gordon s Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 (edited) Morning all….:-) Having to buy a new bed as the old one was worn out. (Those were the days!) Only problem is Mrs S is a sparrow and I'm a hippo, so now we need a zip link mattress, soft on one side, firm on the other. Is there anything more daft than buying a bed and having to bounce about, fully clothed for all of five minutes on each mattress in a shop full of people….. Minor drawback is that two mattresses are wider than the old bed, so now we need an electrician to move the sockets and lights. That will involve holes in the plasterboard, so then we'll need a decorator to redo the bedroom, plus a new TV as the old one is 405 lines. I suspect the carpet will need a look at and then there's the curtains/soft furnishings. Perhaps separate bedrooms would be a cheaper alternative…. Thank God I'm golfing tomorrow to get a break from this major rebuilding exercise. Edited January 24, 2015 by gordon s 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold grandadbob Posted January 24, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 24, 2015 Good morning all, Dry but quite fresh now after a wet night and the sun is making an appearance. Good to hear that Mal's mum is improving. I "knead" to make some bread and collect a prescription from the Chemist so in the meantime..... have a good one, Bob. 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony_S Posted January 24, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 24, 2015 Morning all. Sunny here. Dog was damp after his run round the garden so some form of moisture from the sky must have happened last night. I wasn't aware of it. I sleep more as I get older! I will be fitting the ceiling fan in the downstairs loo today. I have decided that instead of just swapping the fans over that I will do something about the nasty bodge that the builders left when they fitted the original unit. Otherwise a quiet weekend seems likely. No visits to central London or Enfield. Matthew didn't get the job with BP. Unfortunately they phoned him just before he had a telephone interview with another oil/energy company. Tony Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
emt_911 Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 (edited) Morning Pete. Two ways it can be dangerous. 1. The breaker for the lighting circuit is of too high a value. 2. It is possible that they have used a cable to the boiler that is rated lower than it should be. You should have a certificate from the installers with their trade body registration number. Contact the trade body and it should be covered by their membership policy. You shouldn't be out of pocket for their shoddy work. Edit to add. I wonder what else isn't up to standard with the rest of the work Edited January 24, 2015 by emt_911 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71 Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 (edited) Mornin' all, A dawn of two halves in the Moorlands. A 7.30 departure was ensured by the reluctance of the cloud to let any light through and then the sky cleared sufficiently to give a good level from the start. During the climb towards Morridge wet roads gave way to icy slush and black ice on untreated side roads....time to make any movements slow and deliberate....the run off from the fields crossing the road being the usual source of the water that formed the black ice. Dull greyness down by the reservoir, iced slush on the surface preventing reflection of the bright parts of the sky. The climb back to civilisation was done in a snow shower....the flakes hiding the black ice which made for considerable wheel spin and re-adjustment of balance just to stay on the bike. A little modelling on the cards today. Feathered ones fed. Enjoy what you do. Dave Edited January 24, 2015 by Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon s Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 (edited) Dangerous? Possibly, as the current rating for lighting circuits is considerably lower than that for power circuits. If the fusing is correct it will provide some protection in the short term, but with the boiler load and all the lights on, you may have a problem. You're absolutely right to get it sorted as asap. Edited January 24, 2015 by gordon s 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon s Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 More info here…. http://www.electriciansforums.co.uk/electrical-wiring-theories-electrical-regulations/68415-boiler-fed-off-lighting-circuit.html Seems more common than I would have thought... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coombe Barton Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Sunny and icy. Off to son's later. Having had yesterday working at home (Oh yes I did - and got to the bottom of several problems) it's feeling a lot like Sunday.Hope that waking up tomorrow will be a pleasant surprise when I realise which day is really is. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium NGT6 1315 Posted January 24, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 24, 2015 (edited) Dangerous? Possibly, as the current rating for lighting circuits is considerably lower than that for power circuits. If the fusing is correct it will provide some protection in the short term, but with the boiler load and all the lights on, you may have a problem. It's certainly against all approved standards and should never be done. You're absolutely right to get it sorted as asap. I haven't been at the backing-up stage yet mentally, but what you said explains the bad gut feeling I had when reading about that setup at Pete's pretty well, Gordon. Edited January 24, 2015 by 1216 025 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
