Why does it always happen on a sunday afternoon?

kona_matt

So, i was putting up a shelf in the kitchen of our new house this afternoon when "pop", i hit a cable :shock: Luckily i survived with no damage but i've obviously royally farked up the house's electrics. Anyone done this before? Anyone know how to fix it? Any electricians out there? The only electrician i know isn't answering his phone and i'm not about to start ringing people out the yellow pages.

biff55

yep , sparky on duty here.
my professional opinion is to .....
call a sparky
or chop plaster back around damaged cable , trim back damaged cable and through crimp conductors back together and wrap with electrical tape , of course after correctly identifying and isolating the affected circuit , if it didnt blow at the mains which it sounds like it has.
or call a sparky.

biff55

but i'm guessing you have absolutely none of the required tools , testers , and materials at hand on a sunday night so completely irrelevant.

angry_bird

leave it to a professional

or have a few drinks and take it on yourself safely in the knowledge that being drunk means you can do anything

(your probably best to leave it to a proper sparky though)

kona_matt

Yeah, that's pretty much what i thought. It obviuosly tripped everything out and i've isolated which circuit i hit (upstairs and lounge sockets) and have cut back plaster to expose damage. Narrowly missed a second cable right next to the one i hit :shock: It's the joining back together i need to sort out now. Will call a sparks tomorrow, remembered another guy we know who is in the game

biff55

good , my call out fee from blackpool to essex would be astronomical.

kona_matt

biff, been doing some google reasearch, would a choc box do the trick? might be difficult sinking that into the wall and plastering back over though.

biff55

you'll struggle to sink in and plaster over any junction box type connection TBH.
like i said earlier , butt crimp connectors are as permanent as the cable itself and can be layed flat so as to enable plastering over.
thought you had another sparky pal to help out ?

Gazlar

remember, don't mess with the fuse board, thats all technical, so leave that switched on, it will bugger up the clock on your vcr if u mess with it. And at all times messing with electric, wear foil shoes and make sure you are standing in a bowl of salt water. Its really dangerous not to be

kona_matt

gazderry wrote:

remember, don't mess with the fuse board, thats all technical, so leave that switched on, it will bugger up the clock on your vcr if u mess with it. And at all times messing with electric, wear foil shoes and make sure you are standing in a bowl of salt water. Its really dangerous not to be

vcr?! retro!

kona_matt

biff55 wrote:

you'll struggle to sink in and plaster over any junction box type connection TBH.
like i said earlier , butt crimp connectors are as permanent as the cable itself and can be layed flat so as to enable plastering over.
thought you had another sparky pal to help out ?

sorry, asked that before I managed to talk to my mate. he came round last night and we did a crimp repair. system now works for low power appliances like wireless router, sky box, lamps etc but as soon as i turn on the TV or kettle or washing machine etc the whole system trips out :? will be seeking further professional advice and probably writing another large cheque :roll:

projectsome

kona_matt wrote:

biff55 wrote:

you'll struggle to sink in and plaster over any junction box type connection TBH.
like i said earlier , butt crimp connectors are as permanent as the cable itself and can be layed flat so as to enable plastering over.
thought you had another sparky pal to help out ?

sorry, asked that before I managed to talk to my mate. he came round last night and we did a crimp repair. system now works for low power appliances like wireless router, sky box, lamps etc but as soon as i turn on the TV or kettle or washing machine etc the whole system trips out :? will be seeking further professional advice and probably writing another large cheque :roll:

DIY, Youtube has vids on everything

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdL3_83KZZA

MountainMonster

Put a wet paper towel on it, then cover in glue. It'll do the trick and fix everthing else in the house too!

ollie_lucas1985

gazderry wrote:

remember, don't mess with the fuse board, thats all technical, so leave that switched on, it will bugger up the clock on your vcr if u mess with it. And at all times messing with electric, wear foil shoes and make sure you are standing in a bowl of salt water. Its really dangerous not to be

LMFAO..

biff55

kona_matt wrote:

biff55 wrote:

you'll struggle to sink in and plaster over any junction box type connection TBH.
like i said earlier , butt crimp connectors are as permanent as the cable itself and can be layed flat so as to enable plastering over.
thought you had another sparky pal to help out ?

sorry, asked that before I managed to talk to my mate. he came round last night and we did a crimp repair. system now works for low power appliances like wireless router, sky box, lamps etc but as soon as i turn on the TV or kettle or washing machine etc the whole system trips out :? will be seeking further professional advice and probably writing another large cheque :roll:

probably a neutral to earth fault tripping out the rcd.
could be a faulty appliance and not the house wiring.
easy to find out if you follow these steps ;
1 unplug / switch off every electrical appliance / gadget in every room in the house.
2 reset supply at fuse box
3 go round switch on each appliance on one by one
4 if it trips out again you'll know which piece of equipment is faulty.
if it doesnt happen its the fixed wiring within the house and it could cost , fault finding is time consuming.

kona_matt

it appears the RCD switch was damaged. have got a mains switch it there temporarily until we can get a replacement RCD from the supplier. RCD switches aren't cheap are they?

biff55

kona_matt wrote:

it appears the RCD switch was damaged. have got a mains switch it there temporarily until we can get a replacement RCD from the supplier. RCD switches aren't cheap are they?

faulty rcd ? possible but unlikely.
who told you that ?
anyways , if it is , £30ish plus fitting , which should take 60 seconds.

Gazlar

was he standing in the saltwater when he told you that? If he wasn't he's obviously a cowboy

kona_matt

biff55 wrote:

kona_matt wrote:

it appears the RCD switch was damaged. have got a mains switch it there temporarily until we can get a replacement RCD from the supplier. RCD switches aren't cheap are they?

faulty rcd ? possible but unlikely.
who told you that ?
anyways , if it is , £30ish plus fitting , which should take 60 seconds.

electrician mate who does a lot of domestic electrical work. also said the wiring is at least 40 years old so could do with a rewire. he was also getting some strange readings from 2 of the socket circuits but they work and the 3rd circuit had perfect readings. all very confusing. have ordered the RCD, £50 online compared to £110 from a local supplier.

oh, and yeah, in salt water at all times