Newly Refurbished Electrical Shambles 

As a gas engineer I would be concerned that the grommets were not correctly fitted to the boiler, as many boilers nowdays have room sealed cases. On average I'm inspected by Gassafe every 7 years. After my last inspection I had a cuppa and a chat with the Gassafe inspector, one of the things that he mentioned was that Gassafe were cracking down on grommets being omitted, or fitted incorrectly. If you can see light through a grommet, then under fault conditions products of combustion including carbon monoxide could enter the living space, with dire consequences.

I'm guessing this is the work of a semi retired builder who does the lot. Equiped with a pair of rusty side cutters, a neon screwdriver and a battered cardboard box that contains a useful array of old and new random 'electrical stuff' plus a load of random recycled off cuts of cable'. Only testing needed is to throw open the main switch with fingers crossed no breakers trip and the job is golden!

Unfortunately we see lots of this shoddy work. Wiring standards are getting worse. I call it builder spec. I don't wish to offend any builders at all but then again they shouldn't be working with electrics.

I'm not even from the UK, and even I, a lowly apprentice, can pick out so many code violations. "Help, my ovens got a fault! Let me open up the cupboard next to it, crawl in, pull stuff out, to reach the isolator!"

You should make this into a series. Inspecting dodgy electrical installations.

Typical conversation down the pub. “Yeah I can re-wire your flat for a grand mate”.

It's tempting to say "typical DIY job" but the more I come across "professional" work the more I realise that diyers often do a far superior job. New build provides ample evidence for this.

Sadly, no surprises here. JW , you did a couple of EICR's for us while we were house hunting. Often beautiful places with "wow" factor design and appalling electrical installations. We looked at so many that were so bad they never even made it to our "to be considered" list.

I'm afraid this is all too common in rented accommodation in the UK, when the person with the money says, "just get it done".

I am not a qualified electrician but even I would never dream of doing anything as shoddy as this!

The installer got brownie points with the Environmental Agency. Loads of recycling going on there.

John Sir, I've watched a lot of your videos. I must say. You've helped me understand a lot about wiring, circuits and spec. Am a hgv driver but love to do my own work wherever I feel safe. I've done wiring BUT always got a spark to check. I thank you for all information and advice.

17:34 Imagine someone reaching in with wet hands for some soap or something and hitting that... dear me, that place is bodged. I hope the gas has been checked out as well.

Scary, but all to familiar in the UK unfortunately. Thanks for sharing, and may I wish you and your family a healthy and prosperous new year.

Made to look good but behind the scenes very poor, or as my mother would have said "All fur coat and no knickers".

A neighbour rigged up the exhaust from a new cooker hood to vent into the boxing-in around the soil stack "as that went up to the vent on the roof". Apparently his brother had said it was OK so nothing I said would convince him it was wrong.

Wow. I had to rewire my whole house at the age of 24 and have it inspected by a company to enable me to get the rest of my mortgage. These people should be struck off like they do with doctors.

John, Thank you so much for showing this! Being from US, we have lots of videos made doing similar quality work by people who are desperate for views! Your countrymen start commenting about how our electrical systems are crappy and yours is far superior. This show that even if your system is superior, it can still be a snafu! Very Respectfully, Kevin

The only thing i can agree on is the no certificate. Clearly has enough intelligence not to put his name to it.

This installation is pretty good compared to some I have seen, one flat I was asked to inspect had 10mm T&E cable coming up from the chippy below and passed through an open window which couldn't be closed because of the cable!

Great to see you on site. This is a truly shocking installation.. Personally , I wouldn’t certify any of it . A full rewire is the safest solution given what you saw wouldn’t you say ? You do have to wonder what the cable and terminations are like that are not visible!? Those reused plug tops are just unbelievable . Hopefully the local building inspector will be watching your video and will be paying a visit!!

