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william allfrey

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Alistair, In the last 10 years I have probably carried out about 250 EICRs. Most of these EICRs were the first ever EICR carried out on the property, whose electrical installation is about 30 to 40 years old. I normally find faults which take half a day, a day or two days to fix. Sometimes I find a few faults that can be fixed in a few hours but, with a house that has had no one check the electrics since the 1970s, that is not the norm. You may find this hard to grasp but that is due to you not understanding the nature of the job. An EICR on a two bedroom flat or house, normally takes a day, it isn't like a gas safety check, which is over in 20 minutes. Every circuit in the house needs to be checked and at least 25% of junctions need to be inspected (I normally do about 33%). I admit I err on the side of caution, after all, it is my signature on the certificate. As I wrote earlier, I only test new work if there are suspected issues.

From: william allfrey 25 February 2020 18:26 PM

I don't know how common this is, like I said, I get to see the bad stuff. Someone who has had a good job done doesn't need to speak to me. I do believe, however, that there should be stricter enforcement of rules. A loft conversion or extension has building control all over it. A new kitchen or bathroom doesn't. I need to issue a certificate and so does the gas guy but if non registered electricians were used, the job is done, the builder takes his money and often the householder is unaware that they should get a certificate or that they have just had some unsafe work done.

From: william allfrey 25 February 2020 17:38 PM

In reply to your last paragraph Alistair. I very rarely check newer properties. If someone has a new property and they want a test I would normally tell them not to bother; if they have had work done by a non registered electrician and they want me to issue a certificate I normally say 'No!'. Unless I believe they have been hoodwinked and then I will carry out an EICR for them if Building Control tell me that this acceptable. I did have a landlord recently that had been asked for as test but had had an EICR done less than 10 years ago and the EICR was for 10 years. I told him this was good enough but he was told he had to have it done every 5 years. So I carried out an EICR for him and found multiple issues. Much of the more serious issues I come across are down to 'Mr DIY' doing his own electrics or a builder that has done a 2 week electrical course and has got an installation working but not safely according to BS7671. Small building companies doing extensions and loft conversions etc don't have enough work to hire a spark full time, so they either hire out people like me or get one of their lads to do it. I have quite often come across very attractive kitchens and bathrooms with sub standard electrics and plumbing, covered up by tiles etc. I have one customer that is taking his builder to court after multiple issues with his loft conversion, electrical and otherwise. This was a new job but he asked me to do an EICR because he started to realise the work had been done very poorly.

From: william allfrey 25 February 2020 17:28 PM

Alistair, I tested a one bedroom flat in Highbury about 5 years ago that passed, it had three circuits on the fuse board. I went back there two years later to change some downlights and found issues that I had not see during the test (because I had not removed the downlights from the ceiling). Yes, I check bad properties. Most of the people asking me for a test realise there are issues, that is why they call me; in the same way that people in good health don't visit a doctor. However, it is very easy to fail a test. C1 violations are not common, but C2 violations (potentially dangerous) are common. Cables entering a fuse board from above, via a hole, which would allow water to enter: C2. No RCD for a socket that could be used for mobile equipment outside: C2. The test I carried out yesterday had a few C2s, no equipotential bonding of the gas and water pipes, holes on the fuse board's top surface, a damaged socket, no supplementary bonding in the bathroom and two circuits in the kitchen that shared a 32A fuse but should have had individual 16A or 20A fuses. It is very easy to fail an EICR.

From: william allfrey 25 February 2020 17:07 PM

No, I am honest, I report what I find. It is up to the owner of the property to arrange remedial work, sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. I have plenty of work, I don't need to invent problems. Do you assume all tradesmen are dishonest? Or are you dishonest and assume everyone else is too?

From: william allfrey 25 February 2020 16:23 PM

Fred Jones, I suggest you comment on things you know about. How do you know the majority of properties are safe? You don't, you just think they are. PAT testing reveals nothing about the safety of an electrical installation as it involves testing of the appliances attached to the installation, not the installation itself. As well as being a landlord, I happen to be an electrician. I carry out Electrical Installation Condition Reports almost every week. Granted, it is older installations I normally test but in all the years I have been doing this I have never had a 'satisfactory' test without doing remedial work.

From: william allfrey 25 February 2020 16:15 PM

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