Surely Andy you do not think that the Inspectors job is to stop people being stupid about everything that they do? You mention damaging the cable with the kitchen window. Why would you close the window firmly enough to damage the sheath and primary insulation, which is quite difficult to do with proper wire strippers? I have had thousands of cables through all kinds of windows, and very rarely indeed has one been damaged in the way you describe. A cable buried in a wall is certainly a problem for the inspector because he cannot measure how deep it is, so should he give it a code 2 as a back covering exercise? Whilst it is possible someone will stick a masonary nail through it, most DIYers would at least think about where to drill. There is the odd accident where people drill through buried cables, but they usually realise when bits of copper and plastic come out of the hole. Most DIYers don't have powerful SDS drills, unlike you and I, so are finding drilling quite hard anyway and will feel the change when hitting something unexpected. A code 3 at least gives a warning of a potential problem, and a note about RCD use outdoors would cover the cooker socket. Perhaps you are suggesting they will not look at the report they have paid for? The situation with rented property can also be dealt with fairly easily with the tenancy conditions eg. you may not drill holes anywhere, a common condition anyway.


As for the standard reports, my experience is that the homebuyer reports are useless and a waste of time. They are not the same as a Chartered Surveyor's report which is enforcable by law if he makes an error, they are a sop to energy saving that doesn't work very well. Certainly the energy reports I have read (quite a few) usually do not calculate the heat loss correctly, and make all kinds of assumptions which are often wrong. The most serious problem now is inadequate ventilation in many premises, most of them cheap rented housing with serious mould problems. In fact there was one on the TV yesterday on Points West. Better energy value, but serious health problems as a result. Clearly EICRs should be enforcable too, and there should be serious reprimand for improper use, because that is FRAUD.


So my report would say plug external cables into the ring as a note and a code 3 for the cooker socket and cable. The installation is safe enough if a little care is taken with use as in my report. I don't expect many people will disagree, we shall see. It is rather rare in many EICRs to find useful notes, again the problem is the quality of the inspectors.

Surely Andy you do not think that the Inspectors job is to stop people being stupid about everything that they do? You mention damaging the cable with the kitchen window. Why would you close the window firmly enough to damage the sheath and primary insulation, which is quite difficult to do with proper wire strippers? I have had thousands of cables through all kinds of windows, and very rarely indeed has one been damaged in the way you describe. A cable buried in a wall is certainly a problem for the inspector because he cannot measure how deep it is, so should he give it a code 2 as a back covering exercise? Whilst it is possible someone will stick a masonary nail through it, most DIYers would at least think about where to drill. There is the odd accident where people drill through buried cables, but they usually realise when bits of copper and plastic come out of the hole. Most DIYers don't have powerful SDS drills, unlike you and I, so are finding drilling quite hard anyway and will feel the change when hitting something unexpected. A code 3 at least gives a warning of a potential problem, and a note about RCD use outdoors would cover the cooker socket. Perhaps you are suggesting they will not look at the report they have paid for? The situation with rented property can also be dealt with fairly easily with the tenancy conditions eg. you may not drill holes anywhere, a common condition anyway.


As for the standard reports, my experience is that the homebuyer reports are useless and a waste of time. They are not the same as a Chartered Surveyor's report which is enforcable by law if he makes an error, they are a sop to energy saving that doesn't work very well. Certainly the energy reports I have read (quite a few) usually do not calculate the heat loss correctly, and make all kinds of assumptions which are often wrong. The most serious problem now is inadequate ventilation in many premises, most of them cheap rented housing with serious mould problems. In fact there was one on the TV yesterday on Points West. Better energy value, but serious health problems as a result. Clearly EICRs should be enforcable too, and there should be serious reprimand for improper use, because that is FRAUD.


So my report would say plug external cables into the ring as a note and a code 3 for the cooker socket and cable. The installation is safe enough if a little care is taken with use as in my report. I don't expect many people will disagree, we shall see. It is rather rare in many EICRs to find useful notes, again the problem is the quality of the inspectors.