emt_911 Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 More info here…. http://www.electriciansforums.co.uk/electrical-wiring-theories-electrical-regulations/68415-boiler-fed-off-lighting-circuit.html Seems more common than I would have thought... You'd be surprised. I'm not a sparks by trade but do have to know the regs. I've seen some absolutely terrible work that could be done better by a 5 year old by supposedly good companies Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Thanks for the info Duncan and Gordon. It's been this way for the best part of two years and will be sorted asap. Thinking more about it, I actually have an idea why it was done this way, but that doesn't excuse the fact that it was never put right. Thanks again. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killybegs Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 It may be cheaper to not have it included on the car policy and have a seperate breakdown policy which provides cover for both vehicles. Don Been there, tried that, didn't even get the tee shirt! Regrettably, here in the Republic, none of the car insurers want to deal directly with individuals when it comes to motorhomes. Why? I don't know. We insure ours through the Motor Caravan Club of Ireland who have organised a 'group' deal through a broker. Our car insurance is another group scheme set up for nurses and does have good breakdown cover. Thanks for trying to help. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted January 24, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 24, 2015 Morning all from Estuary-Land. Pete, my brother is a retired Sparks who's major task was inspecting and approving electrical installations in such places as hospital operating theatres. I asked him about this and he said this was quite common but was not inherently dangerous but bad practice nevertheless. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDolfelin Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I have a feeling that a Trade Body as recommended would probably condemn the whole installation to protect their bottoms if they identified bad practice. That would give problems with Insurance until it was fixed. I may be wrong but, years ago, I'd already paid £3,800+ to get a large house rewired when a fault with the new cable was revealed. Ended up doing it again myself. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killybegs Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 So. Last September we ordered some Schreiber chairs from Homebase to replace those in our breakfast room. Just two, in chocolate leather. The day before they were due to be delivered we got a message to say that they had been delayed. Await information for delivery. We got a message saying they would be another 53 days (that's the Schreiber order-delivery cycle). The day before they were due to be delivered we got a message to say that they had been delayed. Await information for delivery. We got a message saying they would be another 53 days. I complained a lot. Homebase told us that Schreiber couldn't deliver because they had 'overperformed' and there was a Europe-wide (the chairs are made in Germany) shortage of brown leather. By now it was December. So we cancelled the order for leather chairs and ordered two fabric covered chairs instead. You can't just change the order, you have to cancel it and get a refund, then order some more. The two fabric chairs were delivered this morning. So were two leather ones (in the unobtainable chocolate brown). Which I sent back... The delivery men and I did think of keeping them and selling them on ebay! But someone would notice. So I've spoken to the delivery people and they have no idea what's going on. I've spoken to Homebase, and they've no idea what's going on. They are checking that the refund on the leather chairs was processed... They should have an answer for me in 48 hours. My breath is bated. This is not unusual with Homebase. We had the same problem with a small summerhouse. It arrived 6 months late, packed on one large and very heavy pallet on a truck with no unloading equipment. That morning our road was closed and the truck became stuck. This turned out to be fortuitous as the next vehicle to arrive belonged to one of my neighbours, the importance of which will become evident. Between us we helped the driver free his vehicle. This didn't solve the problem of making the delivery. It was at this point that I discovered it was all on one pallet. 'How are you going to get that off anyway John?' said the other John (neighbour). He had a great suggestion. He is the maintenance engineer at one of the fish factories and arranged to offload the pallet with a fork lift at the factory and store it until such time as I could unpack it and bring it back home with several trips in my trailer. When unpacked, it was in a sorry state, with all the woodwork mouldy. I rang the company in the UK that made it who informed me that it had been shipped to Homebase 6 months previously. Furthermore, their arrangement with Homebase specified that it should be delivered to the purchaser on a truck with long reach lifting equipment! After a further six months haggling with Homebase, they gave me a 25 euro voucher! We don't shop there anymore! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiffy2 Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Incredible. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted January 24, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 24, 2015 Morning all, Good news Mal - hope things continue to improve; and well done daughter of Pete. Fortunately I can use laddo's car to take the Mac in tomorrow and for other travel the station is only about 1000 yards away (downhill - the back working is not so funny as a result). Talk of wiring reminds me of our first house - the bloke we bought it from was a Safety Officer in a rather well known nuclear plant which produced material for making bombs among other things. Anyway over the course of our first year in the house I discovered (after it fused the lighting circuit) that the garage spur was made out of the wrong sort of stuff - MICC without proper glands - came off the lighting circuit but had a power socket on the end and had no isolating switch at either end. We also had a socket which not only didn't work but had an open space underneath the wallpaper between it and the skirting board where the wiring had been removed and under the floor there was a cable dangling in the air still connected into a live circuit. Struck me at the time as some sort of minor miracle that there wasn't a very big hole where West Berkshire used to be. