Electrical work question

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mattwnz

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#252902 16-Jul-2019 16:15

I have been into the attic space of my parents new house build and noticed a few things. The electrical wiring is all over the place and loose over the insulation The attic light wires to the bulb and switch are also connected to loose wires. Inside attic areas/roof spaces, I am used to seeing the wiring running along the timber structure with clips. The ducting is also all clumped up in parts and wires over the top. Are there any electricians who is able to tell me if this sort of workmanship is common practice? TIA

dfnt

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#2277811 16-Jul-2019 16:21

I'm no expert, but that certainly looks like pretty lazy/bad wiring to me

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cyril7

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#2277813 16-Jul-2019 16:32

For residential work the art of clipping TPS to frame work has long since disappeared except for a few proud men probably working at a loss against the rest. But in this case its clearly very poor form, cables should at least be run in tidy loose bundles.

Cannot help think that in the first photo purhaps the insulation guys have disturbed some cabling, but regardless I would not be impressed.

Cyril

gregmcc

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#2277814 16-Jul-2019 16:34

Generally it looks messy, but without further information like how is the ceiling space accessed, what is the wiring like in the surrounding 2 meters from the access point.

Keep in mind it was most likely done by the lowest bidder, not saying it is either safe or un-safe as defined by the electrical regs, but if you are concerned get your own electrician to check it out, ask for the Certificate of Compliance for the work (they have to supply it with 20 days), Also look up the high risk database on line (it's freely accessible) - keep in mind the work shown in the pictures is not high risk work, but the mains and main earthing is.

If your electrician thinks it is unsafe then get the other company back to fix it or file a complaint with the EWRB.

mattwnz

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#2277816 16-Jul-2019 16:38

cyril7:

For residential work the art of clipping TPS to frame work has long since disappeared except for a few proud men probably working at a loss against the rest. But in this case its clearly very poor form, cables should at least be run in tidy loose bundles.

Cannot help think that in the first photo purhaps the insulation guys have disturbed some cabling, but regardless I would not be impressed.

Cyril

Thanks.The insulation was done well before the electrical work, as the electrician was way behind on this project and still has work to do to complete their work. So any insulation would have likey been dislodged afterwards. I just thought it looked messy, but I guess there isn't much that can be done about. There are lots of bits of cut wires and rolled up duct tape on the insulation as well. You can see the rolled up duct tape in the final photo

mattwnz

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#2277819 16-Jul-2019 16:47

gregmcc:

Generally it looks messy, but without further information like how is the ceiling space accessed, what is the wiring like in the surrounding 2 meters from the access point.

Keep in mind it was most likely done by the lowest bidder, not saying it is either safe or un-safe as defined by the electrical regs, but if you are concerned get your own electrician to check it out, ask for the Certificate of Compliance for the work (they have to supply it with 20 days), Also look up the high risk database on line (it's freely accessible) - keep in mind the work shown in the pictures is not high risk work, but the mains and main earthing is.

If your electrician thinks it is unsafe then get the other company back to fix it or file a complaint with the EWRB.

This is within 2 meters of the access point into the ceiling. The access is though a hatch in the ceiling of the room below it, where there is a plywood floor platform for attic storage. So what you can see in the first photo is just to the left of the floor platform and access point into the ceiling space. The space is about 1.6 meters high from ceiling framing to roof, so is reasonably accessible.

I understand the electrician was the middle priced quote, but it is a one man band. I don't think the work is unsafe, I just thought it didn't look very untidy compared to other builds I have seen. I do know after chatting to the manufacturers of the ventialltion systems, that the ducting isn't installed correctly, as the ducting shouldn't be clumped up like it is.

elpenguino

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#2277827 16-Jul-2019 17:08

mattwnz:

gregmcc:

Generally it looks messy, but without further information like how is the ceiling space accessed, what is the wiring like in the surrounding 2 meters from the access point.

Keep in mind it was most likely done by the lowest bidder, not saying it is either safe or un-safe as defined by the electrical regs, but if you are concerned get your own electrician to check it out, ask for the Certificate of Compliance for the work (they have to supply it with 20 days), Also look up the high risk database on line (it's freely accessible) - keep in mind the work shown in the pictures is not high risk work, but the mains and main earthing is.

If your electrician thinks it is unsafe then get the other company back to fix it or file a complaint with the EWRB.

This is within 2 meters of the access point into the ceiling. The access is though a hatch in the ceiling of the room below it, where there is a plywood floor platform for attic storage. So what you can see in the first photo is just to the left of the floor platform and access point into the ceiling space. The space is about 1.6 meters high from ceiling framing to roof, so is reasonably accessible.

