Interesting Discoveries Next Door

[TheScullster]

Hi all

Just thought I'd share.............

My neighbour is having an extension built and, being an interested DIYer (read nosey neighbour), I have been following the construction and generally snooping at peripheral bits and pieces.

So far on the existing property I have noticed:

1. Outside lights wired with T & E and standard internal junction boxes clagged on the side of the house.
2. An existing extension with a second damp proof course added 2' above the first to reduce damp caused by earth etc against wall lower down bridging the first dpc.
3. T & E sticking out of the ground either side of the front drive. On one side of the drive there is also SWA cable sticking out of the ground. All these have bare ends and the SWA was found to be plugged in to a socket in the garage and switched on.
4. An insulated pipe teed off the outside tap which goes (sort of) vertically down then below ground to come up inside the existing extension and feed a shower.
5. T & E laid across the hall under the carpet immediately inside the front door as a spur from a socket to an understairs cupboard for an alarm feed.

I know that the current owners haven't done any of this. It may turn out to be a blessing that their son set fire to the first floor of the place which kick started the renovation work in the first place. Fortunately the builder doing the re-furb work is the responsible type and likely to rectify as he goes along.

And I thought my place was bad!

Phil

[dom]

When I bought my previous bungalow, amongst the many gems, the t&e wiring to the security lights was routed inside - yes inside - the rainwater guttering around 2 sides of the building.

[matthew.larkin]

When we arrived at our house, we noticed a T&E cable coming from a socket in the wall and disappearing outside into the garden. This was quickly removed by us as there was nothing powered in the garden.

Subsequently we've dug some bits of the garden over to discover that it was mains power to supply a defunct fountain, the cable for which was standard T&E, buried about 5cm under ground and "protected" by a white plastic tube, about 15mm in diameter, in varying sections to allow it to curve an artistic route around the lawn!

Glad I didn't do any digging before we moved the cable.

Matt

[Andy Hall]

This is BSB stuff

British Standard Bodging.

[Andrew Mawson]

I picked up an eBay win the other day from a house that had a normal

13a twin socket mounted on the outside wall by the kitchen door. The socket was in a metal box of the type intended to be flush mounted but this one was surface mounted!!! I tried to explain tactfully to the seller that it was not a good idea, but his English wasn't up to it, and I am not skilled in the languages of the Indian sub continent .

AWEM

[clot]

Well, it's tidy in there. You don't have any unsightly wires, right! Our first house, 1920's end terrace, all power sockets upstairs were spurs made of kettle flexes and similar on chocky blocks from a feed from the box terminating under the landing stairs.

Our first Christmas in the new house was spent wiring ring mains!

[Andy Dingley]

a stunningly badly-done website, but some interesting photos.

Tthere are two levels of gallery navigation, one on invisible tiny buttons by the picture, then a photo bar down at the bottom.