What's blowing my electrics?

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What's blowing my electrics?
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dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46240
Location: yes

Posted: Mon Sep 19, 16 4:40 pm Post subject:

yep

having had a think about it the solar folk might have bent the rules a bit to avoid insisting on a rewire and just put the solar stuff to a basic cu that was better than the one in the sandwich box and reconnected the existing wiring ,perhaps well meaning at the time but not ideal if it needs doing properly to A work and B meet regs and be safe.

the written report should be something for you and the spark to work forward from.

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Tue Sep 20, 16 9:22 pm Post subject:
Well, the electrician has spoken. And declared a rewire necessary. No surprises there, then. He will come and quote and in a couple of weeks, and fit us in after Christmas. I just knew this would drag on till spring. I was was hoping to decorate this winter. Stepfather has been informed on a need to know basis.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46240
Location: yes

Posted: Tue Sep 20, 16 10:29 pm Post subject:

it will help him and you if you make a list of what you need in terms of plugs etc in each room before he comes to quote.

working out exactly where to put them can make quite a difference to the price so be prepared to be flexible but make sure you have enough and a few spare.

i rather like "hoovering plugs" in the open even if there is a spare hole with the general ones that feed the usual items .

if you want to get fancy you can have a lamp circuit as well as a ring main and feed/ control any low level lighting with that, high level lighting is on a normal lighting circuit but again consider dimmers as some leds will work with those.
a full rewire is the proper time to think about lighting , most houses are appallingly lit but they can be appealingly lit with a bit of planning .

if you need power outside/sheds etc decide what you need and get it included, retro fitting afterwards will either cost more or cock up the new system .

a couple of minor but important things ,get the smoke alarms mains powered which is far better than replacing batteries and try to get the spark to fit all switches in convenient for use, rather than convenient to install (or historic), places . too often light switches etc are in a daft place.

depending on your structure it can range from a bit messy and inconvenient to noisy, messy and full redecoration after the plaster dries , discuss options regarding positioning etc and be prepared to be flexible if perfect when done is going to be nightmare and expensive to do try to find the ok when done option.

ps think of a number of kitchen sockets you definitely need and double it, you wont use them all at the same time but the flexibility of having lots is really nice .
neons are good in the kitchen and remind you that something is still on

pps MK materials are not the cheapest but they are good and last far longer than cheaper stuff which long term works out expensive when replacing things in a few years. im very impressed with their antibacterial kitchen plugs which wipe well and dont get scratched in a few months like some do.

have fun planning and end up with a really good practical set of electrics.

ppps , need to know can be very minimal, he will know he messed up (as it is now being done properly ) but not rubbing it in can be more fun than pointing to every error as he will know that you know and have no way to make excuses.

NorthernMonkeyGirl

Joined: 10 Apr 2011
Posts: 4630
Location: Peeping over your shoulder

Posted: Wed Sep 21, 16 5:43 pm Post subject:

wellington womble wrote:

Well, the electrician has spoken. And declared a rewire necessary. No surprises there, then. He will come and quote and in a couple of weeks, and fit us in after Christmas. I just knew this would drag on till spring. I was was hoping to decorate this winter. Stepfather has been informed on a need to know basis.

But the ball is rolling, at least. Phew!

john of wessex

Joined: 18 Jun 2007
Posts: 2130

Posted: Wed Sep 21, 16 7:44 pm Post subject:
When we had the sparky in, I had three outside power points fitted, two at the back & one at the front in case we ever wanted an electric car

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Wed Sep 21, 16 9:29 pm Post subject:

That's an idea. I had thought about where I might want plug sockets, but not for cars. I'd love an electric car, especially with the solar power. There is already an outside socket, but I would like a socket in the garage (there is armoured cable already, and the solar people were supposed to put a socket in, but they didn't) I hadn't thought of mains snoke alarms, that would be nice.

There are currently no sockets in the hall, stairs or landing at all, so anything would be an improvement. The kitchen sockets are mostly ok and the light switches are mostly logical, with one exception. I'd quite like kill switches to turn all the power off to a room.

Stepfather is totally, genuinely baffled about why the whole thing is necessary. He just doesn't get why they can't simply fix the fault. Mum is a bit more with it, but still doesn't see why it might be necessary to do any disruptive work. She has just asked me why they can't thread string on to the existing wires and pull new ones through, and then it won't matter about inconvenient ceilings and so on. She doesn't really see why it would need new wiring anyway, either.

I don't know why, but I really want it done properly and if that's what the sparky says needs doing, that's what's happening. Before I decorate anything!

We are even going to get the rising damp done at the same time. My goodness, I know how to live!

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46240
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Sep 21, 16 9:50 pm Post subject:

for a proper job you do need to sort out the damp, it could even be that causing some of the trips by allowing current leakage. damp plugs etc are a right pain as well as being a bit dangeroos.

doing all the messy stuff in one coordinated effort is always the best policy.

if you wonder why you want it doing properly it might be because once it is done it will be safe and it will work, the walls will be dry ,the house will be warmer (damp eats heat ) and you wont be wasting effort and money decorating a house that would shed paint and paper even if it wasn't on fire.most of all you will know that it is no longer a worry or inconvenience. those would be my reasons anyway.

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Thu Sep 22, 16 10:04 am Post subject:
I know that. You know that. The sparky knows that. Mum has lived with stepfather too long!

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46240
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Sep 22, 16 12:41 pm Post subject:

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford

Posted: Wed Oct 12, 16 7:27 am Post subject:
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/technology/2016/oct/12/english-man-spends-11-hours-trying-to-make-cup-of-tea-with-wi-fi-kettle

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35935
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Wed Oct 12, 16 8:17 am Post subject:
I wondered if you'd seen that. It's made my morning. Turmoil and chaos all around us and English chap spends eleven hours trying to make a cup of tea. It's restored my faith in the world. A bit.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46240
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Oct 12, 16 7:29 pm Post subject:
im not a fan of tea but those who are will go to extreme lengths to " ave a cuppa" a few examples include: brewing up while using a support weapon with one hand carrying a pressure cooker to 8000m to have a brew on the top and a few non english folk make tea in strange places

Pilsbury

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 5645
Location: East london/Essex

Posted: Wed Oct 12, 16 10:49 pm Post subject:
I read today that all british tanks since 1945 have had tea making facilities inside them... not sure how true it is but I can beleive it.

NorthernMonkeyGirl

Joined: 10 Apr 2011
Posts: 4630
Location: Peeping over your shoulder

Posted: Wed Oct 12, 16 11:19 pm Post subject:

Pilsbury wrote:

I read today that all british tanks since 1945 have had tea making facilities inside them...
not sure how true it is but I can beleive it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWmDHO_0P5Q

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15990

Posted: Thu Oct 13, 16 6:47 am Post subject:

And I thought we had problems last night when husbands new laptop didn't have the right connector to go to the projector for the talk I was about to give. Took us right back to the early years of computers in the workplace when most of them wouldn't talk to the printer or other bits.

Sons FIL took the tea making in tanks thing one stage further. He was in the Royal Engineers and at their repair facility during an exercise once, they set up a chip fryer. As everyone was relying upon ration packs, this soon got known, and rather a lot of vehicles had to 'go in for repair' so their crews could get some chips.

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