I understand the electrician was the middle priced quote, but it is a one man band. I don't think the work is unsafe, I just thought it didn't look very untidy compared to other builds I have seen. I do know after chatting to the manufacturers of the ventialltion systems, that the ducting isn't installed correctly, as the ducting shouldn't be clumped up like it is.

If you can stand / kneel on any mains wiring within 2 metres (or so) of the man hole cover, it's a fail.

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

mattwnz

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#2277829 16-Jul-2019 17:09

elpenguino:

mattwnz:

gregmcc:

Generally it looks messy, but without further information like how is the ceiling space accessed, what is the wiring like in the surrounding 2 meters from the access point.

Keep in mind it was most likely done by the lowest bidder, not saying it is either safe or un-safe as defined by the electrical regs, but if you are concerned get your own electrician to check it out, ask for the Certificate of Compliance for the work (they have to supply it with 20 days), Also look up the high risk database on line (it's freely accessible) - keep in mind the work shown in the pictures is not high risk work, but the mains and main earthing is.

If your electrician thinks it is unsafe then get the other company back to fix it or file a complaint with the EWRB.

This is within 2 meters of the access point into the ceiling. The access is though a hatch in the ceiling of the room below it, where there is a plywood floor platform for attic storage. So what you can see in the first photo is just to the left of the floor platform and access point into the ceiling space. The space is about 1.6 meters high from ceiling framing to roof, so is reasonably accessible.

I understand the electrician was the middle priced quote, but it is a one man band. I don't think the work is unsafe, I just thought it didn't look very untidy compared to other builds I have seen. I do know after chatting to the manufacturers of the ventialltion systems, that the ducting isn't installed correctly, as the ducting shouldn't be clumped up like it is.

If you can stand / kneel on any mains wiring within 2 metres (or so) of the man hole cover, it's a fail.

Thanks, that is interesting to know. I will have to get up to measure it to make sure. I don't think anyone actually checks this sort thing thing, as I doubt the council will.

cyril7

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#2277858 16-Jul-2019 18:00

I think what is clearly missing is pride, sadly this does not factor much anymore.

Cyril

sir1963

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#2277883 16-Jul-2019 18:42

Know who did the wiring ?

Got a certificate of compliance ?

then report the installation https://www.energysafety.govt.nz/forms/installation-fault-notice-form

Someone that rough should not be in business.

elpenguino

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#2277884 16-Jul-2019 18:42

mattwnz:

Thanks, that is interesting to know. I will have to get up to measure it to make sure. I don't think anyone actually checks this sort thing thing, as I doubt the council will.

Electricians certify their own work, to a large extent, and are policed by MBIE / Energy Safe / The Electrical Workers Registration Board.

Councils have nothing to do with it.

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

BlinkyBill

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#2277941 16-Jul-2019 20:52

If the bloke hasn’t finished the work, then it’s not finished. It certainly doesn’t look finished.

mattwnz

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#2277948 16-Jul-2019 22:03

BlinkyBill: If the bloke hasn’t finished the work, then it’s not finished. It certainly doesn’t look finished.

This part is completed. The only things they say they have to finish off is to fit a dimmer switch to a light socket, a timer to an extraction fan elsewhere in the building(not to the ones in the photo), and fix an exterior power socket which we found isn't working. They also have to label some switches with the circuits they are on. We have however found one switch plate that appears to have been labeled incorrectly with the wrong circuit number, so if you switch off the corresponding circuit number in the fuse box, the lights still turn on. We haven't tested them all as that would be time consuming, we just picked a few to test at random.

neb

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#2278006 17-Jul-2019 00:07

mattwnz:
I have been into the attic space of my parents new house build and noticed a few things. The electrical wiring is all over the place and loose over the insulation The attic light wires to the bulb and switch are also connected to loose wires. Inside attic areas/roof spaces, I am used to seeing the wiring running along the timber structure with clips. The ducting is also all clumped up in parts and wires over the top. Are there any electricians who is able to tell me if this sort of workmanship is common practice? TIA

ZOMG it's the Casa de Cowboy! Seriously, that's exactly what my attic looked like when we moved in, wiring and ducting thrown across the attic space at random. Ended up disconnecting a lot of the wiring that did God knows what, re-wiring all the lighting, and removing a lot of the ducting, alongside adding ducting where e.g. the extractor fan from the bathroom vented straight up into the attic space. That's fire-waiting-to-happen wiring...

Edited to clarify: The re-wiring was done by a qualified electrician, who did a really nice job, not DIY stuff.