Bad news for this customer...

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Timestamps:
00:00 coming up...
00:35 customer briefing
01:40 investigating the fault
01:55 damage cause by damp
05:00 repair attempt
14:00 testing
14:40 breaking the bad new to the customer
17:15 putting the cables in connectors
17:53 my final thoughts

[@hendoiii3487]

Very professional electrician. Not many would continue a job like this and simply walk off. Thanks for saving this households lives.

[@I_Don_t_want_a_handle]

Really? I've had some useless sods fiddling with my electrics, but they usually finish the job. Most of them are pipe tappers, if anything.

[@MarcUK]

Giving the rust, it's entirely possible that that hole drilled for the telephone/tv cable isn't sealed properly on the outside and that's how water has been able to enter.

[@stuartlevy2131]

Exactly what I was thinking

[@TechHowden]

I'd say that's probably what happened

[@ericpilboue3276]

The water follow the cable, normally we make a loop + rubson

[@digidudeuk]

Look at the underneath og the BT socket. That's where the waters getting jn, where BT has drilled the cable through the wall, not drilling downwards, and probably not sealing the hole

[@nickryan3417]

Having encountered many a knuckle dragging BT installer... the hole will have been drilled at an angle - just higher on the outside of the property compared to the inside. Add in some shoddy use of filler, if they bothered at all, and the wires from outside to inside will have formed a convenient route for the water to seep in.

[@chrisardern4594]

The green goo is caused by the plasticiser reacting with the copper. The real danger is the gerrn goo can effectively cause a electrical fire. The area should be recommended to be rewired asap. Personally i would have told her that the skirting board needed to come off its only a couple of foot long.

[@legendkiller456]

Not to mention it's toxic and a health hazard! Without a rewire, it could corrode the entire circuit.

[@eastwayelectrical]

I think you are right about what cause the green goo saw it on the net also in the last NICEIC webinar. thanks for watching

[@iandrew6347]

Should fit some Arc fault Detection Devices

[@FAB1150]

Yep blue/green usually means copper oxide, if it's just corroded copper it will be crystals but as a goo it reacted with something

[@george.mathieson2]

You're doing a good job on the damp conditions of the sockets.

[@abdulseaforth6930]

Respect due Del- it’s not just about the glamorous jobs

[@eastwayelectrical]

Thanks for watching

[@Damopatrick]

You get yourself into some situations delroy. It’s nice see you been helpful and respectful too your customers hopefully damp has stopped as that my concern how sockets have gotten so much corrosion is main problem. Hopefully this lady gets everything sorted lucky there was no serious damage with burning.

[@eastwayelectrical]

Thanks for watching, I hope I'm always to respectful to my client.

[@joparish1037]

“There’s no damp in that corner” Del finds basically a swamp! 😂 And what’s that annoying bit of cable coming out of the wall alongside the BT box?? Aerial co-ax? Anyway, as soon as you pulled the first cover it was obvious this was going to be a bigger job! Another nice video - keep up the good work Del! 👍

[@eastwayelectrical]

Yep you are right it was always going to be a bigger job. Thanks for watching.

[@dieseldragon6756]

KZbin randomly suggested this vid to me, and I'm glad it did. Considerations of outside/rising damp aside, I *think* a culprit for those rusted sockets might be *condensation,* and it sounds to me like *all* of the mains wiring in that room might need replacement. She certainly needs a full installation safety test ASAP, especially as what she said at 17:06 („None of the sockets that side work“) suggests to me a possible break in the downstairs ring. 🔌⚡🔥😳 The room has plants in it which might not help (Look at any greenhouse!) and those sockets are low down on an outside wall, presumably solid/non-cavity. On colder nights the wall will get cold, causing condensation to form as warm air inside the room comes into contact with the cold wall. This builds up on the face of the wall and then runs down, in this case right into the top of the sockets and onto the exterior top of the back-box. Cue a few warm/cold cycles and decay of the back boxes starts fairly quickly, especially if they're cheaper (thinner) steel with poor galvanisation. 💧 In this case the decay has clearly affected the sockets and cables as well as the boxes, and I wouldn't regard *any* of them at all salvageable - The CPC fault you found shows there are definitely other faults elsewhere. ⚠ Personally; The replacement sockets might be best not sited on that wall - Or if they are; In plastic surface mounted boxes and with sufficient protection against condensation taken into consideration. 👍

[@jamesl8053]

I'm surprised this hasn't been an issue sooner, but I'm glad you continued with the job and helped the client, nothing worse than finding a rpoblem is bigger than you thought and the person you called leaving off without aiding you.

