Thanks Billy. I wonder if the anomalies re earthing and earth pins [apart from the lack of bonding in the shower] are ‘bundled’ in the three items he’s picked out and photographed. Ditto the lack of conduit and the 15mm patrasse.
There’s the one above - the socket - which I believe is in one of the bedrooms in the house … and this
and this, seen also in a later pic
Clearly, the outdoor socket with no RCD is this [my photo]
Apart from the points you and Badger make about aspects of the fuse board/consumer unit array and bathroom bonding, my suspicion is that the problems you mention are mainly, if not all associated with this building [I call it the bothy - a Scottish word for a shepherd’s refuge] and the atelier
which both show every sign of having been knocked together by the original owner. He had the house built to current regs [then the windows all x2 glazed but not so recently as to contain nitogen in the gap] then put these two up himself, complete with DIY non-spec electrics.
I bet that :
At least one socket outlet has an earth pin which is not connected to earth.
At least one CIRCUIT (not supplying socket outlets) is not earthed.
Plus, we know it is “at least one” circuit - so each will need checking/re-doing. The cross-section of the EARTH CONDUCTOR of at least one CIRCUIT is insufficient. So, where there is an earth it is not adequate and needs to be a heavier cable.
Old electrical equipment, unsuitable for use The installation includes at least one dilapidated ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT. [See photo of thing tacked to a bit of wood]
Au moins un CONDUCTEUR isolé n’est pas placé sur toute sa longueur dans un conduit, une goulotte, une plinthe ou une huisserie, en matière isolante ou métallique, jusqu’à sa pénétration dans le MATERIEL ELECTRIQUE qu’il alimente.
are all in the bothy, apart from the photo of the adhoc extension socket seen against wallpaper with rural scenes in red. That’s in a bedroom in the house.
Judging by the stuff in the cave and in the atelier, he was a bit of a demon DIYist, and I bet all the wiring in the bothy and the atelier are his. It all looks home-made - the walls, the window frames, the outside shutters - the lot.
and the atelier
The shower is something I intend to completely refurb anyway.
As you say, the phrase “au moins…” is clearly the default ‘Get out of jail’ formula to cover
It is always more convenient and often cheaper to start again from scratch. I did this in my flat in Valencia but that was made easier by the fact that I had all the walls replastered, new ceilings [all false ceilings so running cable couldn’t have been easier] as well. And I had the budget!
This one has to be played very carefully, financially.
I’m 72. That’s why I’ve ‘taken a view’ about the asbestos content of roof tiles and wall panels - standard for 1958 - and the radon gas. Vire is set on granite.
If I don’t mess with the roof or the exterior walls and the floor is gas proof [laminate over tiles over timber over an underbuild and open the windows to let the gas out (advice from the estate agent!)] those shouldn’t be a problem for me.
But I would like to do the best I can afford on the lekky. It’s disappointing that the ‘anomalies’ are not described in more detail. All the ‘localisation’ boxes are blank. Why are they there? That’s pretty poor.
I think perhaps an analysis broken into in 3 parts - 1/ the main board, 2/ the house sockets and wiring, and 3/ the bothy/atelier sockets and wiring. And likewise, renovations in stages.
Time for a cup of tea! My
is going square!