you know his name.

SemperFidelis

Restricted Works are defined by Section 9E(1) of the Energy (Miscellaneous) Provisions Act 2006, which specifies that Restricted Works are those works that only a Registered Electrical Contractor can carry out. Any non-REC carrying out Restricted Works will be guilty of an offence.



Restricted Electrical Works cover:
1. the installation, commissioning, inspection and testing of a new Electrical Installation which is fixed, fastened or mounted or otherwise secured so that its position does not change and requires connection or re-connection to the distribution network or the transmission network, as the case may be;
2. the modification, installation or replacement of a Distribution Board including customer tails on either side of the Main Protective Device or of an Electrical Installation in any of the special locations listed in Part 7 of the National Rules for Electrical Installations, as the case may be;
3. the installation or replacement of one or more circuits in an Electrical Installation, including the installation of one or more additional protective devices for such circuits on a Distribution Board; or
4. the inspection, testing or certification of, or reporting on, existing Electrical Installations covered by Chapter 62 of the National Rules for Electrical Installations;
in a Domestic Property.



If he's not registered then he should be worried.

Hannaho

Yes, the original electrician was a registered electrician. Just a further update today is that the earth rod was broken, and there was no neutral wire, and the bonding was very poor - I understand the basics, but not sure of the implications of all this for my sister. Also, the original electrician and building contractor are saying that their men didn't break the seal on the meter, though they were there for six months renovating the house. My sister made the point that she didn't find out the seal was broken or know the significance of it, until the new electrician had come around to put up the lights, and that if she had broken the seal on the meter herself, as the building contractor seems to be suggesting, that she would not have employed a registered electrical contractor to put up lights, knowing that the electrician would need to turn off the power at the fuse box to put up the lights, and would then see that there was no seal on the meter. My sister made the point to the building contractor that if he had carried out the checks on the rewire and got the RECI Cert before handing over he keys and not being caught out 6 weeks later, that these issues might never have arisen. Stressful for my sister - but it's only one of three issues with the Contractor and her Engineer who is a friend of the Contractor. Thanks to all of you for your replies.