[@andrewyeo2353]

That skirting under sockets not matching other wall was a massive red flag to me , never had damp in that wall😂

[@dcpowered]

Please add the link for part 2 in the video description! Thank you!

[@brianwimpenny1643]

Impossible situation delroy you advised her well and she didn't want it rewiring as an emergency it's her choice they'll do it when they have the funds when she's doing the other Remedial work. As well well done 👏 ✔️ 👍

[@eastwayelectrical]

Thanks for watching.

[@fredfred2363]

My quick and good way to bung in new back boxes in this kind of situation is to use chemfix. Strong and durable. Sets in 20 mins. As soon as it's set, you can mix up some filler and plaster around the gaps, trowelled smooth ready to piant. Then in an hour you can move to the next job.

[@iceman95590]

Hi, I had a similar one at my father in law's house. A leak in the bathroom above caused water to run down into the light switch in the lounge. When I removed the switch there was no backbox, it was chiselled out of the brickwork, and the screws holding the switch were into two pieces of wood wedged into the side. It was done like that from when the house was built, 56 years ago. Never seen a switch like this, the connections were side by side a the bottom(i 1 gang) like in a connector block. Anyway, new plaster depth box and switch fitted. all OK. Cheers Mike

[@silmarlis9449]

Great video thanks mate :)

[@deano_bites]

Some poor bugger would of lit up like a Christmas tree glad you sorted the problem and told the reality of the situation

[@wilbertvandenberg3158]

As a French electrician I'm always amazed why British electricians don't use conduits and air-tight plastic back-boxes like we do over here. It prevents so many problems and makes repairs soooooo much easier. It's even way quicker to install.

[@torsson2]

Same in Sweden. PVC boxes connected to plastic pipes/and or flexi. Rewire a whole house can be done in a day without any destruction. Off course some house has damaged pipes, screws in it etc witch will need som fixing after but most times you can just pull out neutral, live and earth and pull new trough.

[@Z-Ack]

Ive never seen any residential building have any kind of emt or conduit for the electrical.. from the panels out is always just open cables that are fastened to studs every 4-6 feet with staples or some kind of strap.. per code.. conduit is only required in commercial or public buildings or outdoors or where the cabling will be exposed like in a garage maybe but still isnt required in residential.. ive ran houses with liquitite conduit but those were one off builds that the homeowner drew up the plans and had it all approved n all.. otherwise nobody would pay to have that done mostly because people are dumb and wont ever know the difference or care either way.. hell you can use a type of insulation that will fireproof inbetween rooms for just a few dollars extra a foot but theyd rather go cheap and get it done..

[@barryram2605]

British houses are interesting as a whole, the walls are built to stand for centuries, all the rest is third world country.

[@eastwayelectrical]

I agree with the conduit, air-tight plastic boxes? not sure what they are. thanks for watching.

[@edc1569]

@@torsson2yeah UK building styles for walls makes its has to install containment onto brick/ concrete walls

[@Rozyx-fp3es]

An electrician who cleans after himself. Have not seen that before 😂 4:50

[@GeorgeXCIX]

Do you think you could do a tool bag loadout video? What wire strippers do you use? Great video btw!

[@SteveSmith-zo4ml]

Could be that water is getting into the boxes from above somehow or other. That might account for why the wall isn’t stained. I think it’s unlikely that it’s an old problem that’s gone away. If it’s still there, it’s going to continue causing problems no matter what you do to the electrics.

[@FrankBudino]

Watched a couple of videos, this guy instantly gives off an air of trust and experience. I sound like an advert hahah. Shame he's complete opposite way (I'm West London), I'd call him if I ever needed electrics checked

[@gregcressey1791]

Would the breaker have to be downrated so it can be run as 2 radials especially as its lost earth ? Or will the 2 radials be ok with a path bk to cu via an earth ?

