The electrician is is one of the most important work trades to plan right from the start in any building work.
The modern trend has been to cut chases for electrical conduits once the brickwork is complete, but this is a really messy operation. Fine brick dust will find its way through anything and will leave a brick-coloured residue all over the place.
Wherever possible have the conduits built in as the brickwork proceeds.
Before you begin with any electrics, ensure that your electrician is fully licensed and registered with the Electrical Contractors Association (ECA). Unfortunately, it has become common for people calling themselves electricians to do the installation, then get a registered friend to sign off the job and issue the compliance certificate. Always insist on being issued with a compliance certificate after having any electrical alterations done.
In a recent chat with an officer of the ECA, I was shocked (excuse the pun) to realise how out of date my knowledge was on constantly changing regulations. The installation of hot water cylinders, for example, has very strict regulations on the electrical side, and down lighters are not just something to add in; the transformers should be fixed to solid roof timbers and the wire from the transformer to the light itself should not be over a certain length.
So do ensure that your electrician is up to speed with all regulations. The majority of house fires are caused by faulty electrics, though I must admit it is usually an over-loading or faulty appliance scenario.
As with plumbing, ensure that the supply to your house is adequate for your needs and, to avoid a constantly tripping system, upgrade sooner rather than later. Use the opportunity of the alteration to get rid of overhead supplies if you live in an old house, and remember, if you are going to have a large number of appliances that draw heavy current, consider having a three-phase system installed.
For the DIY handyman, it is also a good idea to have a sub-board in the garage or work area to avoid interfering with the running of the household while you are hard at work with your electrical tools. The initial cost of some of the above-mentioned items is high, but it is certainly more convenient and cheaper to have it done during alterations than at a later date.
External electricity
I am a firm believer that every electrical cable should run in a conduit and that every cable, whether armoured or heavy duty, should have a plastic danger tape placed just above it in the ground to prevent your enthusiastic gardener digging through it.
So outside you need to ensure that you have planned supplies for external boundary lights or garden lights, power to the swimming pool pump, electrical sliding gates and electronic gate locks. Don’t forget the conduit for the gate intercom or video surveillance. It is also a good idea to have a couple of waterproof plugs fitted externally so you are not trailing miles of lead behind your lawnmower or weed-eater.
A couple of power points in your braai area allows you to use portable lighting and lets you use heating trays and the like. You can never have too many power points.
Internal electrics
All your power points or lights feed off your distribution board, so for ease of checking, see that it is in a convenient place that allows for easy access when switches trip.
It is also quite expensive to move, so if you are doing renovations, try to work around it and leave it where it is. I am a great believer in using a pre-paid electricity meter, or energy dispenser, as I am more aware of how much electricity I am using since having it fitted. Yes, it can be a nuisance if you forget to load in more units, but with modern technology it can easily be charged over a cellphone or computer. I have also found it a handy tool for checking which are the most expensive appliances to run.
Hopefully you have planned the positioning of your fittings, but let’s just check out the important rooms.
Kitchen: probably the home of most of your electrical appliances, so double up on the number of plugs you think you need. Appliances will work more efficiently if plugged securely into a socket, rather than among a mass of adaptors or multi-plugs.
The kitchen is also a place for strong and bright lighting; good cooks need to see what they are doing. If you want to soften down later in the evening, allow for some under-counter strip lights. Remember to check that your stove is properly isolated, and if you are fitting an extractor over the stove, make sure you clean it regularly as a large number of kitchen fires start here.
The next highest concentration of power points is around your “entertainment centre” and another strong contender when it comes to house fires. I have probably seen more melted adaptor piles next to TV sets than anywhere else in house fires. So once again double up on the number of points you think you need. Don’t forget to have conduits installed for TV aerial cables, surround-sound systems and so forth. And remember to switch your TV off when you go out, another cause of fires – never leave it on stand-by.
As for the rest of the house, ensure that you have planned for all eventualities with enough points. Even if you just put the conduits in now, it will save chasing into the walls later on. Two items often forgotten are conduits for telephone and computer lines and, to spoil yourselves, don’t forget an approved bathroom point for shavers, electric toothbrushes and the like.
I have not really touched on lighting as this is very much a personal choice and with such a large range of fittings available you can really have some fun. Remember if you have a long passage or two entrance rooms you need light switches at both ends.
* Donald, a master electrician, has asked me to explain the way the electrical industry is organised.
The Electrical Contractors Association that I wrote about last week is to electricians what the Master Builders Association is to builders, an association of members, with its own rules.
The industry is governed by the Electrical Contractors Board, which is a statutory body appointed by the Department of Labour to register and regulate licensed electrical contractors. All electrical contractors that do fixed electrical installations in any municipal area have to register annually with the board and are given a registration certificate with a registration number. The board registration is a legal requirement, so please ensure that your electrician is properly registered.
Handy tips: Structural cracks and subsidence.
My initial training was as a quantity surveyor, not as a structural engineer, so I have no intention of going into too much detail about structural cracks or subsidence as this is a field best left to the professionals.
Many builders will tell you that they know, down to the last centimetre, how to repair structural defects, cracks or subsidence, but they will assume no responsibility if their work fails. No repairs of this nature should be undertaken unless a fully detailed plan showing the correct work sequence has been drawn up by an engineer. Once you start opening up potentially dangerous areas anything can happen, and the Department of Labour – along with the walls or roof – will be down on you like a ton of bricks if things do go wrong and somebody is hurt. The majority of engineers will have indemnity insurance so there is a fallback position if things do go wrong.
Structural failures in domestic residences above ground level are rare and are more likely to be caused by bad building than by poor design. It is important to ensure that all concrete or mortar used in your home is mixed in the right proportions of cement, stone and sand to ensure that it is of the correct strength when set and cured.
Here are some tips:
* If you live anywhere near a building site, whether it be for the construction of a new house or multi-level shopping centre, check your house carefully for cracks before work on the project starts, take photographs – and please be honest with existing cracks – and get a representative of the builder to sign and date the photographs. This can avoid expensive legal arguments later. If you have the slightest doubt about anything, contact your insurers or appoint an engineer to monitor the situation.
* If you notice a crack starting to appear, monitor it, and again record it photographically with a record of the dates. Most of us forget what a crack looked like from one day to the next, so try this: place a large piece of masking tape either side of the crack and at regular intervals draw a straight line from one piece to the other, use different colours each time, and add a date, next to the line. As movement occurs the lines will draw apart and you can then calculate how much there has been. However, in certain ground conditions the movement can reverse itself and a crack can disappear. To check if there is movement, super glue a small piece of 3mm glass across the crack, and if there is movement, the glass will crack, long before the glue fails. Once you are satisfied that something is happening contact an engineer for advice. - Weekend Argus
* Contact me at don@macalister.co.za or SMS only to 082 446 3859.