Now that's workmanship worthy of being investigated on a weekday morning show on BBC One! Dom Littlewood would end up with repetitive facepalm injuries! I'm not really sure what is the worst thing here, the placing of switched sockets deep inside the cupboards & the inaccessibility of the cooker master switch, or the reusing the 35+ year old unsleeved mains plugs, or the live wires under the basin in the shower room, or the shoddy work of the combi boiler set up, the lack of fixings to the wall of the breaker unit as well as no note of work certification etc. etc. If I was to hazard a guess, it's either a dead lazy "Part P" qualified handyman, or some complete "jack of all trades, master of none" cowboy working cash in hand. Really, the work you've shown there JW is a good example of the phrase "not fit for purpose".

the plug and flex probably cut from a washing machine, hence the marks at the boiler end of a cable clamp

If somebody that’s learning the English language ever needed to understand what’s meant by a ‘polished turd’

I have to say that MK sockets from the 1960's are of a far better construction standard than modern ones.

As soon as you see a Ferroli boiler you just know everything about it is gonna be complete shite. I'm amazed the guy used ProPress fittings for that, probably cost more than the boiler 😂

OMG! I rented a house where the extractor hood didn't even have a hole to let air out - worse thing the previous tenants liked oily fry-ups so you can imagine the mess. Used a whole can of engine degreaser to clean the cupboards...

This is not a DIYer. This is a rogue trader in my view (guess). Someone who doesn’t give a shit and wants to get it done ASAP. Makes my blood boil. The money this joker “saved” is less than a pint in London.

Great advert for that infamous firm 'Bodge It and Scarper'.... As a retired maintenance engineer and Landlord, makes me get mad at the shortcuts like this, just having had a 10yr retest on 1 of my properties. As suggested a new series?

I still can't get over how the UK has those ring mains on one circuit. We don't use rings in South Africa. Gosh my kitchen has 5 circuits (3 x20A and 2 x 30A) with 11 double sockets. I'm on three phase too, so those circuits are spread over the phases.

wow!! I wouldn't trust that boiler in there having seen the other work!

I have a photo collection of disaster wiring and burnt connections I've come accross on domestic jobs. I admire your self control in commentary and it makes me laugh out loud thinking what you could be saying. I'll be watching more of your videos to enjoy the reminiscences as much as the opportunity to learn new stuff.

The 35 year old plug is the least of the problems... Its got a ferroli boiler. 😔

At 4:12 you can see exposed ground wire and it looks it is mechanically damaged somehow. It is very common for poor installations to not care about details like this.

A "generous helping of couldn't be bothered" !!! 🤣

Absolutely scary, I'm lucky to have a decent landlord and agency but I've seen what some of the cowboys get up to. We need more of you JW!

No extractor fan in the bathroom in this case complies with the Building Regulations as there is an opening light in the window, just in case you have forgotten. Keep up the good work.

I imagine the dangling live block connector was under the sink for easy removal of inquisitive children. Criminal!

Obviously they just ran out of blue sleeving re: the 1mm T+N cable at the end there. The thing about an installation like that is - that's just the stuff you can see. Imagine what's hidden out-of-sight.

😂😂 The tone of your voice whilst evaluating the install mirrors the same disappointed demeanor of my teacher at school. "Here we see Davids history homework, and when it comes to his homework, David never fails... to disappoint"

Lack of certificates and general crappiness suggests that possibly the installation was done by a previous occupant (or the landlord). Somebody who learned about electrics from the first edition of Dunning & Kruger.

Thanks for sharing John! People who think this sort of work is acceptable should be named and shamed and have any quals or certs revoked.

Thank Goodness I have not had to rent a house in decades . Both here in the States and back in England I lived in fear of the landlord installed mistakes. The worst I saw was in North Dakota where I found wiring from the turn of the nineteens running into Romex from the seventies . Hahha , I was always expecting a fire.

Shoddy work seems to be the new norm, I see this a LOT!, the majority are wired by “qualified electricians” sadly I can’t / won’t compete on price, and the tide towards sub standard work so currently I’m looking a new career to earn my living. Do I have time to grumble on about EICR’s, Grrrr 😖 Excellent video John

Some IR hobs can be configured as either 1 or 2 phase to presumably reduce current demand. So check the cable size required, 2.5 flex won't be close to capacity!

