Wiring after replacing Fluros

[Redgy]

LOL, gotta print that out for our apprentice.

[spartan]

Get a sparky just don't get the one that did some work on my place - before I purchased it.

Small piece of background ....I work in the electricity industry...when I moved in my neighbour says, 'the previous owner was an electrician and ran xzy electrical install company'.....

I thinks that's great..no bodgy electricals....boy was I wrong......

Anyway after years of finding a fixing mistakes, mainly getting work colleagues to come in and address various issues...I was looking at a 'mistake' by my patio builders.

I had isolated that light and electrical circuits from that part of the house in case they made a 'mistake'. The came to me and said, we accidently cut an extension cord....well it turned out that this extension cord was actually connected to my lights in my patio...when I looked at my light switch, hmm, strange 1.5mm cable (old and grey but good stuff none the less).

Anyway, right in the middle of my garage roof is the dodgiest join I've seen, but it really perplexed me.

My garage roof is not insulated as its separated from the house. Its as hot as $%# up there. So I see this 1.5mm cable joined to an a cut off extension lead, and bundled in about 10km of electrical tape....

How untidy I think, no junction box... I then undo said tape...and there is this join, soldered like real old school electrician...but, active and neutral and reversed....Why would you get up in a stinking hot roof and solder the joins and a) reverse the polarity, and b) not use a junction box....

After scratching and laughing I asked the neighbour did the previous owner ever get anyone else to do his electrical? Nope he was old school...did it all himself....His motto was, if its good enough for my customers place its good enough for mine....

So the moral of the story is by all means get a licensed electrician to do the work.....but make sure you get a competent one.......(which obviously the vast majority are....)

[pedro the swift]

Isnt the old story , that if you want to see bodgy sparky work go to a sparkyies house, if you want to see dodgy plumbing go to a plumbers place. etc.
Tradies usually leave their own places to last to do it properly.