[@davidcooper4125]

Take the skirting off, check or replace those cables, new boxes and replace the skirting?

[@alantorrance6153]

The lady told Del that the other socket wasn't working properly also. Del couldn't have heard that fully, as that other socket should have been investigated. There should in practicality, always be spare cable behind the wall to aid pulling fresh wire for a replacement socket. However, too many sparkies and especially home handymen do not realise the advisability of spare cable.

[@eastwayelectrical]

spare cable? not sure about that. thanks for watching.

[@rupertknight7763]

It looked like the consumer unit was located in a cellar / basement, so would it not have been easier to go down there and see if cables were easily available down there? If so, I’d have made a new connection down there and run the new cable up the wall to allow new back boxes to be chopped in 500mm from floor level. Easier to use at that height and stops plug cable fouling on skirting board. I’d have then filled the old holes and the chase to new height boxes. If it’s rising damp, then placing sockets higher could help avoid the lower damp affected wall.

[@DaveInBridport]

We had a sparkie round to add a point in the garden. He actually wired it into the street light. Happy days.

[@b.powell3480]

Great video!, however, the lady probably has water leaking from the roof getting down to those sockets and causing the corrosion and green corrosion residues on the fittings,hopefully you can fix the wiring

[@jeremylister89]

Good vid, and what an awful mess!! Green is usually copper oxide, I ALWAYS put cable in conduit. Where is damp coming from? Rising damp? Leak or historic leak?

[@Matty_Does_Stuff]

Good work. How often do cables in the wall need to be replaced? I recently had Home Serve out to replace my electrical box under the stairs as it was an old one from the 80s or 90s. Nothing was mentioned about the cables in the walls. I think theyve been there since the early 90s.

[@paulwinstone4825]

I didn't have one as bad as that but only noticed a problem when my daughters computer was shutting off. I removed three sockets close to it to check and they were all fine and then removed the one the computer was plugged into and found something had leached out of the wall and damaged the socket. Swapped the socket and not had a problem since. Wasn't quite as bad as this one thankfully.

[@FrankieBoy-wn6qt]

Nice heavy cable on that open reach out,et lol…ohh my days 😂😊

[@user-ox4ty5cl2q]

The wall is releasing moisture directly onto the socket box and building up the oxidation onto the copper wires.. The green is copper oxide.

[@S-Theo]

It would be necessary to raise the floorboards, make few JBs under the floor and extend the cables. Existing back boxes must be dismantled and the walls plastered. Is this an outside wall? If so some insulation for back boxes should be applied.

[@PSUK]

I’m amazed that the RCD didn’t trip!

[@mineown1861]

Never had a problem with damp in that corner ? The corrosion and rust staining say otherwise.

[@nickryan3417]

The wall in the alcove had signs on damp at the bottom just above the skirting. Mostly to the left of where Del was working.

[@thetechgenie7374]

Reason why we use electrical conduit and mostly emt in the US as you can rewire easily down the road and protects the wires. I would have had to run new cable, being especially how brittle it is and the fact bad corrosion was found. Corrosion Tends to work up the wire. Plus the question is why the corrosion would have to be addressed as well. I won't touch it as to much of a liability and won't want my name associated with it. He at the least called it quits at the end and told her he can't leave it in a unsafe condition.

[@mickeyzahirovic9077]

It looks like there is an issue with whole circuit possibly. I don’t understand why you didn’t do further tests to ascertain if and what other issues there may be.

[@paulbrown1079]

Where has all that damp come from must be leaking from somewhere .

[@pikricky]

Yes,you're right,I think that's the biggest problem

[@user-yw6qb9tt7t]

Outside wall. Dripping down from dodgy gutters. Had mushrooms growing out of mine in that same area

[@metallitech]

Corners can be pretty bad for condensation, in my experience. Could have been quite bad in the winter.

[@multicultural2371]

Dell you must love a drama 😅

[@eastwayelectrical]

The Damp happened some time ago it's not damp now. Thanks for watching.

[@melvynofford272]

Top man.

[@dennisreid4428]

I'd have multi tooled the skirting off just past the sockets and chased down to the floor,easy fix to put it back on and use some filler to hide the cut, to see how much slack I could find

[@eastwayelectrical]

I think the skirting has to come off when the repair is carried out. Thanks for watching.