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 (edited) Thanks to all re: the wiring. I've had to pay a quick visit to the electrician as he's local (friend of a friend etc...) but he's changed his mobile number since I last called him. It's a complicated story, but there is still some work to be done to this house and renovation is still ongoing, although nearly finished. In a nutshell, shortly after installation, there was a fault with the breaker feeding the boiler spur and the boiler was wired into the lighting circuit as a temporary fix until a new breaker could be obtained. I wasn't aware of the "quick fix" and the sparkie completely forgot about the replacement breaker... I can live with that explanation as most houses are rewired in one go, not in stages with several months passing by between stages! He's going to call in this afternoon and replace the breaker and arrangements have now been made for the top floor of the house to "go live" in a week or so (the new wiring's there, just no sockets or switches). That's a weight off my mind. Thanks again for your help! Edited January 24, 2015 by Pete 75C 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixoh8sixoh Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Morning all. Pleased to hear the good news from Pete and Mal. I decided to forego the run this morning as it looked rather frosty. I'm going to have to get back into the running as soon as it's safe. No races entered yet this year but I'm in the ballot for the Great North Run. 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Happy Hippo Posted January 24, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 24, 2015 Morning all….:-) Having to buy a new bed as the old one was worn out. (Those were the days!) Only problem is Mrs S is a sparrow and I'm a hippo Thank God I'm golfing tomorrow to get a break from this major rebuilding exercise. Hmmmm! Not come across you in the immediate family geneology records. I'm an Okavango Delta Hippo: One presumes you must come from the Limpopo side of the family? Which brings me neatly onto today's shock horror story. I was woken, first by Elsa who came in put her paws on the bed and slobbered all over me. Then the Pygmy Hippo came in and gave me a cup of tea! That he was up so early on a Saturday was a miracle. To make me tea and give it to me in bed was unbelievable! He's now disappeared off to somewhere in Cheshire to pick up a Stihl leaf blower and a brush cutter of the same parentage. Both will be restored to working order in due course. His Seat's engine has had the head removed and all the glow plug debris removed from the cylinder bore. We also removed the glow plug carcasses from the head by carefull use of a number of drills and then cleaned up the threads with a 10mm x 1.0mm tap. Fortunately we had one to hand, Isn't it amazing that there are two differing glow plug sizes depending on the variant of engine (there other being 10 x 1.25 mm). Still, while we were at it we've replaced all sorts of other bits and pieces such as various timing belts, water pump etc. It seemed foolish no to as it is so much easier to do it all at once and not have to srtrip everything out a few weeks/months later. Today is bright and blue, so some work outside calls. This afternoon sees the Stokesay Junction 'scenic box', which has been sitting in my garage awaiting transportation, finally taken to the club and fitted to the layout. Much easier to do it in the peace and quiet rather than trying to erect it on a club evening where all the 'helping' hands would been more of a hindrance. 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium AndyB Posted January 24, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 24, 2015 (edited) Quick dip in as I've been painting my Timecast houses and allotments this morning. Good to hear the news from Mal, which has inspired me to have haggis and mash myself, tonight. Ok, should probably wait till tomorrow, but.... Beautiful commute yesterday with clear skies of mixed sky blue and salmon colours as the sun rose. Very cold and still with a coating of frost covering the meadow and hedgerows. Nothing planned for the weekend. Just relaxing, modelling and some more relaxing. Have a nice day everyone. Andy Edited January 24, 2015 by AndyB 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium petethemole Posted January 24, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 24, 2015 A late riser today, after nearly 10 hours kip. I feel a lot better so that may have been part of the recovery process. I haven't posted here for a couple of days; nothing to say really. Martyn's sickness was a one-day bug. I'm off shortly to the Southampton show. Have a good day Pete 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Here in the Highlands we have a surface that is like wet sheet glass after overnight wind, and rain which fell on freezing ground - Pleased to hear Mals news, and big congrats to Petes daughter. Have a good day whatever you're thinking of dooing 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jock67B Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Morning all, Bright and clear here at the seaside so it looks like a walk round the local cemetery for Joanna and Archie the Westie whilst I clean the headstone on her parents grave, and replace the flowers with fresh ones! Rather sad that I can no longer manage this without my garden 'kneeler'! Mal, great news from Edinburgh, fingers crossed that the improvement continues. She is obviously a strong character! Let's hope you feel better soon - sensible move not to carry the bugs into the hospital! Dave (TG), wondered if you're taking part in the RSPB's 'Big Garden Birdwatch'? We replenished the feeders and put a couple half coconut shells out, hoping that our feathered friends would stop by long enough to be counted! For anyone interested, just Google 'RSPB' and you'll get the links! Have a good but safe day all, Kind regards, Jock. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony_S Posted January 24, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 24, 2015 Having just read Richard's feat (Fiat?) of motor maintenance I was very impressed. If hippos had opposable thumbs they would be unstoppable! As part of his (third) marriage my brother acquired 3 post teen / young adult persons. Now I am quite sure that they liked him anyway but his ability to fix cars, electronic devices and plumbing has certainly not hindered the relationships. 13 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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