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Preparing a flat for renting

Harry Macdonald
Hi all,

I would be very grateful for some advice. 

My daughter is having her Edinburgh 1st floor flat prepared for renting and it needs some work highlighted by an electrical safety report. Some things have been noted as requiring remedial work that seem odd to me:
  • Two sockets are noted as being wired in Aluminium Twin & Earth cable. Is this likely? It looks to me like stranded copper.  Would it need replacing even if it is as this would be a pig of a job as the wiring is under a laminate floor.

  • The electrician has quoted for adding rubber grommets to all socket back boxes. I know that this is good practice but is it necessary before a property can be rented.?

  • The gas meter is plastic with metal pipes in and out. It is in the ground at the front of the house. Immediately through the wall is the termination point for the DNO supply with a big earth terminal with the rising (copper) gas pipe a few inches away. The Electrician says that the incoming gas supply must be bonded to the Flat main earth point, i.e. up the stairs and across a doorway and not the the building main earth point. Is he correct?


I have a photo but I can't work out how to upload it. It says drag but that doesn't seem to work.
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    Aerialite Limited aluminium twin and earth cable 

    33e4e32dacd825637b340f6874d4b20d-original-20200804_182819.jpg
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    Thanks, but solid. Anyone seen stranded Aluminium.

    And how did you get the photo to upload?

    Harry
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    Quite, I consider it highly unlikely that stranded aluminium twin and earth equivalent to 2.5 mm twin and earth was ever made, the strands would not be strong enough. It has solid conductors that are thicker than the copper equivalent.


    I might be wrong, but I would assume without seeing it that if the twin and earth conductors are stranded they are tinned copper.


    You need to be patient to upload photos, you will get a dialogue box saying the URL is missing, but it should appear if you wait a bit.


     Andy Betteridge
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    e815c722709ce35ecab69afdecadfbeb-original-20200804_195203.jpg
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    I think it would be tinned copper wiring. There was alot of it around in the 1970s.
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    https://www2.theiet.org/forums/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=205&threadid=41112
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    Harry


    My money would be on it being tinned copper stranded T&E. 50s/60s installation.


    Lack of grommets not ideal but as long as the cable sheath goes all the way in to the box not a problem.


    I doubt if the meter or any gas pipe work inside the flat is plastic as it would melt in a fire and allow the unlimited supply of gas to the fire.


    As for bonding where is the meter and the consumer unit? Each flat is an installation so requires bonding where the pipe work enters the flat.
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    Depending on the walking distance outside of the flat it may be a requirement to have a second gas isolator inside the flat, I have seen a few flats that have failed the gas safety check because of that requirement.


    Andy B.
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    Sparkingchip:

    Depending on the walking distance outside of the flat it may be a requirement to have a second gas isolator inside the flat, I have seen a few flats that have failed the gas safety check because of that requirement.


    Andy B.


     At the same point John would expect to find the 10mm main protective bonding conductor.


    Andy B.


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    How are these observations coded?


    Andy B.

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