[@GeoffRiley]

I am very impressed by your attitude and level of service. I wish more electricians showed off their competence this way… rather than hiding their ineptness when tying their horses up outside!

[@clairefitness2140]

Would of been interested to know if the circuit was a 32 amp ring. If so it could of been split into two radials depending on were the bad spot was. Probably was just 16amp radial in the first place.

[@ghostbombl8034]

Whats that box on to with sire?the wierd switch box?

[@gordon3178]

I replaced lots of sockets and never ever seen rust like that and were the plug socket above or below the dpm and why do people put plug sockets right above the skirting boards in the first place

[@jamesfatula5824]

It look like you have a moisture infusion in the wall that's causing green corrosion along with rusting of a metal box .. we had same thing in USA caused by faulty gutter in the corner

[@Veso266]

How do u rewire if cables are not placed inside coduits Is this even possible without breaking tiles and wals?

[@RobTheSquire]

I hate it when wires are plastered in. Even where I work we had tv's installed on the wall while the canteen was redecorated and they plugged the tv's in and plastered the power leads into the wall.

[@Jaysonlanglois54]

Great vid del. Any new vids soon?

[@frederickwoof5785]

The joy of old houses, rising damp and rot.

[@timballam3675]

I would be outside checking the wall penetrations for the Telephone and the TV Arial or it might be knackered in a few years time!

[@iandrew6347]

Don’t forget that wiring is done to a early regs I would say it would be done to the 16th addition

[@bigwoodrz]

Was other GPO’s on the ground floor checked for Active to Earth Voltage?

[@pah9844]

It a good point some are making. Why do we use metal back boxes in solid walls. Just the norm and never asked. Why?

[@Bespokeelectrics]

Did you do end to end tests to see if there was an issue? Or IR? What about Ze? In about 15 mins you could’ve had a much clearer picture of the issue

[@Bespokeelectrics]

@@Walktheline1991 I’ve just checked his checkatrade and it’s all 9’s or 10’s bar a few?? Hilarious it says he’s not VAT registered but all of his pricing on his website is + vat 😂

[@dennisreid4428]

@@Walktheline1991 Which ones did you read? I've gone through them all and found 3 out of 157 reviews. Sour grapes because he's taking work off you.

[@user-qv6ud2hx6f]

@@dennisreid4428Why his color it relevant?

[@user-qv6ud2hx6f]

@@dennisreid4428Why his color it relevant?

[@user-qv6ud2hx6f]

@@dennisreid4428Why his color it relevant?

[@imaginitivity7853]

There'll never be any progress on house building methods (still brick built as 100 years ago) as long as the house builders have as big a government lobby as they do. Any and all proposed improvements are watered down or killed outright. Profit above all else

[@patterdalezipsuzilil]

Rising damp is a bummer

[@c2gsovermind]

Good work with that outlet! Seemed like tight quarters down there... Just curious, but what is song playing at kzbin.info/www/bejne/q327dnxsgJeefas? Thanks!

[@Z-Ack]

Why not cut the baseboard and move the receptacles down or at least get to the slack of the cables or pigtail it where you get the access to the wire behind the baseboard? That said theres obviously moisture getting into that area pretty bad and would think that would need addressed before replacing the electrical that was compromised by that moisture..

[@iangregoryhome]

Did you look at the other socket she said wasn't working?

[@9mmomen]

There are a lot of plants in that room, was someone careless with the watering?

[@dieseldragon6756]

Lots of plants = Lots of condensation. I think we can both see what's caused those back-boxes to corrode... 🥬💧⚡

[@neilfarthing3888]

"The old sparkys use to say thats your best screwdriver mate" (shows hammer)... proceeds to use a screwdriver as a chisel! Lol 😂😂😂😂

[@agentcarbunkle]

Your cavity is probably bridged full of rubble in that corner. Those sockets might be better higher up on the wall.

[@lynchy751]

perfect i enjoyed that

[@jackm3720]

I’m so annoyed with myself, I didn’t realise I wanted to be an electrician until just before I missed the cut offs for apprenticeships. Does anyone know if there’s a way to still get an apprenticeship after 25? Probably got to be my biggest blunder in life.