That choc block under the bathroom sink is horrendous! Anyone holding the tap and rummaging around in the cupboard underneath could be killed. Consumer unit looks like my old one, in which case the 6 amp light circuits are not on the RCD

12:26 Reminds me of HDB flats in Singapore. No dedicated ducting for extractor fans, so the hoods in the kitchens are forced to recirculate, and the bathrooms are designed to vent passively. Aftermarket kits for the installation of extractor fans in bathrooms often just replace the windows outright, or sit a distance away from the window, using a custom mount.

Absolutely shocking John, I bet the owners are glad you are on the case. Thanks for sharing.

This sort of crap and having to explain to a customer why they need to spend money on a 'working' but unsafe installation and getting grief over why they have to pay me to fix what is working ..for now...some times it was like getting blood out of a stone ..even when you tell them the installation could kill them... .is why I went over to be an Industrial spark mostly working on production machines ...big companies are so scared an employee claiming from them ...they just want it safe....I have seen some crap at small companies but I steer clear of those now. you're a good conscientious fella JW.

I've come across many a electrician who hasn't the first idea how to wire a boiler and controls and most who say they can make a dogs dinner of it! and electricians always think they're the cream of the trades, i don't think so.

Thought it was my best work, didnt cost anything. The thing i hate most about electrical work is people assume because it works its a job well done Even the kitchen itself is poor

I can't help but notice a corrolation between the quality of work and the location of said work. If its inconvinient or challenging to install, rectify or modify to the correct standards, its far more likely to be left or bodged. Im think speciffically about the oven and hob isolator here - now the kitchen is in, it will be a right pain for someone to fit an isolator above the hobs and backsplash/counter edging.

I love it when Mr Ward does these kind of videos 😂 Despite the heavy criticism of the appalling installation, the educational value for me is invaluable.

This is Shocking, literally!

The flexes are usually factory fitted on that Lamona stuff although the equivalent Beko units don't have anything fitted. I went to a flat that was so say refurbished last year and the bodging shits had used a piece of old black Pirelli rubber cable to connect up the brand new oven

BTW, running the cooker hood so that it exhausts into the room is acceptable (in fact preferable) so long as there is sufficient ventilation elsewhere in the room. There is usually a metal or fabric grease filter, and a carbon odour filter within the hood (this is only installed for the recirc option). This is how I installed mine because there is continuously running ventilation (mvhr) already.

One point about the 13 amp plugs - and not to detract from the appalling work carried out here - the requirement for insulated pins on 13 amp plugs became part of BS1363 in 1984, but that did not become a statutory legal requirement until 1987, so until then it plugs without sleeved pins were still being made & sold. Even after the 1987 requirements came into force, the people at the Consumers Association (Which? magazine) were finding plugs without insulate pins were still on sale in some of the retail outlets they visited. Although I hear and read it time & again that 1984 was "the year", you'd actually have to go a very, very long way to find a plug with insulated pins that was not either an MK safety plug, or the much less popular Crabtree plug - there are no others I can think of from before 1987. Of course, I realise we're only talking three years discrepancy here, but I do feel it's worth knowing. For what it's worth, the plug on that cooker hood actually goes back to the 1960s / early 1970s, and is a WG (Ward & Goldstone) plug...it was very tough in construction, which would explain why it has survived to tell the tale, though I would have binned it because as you say in the video, a new plug is not expensive. Goodness only knows I've kept plenty back from appliances I have at home which broke down & required disposal. The other plug (marked "Washing Machine") is a Marbo plug with the "Ever Ready" branding - these date from the very late 1970s/ very early 1980s, and were produced right up until 1987, when the new legal requirements kicked in.

All very poor. I had to laugh at the cooker hood though. Extracting from the kitchen into...the kitchen!

Thumbs up from me for recycling the plugs and out-of-sight sockets. Non sleeved plugs re-used in a place they'll never get touched. Sockets with paint splashes inside cupboards, no problem. So long as the client is aware of what he's done (and may have sanctioned it, of course!). If he's paid for all new, then it's fraud. Wonder if the dangling stat receiver was an oversight, just tacked in for the plumber to test the system while the spark was on another job, and forgot to come back to do properly.

