bathroom refit Ask questions and find answers to many subjects relating to electrics and electrical work

[newdanuser]

hi i am new to this so please be kind, i have just had a bathroom refit the fitters moved the shower about two foot to the left, instead of using a new piece of shower cable they used a small length of new cable joined onto the old cable,connected i dont know and tiled over it i dont know if they used any protection on the cable or wether all this is ok so can someone help and tell me if this is ok practice

[kbrownie]

There are methods of joining and extending cables, if the cables are burried and unaccessible they should have been either replaced for a new one piece length or a perment joint made not a connection block or junction box.
Unless your are wanting to remove the tiles or you have an honest fitter you can not be sure which method was used.
He should be part p registered or the work carried notified to Building Controls.

[newdanuser]

hi kbrownie thank you for your reply,i am trying to get a definite anwser to the part about been part p is it law or just a recommendation because i believe because it was extended it should be law that they are a elctrician or competent person,i have asked building control to be present when the electrician replaces cable that is what is going to happen i hope,building control dont seem to know wether they should be part p but say the work didnt need to be notified,i have asked for this to be checked as it was not a straight forward like for like refit,but i am having to keep pushing them to look into it because at hte end of the day if they have done illegal work i want them prosecuted,once again thank you any more help would be grateful

[Dusklights.co.uk]

I would suggest that you immediately go to partp.co.uk and check on the site whether he is part p registered or not. you did not mention whether he has now left and you have paid for the work. He should have left you with a test form with a certificate to follow once the job has gone through building control which he should do

[sparx]

as everything KB says- plus it almost certainly won't comply since they have changed direction of cable run so leaving no indication the cable is not in a 'safe zone' ie not vertically down to the shower.
You may remember where the cable is but a later occupant won't know not to fix a towel hook there!
This is exactly the type of shoddy work that led to 'Part P{ants}' in the first place!
as they have altered the circuit they must have given you a minor works cert which will say who they are registered with and if the refit was done through a retailer ask them about it too,
regards Sparx

P.S. look at projects -electrical-part P

[newdanuser]

hi and thanks so far to the people who have replyed
1.the house is rented by me from a landlords agent but it was the owner of the house that employed the fitters.

2.day one i got worried when they kept going to the store to get some stuff and said it was a big job, it is only a small bathroom room just big enough for the bath sink and toilet,when they finished a week later the bath had a leak they came back to fix it i noticed them doing something under the sink they where putting the earth straps on,i saked them shouldnt that have already been done they said they had not invoiced the owner and they knew had to come back and it was been done now so what was i worried about

3.this is when i thought this is wrong and stared to think about the shower i rang building control and gave all the details they said ask for certificate of safety i did but the landlord rang back 2 days later and said an electrician would be calling to check the work he came out i told him about what i thought he checked and said they had joined the cable he would recomend to the landlord for it to be replaced with a single one

4. i am having problems getting any answer from building control over the law they said at first go to trading standards i said wasnt that for shoddy work not liilegal i thought it was up to building control to take action

5.everyone i have asked has said they should be part p and the work is notified to Building Controls they have either refused to give certificate or cant but i am having to push building control

6.the work was finished august 19th 2009 the electrician from the landlord came out 29th september 2009 what i would like to know for sure is the work carried out so far was done so illegal if they are not part p and i have checked the website no details and should they have
notified Building Control because my building control have not got a clue it would seem

7.i know this has nothing to do with electrics but they also replaced a small radiator with a towel rail and moved it onto the oppisite wall when they did this they could not get the central heating back on when i asked the to leave and come back next day with fresh eyes they said they could not because they had 18 joints under the floor that needed checking they only moved it 2 foot is that a lot of joints

once again thank you everyone for your help

[steve the plumber]

Did you find the property through an estate agent or was it private rent? Hopefully it was through an agent, speak to them now and say that you are not happy about what has happened and ask them to rectify this.

If parts of the home are not working you are entitled to withold your rent until all the problems are sorted. Unfortunately there are alot of cowboy's in this industry.

[newdanuser]

hi
i have now been told by niceic technical support they should have been part p and if not it should have gone through building control and if neither was done the work is illegal also labc member organisation representing local authority building control departments in England and Wales also state this,it looks like my labc will now take action thank you to every reply and i will hopefully update when they come out to check it, but it looks like there are two possible outcomes

1.work done illegal but safe?

or

2.work done illegal and is unsafe?