[@godbluffvdgg]

What a mess! We have lots of old housing here in philly There is still plenty of Knob and Tube around, but; I've NEVER seen a mess like that! All those wires in such a small area with the crappiest looking outlets. And left her with no outlets...I understand you guys use a 240V voltage for outlets. You had 240 there; why couldn't you install a new outlet?

[@user-wl4cl1ph3b]

Feel sorry for you mate I'm just a competent DIYer who follows the rule ethics with electrics etc but I wouldn't fancy meeting that mess anytime soon & those galv boxes take some hammer but chemically their not bombproof

[@RC-nq7mg]

I had an electrical box filled to the brim with dead wasps once.

[@MARKSTRINGFELLOW1]

Always bad news when you see sockets sitting on the skirting

[@Ramblingpete]

Whip the skirting off the cable is coming upwards 👻

[@Arachnoid_of_the_underverse]

Lots of wall damp by the look of it andiIf the earthing is bad there its likely to be the same in the rest of the ring main.

[@andysims4906]

Why didn’t he check other sockets

[@user-yw6qb9tt7t]

Time considerations. Parking. Customers don't want you charging till tea time

[@andysims4906]

The most important thing is safety not time

[@user-yw6qb9tt7t]

@@andysims4906 dampness. Exterior wall ground floor. Yeah check above kitchen worktops. Reality. Forgot to add that

[@spamhead]

Originally wired in the 60s or 70s judging by the solid green sleeving. Back in the day, galvanised, or even painted boxes were the norm on cold solid walls. They will all eventually rust due to condensation. I came across a problem a few years ago where RCD was tripping when clothes were being dried in the house. The moisture was condensing and running out the boxes! As the house had recently been rewired with metal boxes screwed to waterproof render, then dry lined , I ended up putting in foam tape to stop the water condensing in the box, and recommended using a vented tumble dryer. Problem never recurred, but plastic boxes would have been the way to go.

[@davidfincham5181]

The wiring looks like a complete firetrap. If the backing boxes have corroded that much the wall is sure to be damp and that alone will deteriorate the cables. A local rewire should be carried out with the correct cable as you could be responsible for any problems in the future.

[@Reaktanzkreis]

It seems that no patresses had been installed. Those sockets were direct fitted at the wall. Dump and moisture did their destructive work, everything is rotten away. Such installation are very dangerous , the earth leakage device (RCB) may help a bit but is not an insurance against fire.

[@Ralphs-House]

I find with metal back boxes, if you're using bonding plaster, just knocking the round grommet holes in around 2-3mm gives more than enough fixing when plastered in - certainly stronger than rawl plugs and screws although no harm in using both. Sets like rock! Agree whole heartedly on using conduit or similar container to run cables under plaster. Some say plaster eventually eats into the insulation. Not sure about that but pros always use conduit as it makes the circuit fully serviceable/replaceable in the future. Yep, takes more time but its a proper job then.

[@user-yw6qb9tt7t]

Conduit good for servicing if no bends. Plaster does not affect pvc sheathing

[@Ralphs-House]

@@user-yw6qb9tt7t Good to know. I always think plastering over cables (while quick) sets the next person up for a lot of work. Its lazy.

[@eastwayelectrical]

Bonding plaster does hold the boxes really well I try to use screws as well. Agree with using conduit however, it shown in text books twin and earth cable in the with no conduit or capping. Thanks for watching.

[@samfish6938]

Run outlet trunking

[@digidudeuk]

Green is copper rusting, from the water ingress

[@abdulseaforth6930]

Is it an outside wall?

[@user-yw6qb9tt7t]

Yes

[@eastwayelectrical]

Yes it was an outside wall.

[@matthewhammond859]

As someone about to pass inspection and testing exams and bs7671, anyone got advice for getting your first sparky job?

[@hashtagger8694]

My local CEF have job adverts on the wall. Good luck with your exams

[@albertharmon2738]

Ask Ken. He's the No1 sparky in the uk

[@wilbertvandenberg3158]

Tell people all around you ! And if you do quality jobs, within a year you will have more customers than you can manage.

[@user-yw6qb9tt7t]

To get experience quick join mybuilder and do small jobs.