Bodged electrics really annoy me they are really dangerous. But it's a case of "by the time someone gets electrocuted I'll be miles away, so this isn't my problem..."

I'm not an electrician, but even my DIY is better than that. At least I follow the rules even though I am not have a certified

I did a better job in my shed

Loyd Grossman's brother, the electrician. John Ward is a legend.

That bathroom cabinet with no RCD behind it was an actual death trap!

Hi John, thanks for another great video. I have to go and figure out why a 1000A breaker keeps tripping on Monday. Probably earth leak. Definitely not pulling over 1000A. The place is full of welders and machines. The hunt will begin.

Great Video John, love your style and great explanations!!

Get that boiler checked out that looks they’ve used push fit copper on the gas supply to the boiler which isn’t allowed As a gas safe engineer myself it doesn’t look good

This is way better than what Im used to seeing in most of the places I live.

Those wires and plugs! You would be heartbroken to spend all that cash on a new kitchen and bathroom for some cowboy to but it all at risk with shoddy work.

Boiler installation would be classified as At Risk due to grommet not being installed correctly on boiler case. Appliance is classified as room sealed but not room sealed when grommets are missing. I know it’s not your thing just FYI.

Speaks of diy Dave from the pub gas installation probably just as bad.

Bought a house in 2018, built in 1895. The electric was signed off, but clearly the estate agent didn't give a fuck about the safety, the estate agent that was collecting the money for the people who originally rented it. And its clear the electrics were signed off by the house owners mate.

Great video John. Love your descriptions on everything 😂 its good you found that death trap 👍 people who installed that clearly had zero electrical skills

That was truly shocking. In fact, looking at what you showed me, it is ALL far superior quality as to what cowboys contactors got their boys to carry out in _my_ house. I have had the whole house (supposedly) rewired. Where they could not move the fridge, they left the old socket and wiring behind it. They then just fitted a few new faceplates, cracked 2, and just left them. Upstairs (the house still has 90% horsehair Lath and plaster walls), the plaster collapsed when trying to fit a new double socket, so as they could not use the old straps of wood (they cut the wood out at the same time, the stupid f***s), they silicone sealed the box to the wall. They also silicone sealed the smoke alarms and CO2 detector to the ceiling, as they gave up pushing holes in the with a screwdriver to find wood. Pulling plugs out over time has resulted in the silicone sealed socket boxes coming away from the wall. The same deal as you have found, but with ALL my kitchen above counter sockets: they are all over the place. Some completely hard to the counter (this was the original location for the old sockets before a new, higher kitchen was fitted), but did they relocate the sockets higher? Nope. Then some sockets are on a wall with no shelf, and no unit below. Just a double socket 5 ft up in the middle of a wall (again, it was because there _used_ to be a single cabinet there). They fitted an Expel-air to the bathroom ceiling, and that was it - just the unit. I went into the loft and there is no ducting at all - just the Expel-air hole in the bathroom ceiling, and the loft insulation over the top. They battered holes up and down the walls to try and chase wires, and never replastered over the fist sized holes. It just shows a person that does not see what goes on, how shoddy work can be carried out. It all looks nice on the outside, and most people will go ''ooh, and aah'' at the shiny new fittings. But, when people like your good self come along and expose this shite ''workmanship'', it opens a few eyes and begs the question: ''what the hell is _my_ house like?''. Keep on keeping on. Regards. Dawg.

Why did they mount the disconnect box for the oven hanging? The installers could have used mounting screws to attach it to the wall.

I'd say that at least 70% of houses have 'similar standard' of installations. Most of the cheap electrical contractors do such shitty jobs on the quick. And people who are short on money, and dont have engineer degree to recognize bad work are just happy that 'it works' and looks 'okay' on the outside. Also industrial installations arent much better. I've seen so many copper cables with aluminum terminals of smaller size, that were drilled to fit the bigger cable... and thats not so good at 400A circuits.

