The electricity meter, supply fuses are screwed to a wooden board,
that is spaced from off the wall.

Needless to say its been like that since the house was built in 1935.

Well the board now has some woodworm in it.

Whose responsibility is the board, is it the householder or the elec
company.

I presume that if it was me, I would have to get the elec company in
to switch off and remove all fixing screws so I could get the old
board out.

Would I need to fit a new board, or would the elec company just fix
them direct to the wall ??

Is the whole installation tested ?????

On Mon, 09 Jan 2006 19:47:44 GMT, thesquire wrote:

The electricity meter, supply fuses are screwed to a wooden board,
that is spaced from off the wall.

Needless to say its been like that since the house was built in 1935.

Well the board now has some woodworm in it.

Whose responsibility is the board, is it the householder or the elec
company.

Electricity Company - but make sure you contact the local 'wires' company,
who may not be the ones you pay for your electricity.

--
the dot wanderer at tesco dot net

thesquire wrote:
Whose responsibility is the board, is it the householder or the elec
company.

It's theirs. If you do anything to it, or mount things
on it, they may get into a tizzy. Contact them.

Chris Bacon wrote:
thesquire wrote:
Whose responsibility is the board, is it the householder or the elec
company.

It's theirs. If you do anything to it, or mount things
on it, they may get into a tizzy. Contact them.

If you can find out who fitted it in 1935. ;-)

Personally i'd replace it myself if it was my problem, same size,wood and
template who's to argue about replacing a bit of wood.
--
Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

Personally i'd replace it myself if it was my problem, same size,wood and
template who's to argue about replacing a bit of wood.

The issue really is who dismantles the incoming supply to enable them
to be reattached to the new wood - not the householder.

--
Please add the word "newsgroup" in the subject line of personal emails
**** My email address includes "ngspamtrap" and " ****

The3rd Earl Of Derby wrote:
Chris Bacon wrote:
thesquire wrote:
Whose responsibility is the board, is it the householder or the elec
company.

It's theirs. If you do anything to it, or mount things
on it, they may get into a tizzy. Contact them.

If you can find out who fitted it in 1935. ;-)

It's still the property of whoever took over the 1935 company. The
new one will still quite probably get in a tizzy about it. In my
case, an unknown electrician I met in the pub. has fitted an RCD
to the "board's" board. He did a good job, it fits nicely. Haven't
seen him for ages, though. The seal on the meter where those big
thick "wires" go in and out does not appear to have been replaced
when the incoming supply "wire" was replaced, unfortunately. There's
just a length of that wire they use looped through. If I knew
anything about regs., I might complain.

In my
case, an unknown electrician I met in the pub. has fitted an RCD
to the "board's" board. He did a good job, it fits nicely. Haven't
seen him for ages, though.

He gets about that Bloke, must have a fast bike !!

Dave

On Mon, 09 Jan 2006 19:47:44 GMT, thesquire wrote:

Whose responsibility is the board

Despite what others have said, I recall that it is the responsibility
of the customer to supply a suitable mounting surface.

Cut the seals, take out the fuse, replace the wood.

--
Nigel M

On Mon, 09 Jan 2006 22:11:14 +0000, Nigel Molesworth wrote:

On Mon, 09 Jan 2006 19:47:44 GMT, thesquire wrote:

Whose responsibility is the board

Despite what others have said, I recall that it is the responsibility
of the customer to supply a suitable mounting surface.

Depends what you mean by suitable mounting surface. Meter boards were
*always* fitted by the jointer or linesman unless the householder or
builder had provided a larger backboard for their own purposes.

Cut the seals, take out the fuse, replace the wood.

Ignore this stupidity. If the board has been there since 1930s then the
equipment may well be of a similar vintage. If it's an underground supply
you risk disturbing the crutch where the cable cores are separated out, if
its an antiquated o/h supply the insulation on the cables may have
perished. A short circuit with a 400a fuse behind it will be very different
to one with a 15a or 30a domestic fuse. Get it wrong and it'll be no use
trying to tell the insurance company 'But this guy on uk.d-i-y[1] said it
was alright to do it'....

Call the local distribution company and tell them the meter board is wormy
and needs replacing. It's their responsibility. Don't be fobbed off by call
centre oiks who won't really understand what you're telling them.

[1] Ah, a new variation on the guy I met in a pub! :-)

--
the dot wanderer at tesco dot net

"Nigel Molesworth" wrote in

Despite what others have said, I recall that it is the responsibility
of the customer to supply a suitable mounting surface.

Cut the seals, take out the fuse, replace the wood.

--
This is what we were told by the power company. Can't remember what the
suitable surface was, maybe fire resistant chipboard.

Henry

On Tue, 10 Jan 2006 09:49:32 -0000, Henry wrote:

"Nigel Molesworth" wrote in

Despite what others have said, I recall that it is the responsibility
of the customer to supply a suitable mounting surface.

Cut the seals, take out the fuse, replace the wood.

--
This is what we were told by the power company. Can't remember what the
suitable surface was, maybe fire resistant chipboard.

Ah, but what they might tell you and where the real responsibility lies are
two quite different things.

What you have to remember is that your calls are being answered by call
centre staff, many of whom will be agency staff and most of them really
don't have much idea about who is responsible for what. Coming out to
replace a meter board is a pain in the arse, so if they can convince you
the customer that you should be doing it, well it all helps the bottom line
of the balance sheet.

I am well aware that these days most distribution companies seem to turn a
blind eye to people withdrawing the main fuse, but in the end, the cutout
and meter are *their* property, and they are the people to replace them.


--
the dot wanderer at tesco dot net

The trouble is in doing this, is that I still cannot re mount the
meters as all the screws are internal, and that would mean breaking
the seal.


I am well aware that these days most distribution companies seem to turn a
blind eye to people withdrawing the main fuse, but in the end, the cutout
and meter are *their* property, and they are the people to replace them.

On Wed, 11 Jan 2006 18:31:58 GMT, thesquire wrote:

The trouble is in doing this, is that I still cannot re mount the
meters as all the screws are internal, and that would mean breaking
the seal.


I am well aware that these days most distribution companies seem to turn a
blind eye to people withdrawing the main fuse, but in the end, the cutout
and meter are *their* property, and they are the people to replace them.

It's taking a long time, but you seem to be getting there.....

--
the dot wanderer at tesco dot net

On Mon, 09 Jan 2006 19:47:44 GMT, thesquire wrote:

Whose responsibility is the board, is it the householder or the elec
company.

Well obviously it's now John "Part P" Prescott's. When you've replaced
it, I suggest you post it to him, woodworm and all.

And ask for a receipt too. You'll need to display that on your roof so
that the satellite imaging can see it. NuLabour denied in parliament
today that satellite photos were to be used for property revaluing, so
they must be bringing it in shortly.