[@user-yw6qb9tt7t]

Join your local masonic lodge.

[@audibell]

Condem it

[@joshuacooch4789]

I feel absolutely awful for you what a absolute nightmare for you and the home owner especially if they don't have the money at that time to fix it, but I was just wondering what do you do when you go in to do a very simple job like this one, and you are just thinking all it needs is a replacement wall socket and when you remove the faceplate the job turns into can of worms and it looks like the flat/house needs a full rewire to be made safe once again what do you do hypothetical saying if the wiring is a fire risk but the owner refuses to do the work for whatever reason are you still allowed to refuse to switch the power back on or do you have to switch it back on if they say so even after you have notified them of the potential risk especially if other flats or homes could be put at risk one way or another if they have same age of wiring how do you stop this falling back on to you when you done everything right and the flat or home still burns down after you have given the homeowner a warning of the potential risk of fire due to the old wiring.

[@tonywatson1412]

Nah...del. no damp there 😅 / thats one of those 10min. jobs everybody talks about 😮

[@johnord6744]

BT wire not sealed from outside probably

[@rikoshea5549]

Is it safe to extend those cables using wagos?

[@eastwayelectrical]

I think rewire is the best. However if the wires were traced to a point where they could be cut and they tested satisfactory then they could be enclosed in an appropriate junction box and wagos could be used. don't think it's worth it though. Thanks for watching.

[@rikoshea5549]

@@eastwayelectrical thanks for reply 👍

[@stephen-truthseeker]

So what's causing that corrosion?

[@user-yw6qb9tt7t]

Damp from outside wall.

[@gordon3178]

Don't think i saw any internal switch boxes

[@1nice1]

I would remove skirting board .

[@megatronskneecap]

I'm honestly just confused on how you don't notice a socket getting to that level of buggered 😂

[@Zer0kbps]

makes you wonder how bad teh rest is

[@christophergrimes12]

I would have just rewired the two stockets

[@JorgeAMG187]

Always use plastic Backboxes. wont have isuess with dampness then

[@tonystewart6592]

I had the same issuie on one Job as replacing it with another metal boxes will corrode again if the property has damp issuies...So I fitted plastic conduit twin back boxes instead of replacing it with a metal box..Same wavelength we are on..As Yoda would Say ..Lol

[@user-yw6qb9tt7t]

Silicone around inside box. Job done

[@CommercialGasEngineerVideos]

There we go breaking the customers heart

[@patpending8134]

?

[@CommercialGasEngineerVideos]

"Oh sorry Maggie"😂

[@sephirothsoul999]

Wake up, Maggie, I think Delroy's got something to say to you 🎵

[@CommercialGasEngineerVideos]

@@sephirothsoul999 spot on

[@sephirothsoul999]

@@CommercialGasEngineerVideos 😉The corrosion was such a bad joke, broken wires wouldn't stretch, though we'd coax, oh Maggie, we couldn't have tried...anymoreeeeee 🎵

[@johnroberts2944]

Groat far better than sand and cement goes off so quick and far firmer

[@James.984haid]

I would never use those cables again.

[@Bespokeelectrics]

Also, before you realised there was an issue you thought a sand and cement mix would solve the problem? They clearly have a damp issue that needs to be fixed. No ones asking you to fix it, but at least advise them to get it resolved before you set another metal back box into damp conditions

[@ryanodriscoll5346]

When’s your next video ?

[@Richard500]

Is here name Maggie?

[@HA05GER]

For little bits like thiswouldnt easyfill be a better product to make good. Buy a big bag for pretty cheap and be easily sanded.

[@eastwayelectrical]

From the time I've been doing this In my opinion bonding plaster is the best. In this case I would have used a layer of sand and cement before using the bonding. Thanks for watching.

[@HA05GER]

@@eastwayelectrical good to know del, cheers for the reply 👍 keep it up.

[@andrewhaines3259]

"We've never had an issue with damp". Takes socket off and loads of rust. Hmm. Me thinks there is damp. The yellow stained walls tell a different story.

[@Sam-bz1hr]

maggie !!

[@mihailblues200]

Rip out the skirting, the flooring, rewire that section. This was painful to watch.