The plumbing to the boiler looked neat though.

Nothing wrong with an unsleeved plug if used correctly. I still have and use one myself. It has brass and not what looks like chrome plated steel pins we have now.

Thanks, John, the LED lights in the bathroom, were they rated (IP45) for the bathroom because one was really right over the shower?

Seriously scary. Thanks for this! More please! Perhaps a demo of how it should be done? As my house will be up for rewiring later this year, I need to know what to look for. Incidentally, after a flood, the insurance company "professionals" wired the dining room light wrong & it tripped every time it was switched on. The certificate was worth exactly £0.

One of my favourite you tube vids. Who says satire is dead. Old plugs certainly ain't! 😅

John. What made you look under the bathroom basin? I do EICRs, mainly commercial and industrial, few domestic. I look inside kitchen cupboards where I think there might be sockets next to appliances but don't generally look where I don't expect to find electrical accessories.

As my site manager will put it, "fucking hell mate, a blind man would like to see that".

Quite literally Shocking !!

Looks like a cowboy builder electrician has been there! Rewire the entire place!

you should see the things i have ripped out here in bulgaria john..... blows my mind .most houses are 3 phase ive had many that have an additional phase coming in from a neighbours house ! great films very informative and easy to follow

Look what you started. Illuminating as always JW.....

Nice to see you out in the field instead of your workshop

Anyone rifling around in that cabinet would get a nasty surprise to say the least.

Kitchen extractor fans can operate in two modes recirculate or outside vent, quite often in flats they are installed to recirculate as no outside wall is available. You change the filter to a carbon / charcoal filter.

Another insightful video John. Good to see you on the job, and not melting cheapo junk, which I suspect you prefer. I hope you were there to put all the faults right and managed to make some money in the end. How you remain so calm is pretty impressive, I would not enjoy trying to sort this one out. When the stuff you can see is so poor, what else is tucked away under the floor to burst into flames ? Also, I have one small general point. Why do some sparks out there question the little pearls of wisdom dropped in by top guys like you? Surely absorbing better practices is preferable to sticking to their own method. If there is a better or safer option that maybe takes a few seconds longer,what's the big deal? Not all experience is good. Doing it wrong for 20 years does not make it suddenly right. Arrogance holds lots of guys back in my view. If you are clever enough to learn from someone who is clearly better at something than you, surely you will become more and not less. Keep the videos coming John, the information you provide is second to none.

Great video. As so often the evils are buried or hidden in cupboards or behind ovens or boiler covers - anyone taking a cursory glance around the kitchen would think it looks fine. Should the light above the shower be 12V low voltage?

The sort of thing that keeps an electrician awake at night. But not the one who installed it.

Will you be making a follow up JW,? Would be good when critiquing such as socket positions, as well as lining up level wise with others, what the current regs are. A before and after (and during) video is always preferred by the viewer. I'm liking this style of on the job video JW :)

A commentary laden with heavy sarcasm. Great stuff.

The sad thing is people are paying 100's of thousands of hard earned pounds for houses with shoddy, lazy work like this. I don't know how anyone can sleep at night knowing their work is this poor? It's not like it would even cost much more to do it right.

Wow! I’ve come across all kinds of open live wires upon house purchases including live ends of cooker cables, mainly discovered deep inside under worktop cupboards or on top of wall cupboards. Anyone purchasing a property should use John’s findings as a stark warning to take care to get the electrics tested including full visual checks ideally after the previous owner has fully moved out and before the new owner move in.

I would hope anyone wanting to buy this would have a solicitor with the sense to request the GasSafe cert for the boiler and request and EICR. Person selling it might find they'd have been better off not doing it up with the amount of money people will try to knock off.

Hi John, What is wrong with white downlights. You said it's an odd choice. There must be a lot of odd people because I've fitted many hundreds of white downlights in kitchens. Apart from that keep up the good work.

Love this expose of typical rip-off britain. I am not a tradesman but have learned over the years to do much better and safer work than so called 'expert' builders. Over the years I'v had to sort so much botched shit on houses I think I deserve a bloody medal.