Tabby wrote:
On Apr 6, 9:15 pm, Charlie wrote:
On Apr 6, 5:12 pm, Tabby wrote:



On Apr 6, 4:51 pm, Charlie wrote:

Got a call from my tenant saying the "the switch in the fuse box
keeps repeatedly tripping". It was just the main downstairs ring
that was affected, the other circuits and lights were ok. Got her
to unplug all the devices and she said the problem was still there.

As I don't live that close to the property I decided to call an
electrician to have a look. He said that he was not able to
identify the problem but had bypassed the RCD to restore power
temporarily until a permanent fix could be found. He also emailed
me a quote for £600 for two man days work to identify the problem.

I decided to visit the property last night just to make sure I was
happy the tennant and the house was safe. I tested a few of the
sockets with a socket tester and it showed that none of them was
earthed. I also managed to establish that the fridge which is
located in the middle of the kitchen "island" was not receiving
any power.

IIRC when I tiled the kitchen floor there is a spur to the island
from a JB under one of the tiles (don't ask - I didn't want to
mess around with the existing electrics). So maybe there could be
problem with the JB surrounded by tile cement / concrete?

A couple of questions do I have two separate problems here?
1. No power to the kitchen "island"
2. An earthed live or neutral some on the ring (or possibly even an
appliance that wasn't unplugged). I guess it's possible that
there's a spur that we don't know about that something is plugged
into, or a mouse has chewed through a wire

Are the problems are related?
Is the quote from the electrician reasonable?

Any help gratefully received

This is exactly the sort of situation that puts landlords in prison.
Grow up, and provide your tenant with something legal & safe. And do
it now.

Re payment, I wouldnt pay the idiot a penny. What he's done is
dangerous, illegal and remarkably stupid. I'd tell him to sue me,
but point out that any court would be a lot more interested in what
he'd done than any payment due.

The first thing I'd do is identify the unsafe circuit and disconnect
it.

NT

Tabby,

Thanks for your post, glad I went up to check now. I'll get another
electrician first thing - just hope he's more reputable then the
first one.
Can I just clarify - how the other electrician left it (with nothing
earthed). That is completely illegal?
I'm not an electrician and certainly no expert, hence why I posted
here.

Thanks for you advice

Charlie

If the info you posted is accurate, what he's done is criminal and
dangerous. An RCD tripping usually means there's a live to earth
fault. What stops people getting fried in these situations are
a) the earth wiring
b) the RCD
And IIUC this berk's simply disconnected/bypassed both those!

In all seriousness, if you dont act ASAP on this situation your tenant
can get a nasty shock, and if they're unlucky die, and you could land
in jail.

No. The electrician would go to jail.

--
Adam