Rogue’s Gallery

Electrical faults we’ve found.

A closer look at what we come across on our visits, to help you understand what can go wrong and why it matters.

2 January 2024 · Joe’s account

A fire a few doors away.

At around 3:39am, an explosion woke me.

Thankfully, my window was open. At first I didn’t react, but then I heard crackling and popping. I sat up and looked out of my back window. A few doors down, there was an extremely large fire.

Still half asleep, I initially thought it was a bonfire. Then I realised how close it was to the house. I couldn’t hear anyone talking, and it became clear this wasn’t a bonfire.

I left my house and tried banging on the neighbours’ doors and shouting to wake them. Nobody answered, and no one else appeared to be awake. I called the fire service, who attended and extinguished the fire.

The property had no working smoke alarms. The fire had spread into the kitchen, with a child asleep in the room above.

The affected circuit was still live.

The firefighter had switched off a different RCD from the one protecting the affected circuit. The supply was still switched on and the fuseboard remained energised. After the fire had been extinguished, we went into the property to safely isolate the affected circuit.

16-second recording: flames and smoke rising beyond the nearby rooftops at night.

Charred socket enclosure, plug and wiring laid out after the fire — The damaged socket
The socket enclosure, plug and wiring after the fire.

Fire damage to a rear window, roof edge and patio area — Damage beside the house
Damage to the rear of the property and the surrounding patio area.

Burnt remains and exposed furniture frames beside a brick wall — The aftermath on the patio
Burnt remains and furniture frames beside the house.

Handwritten card thanking Joe, with the senders’ names covered by a black rectangle — A thank-you card afterwards
A thank-you card received after the fire. Names redacted for privacy.

A socket wired backwards.

Reverse polarity, found by testing and put right.

From the front, this socket looked and worked like any other. Only a test showed that line and neutral had been swapped. The fuse in a plug sits on the line side, so with the wires reversed, an appliance can stay live even after its fuse has blown or it has been switched off at its own switch.

Kewtech tester reading under 2 volts line to earth and 241.9 volts neutral to earth — The test reading
Under 2 volts between line and earth, and about 242 volts between neutral and earth. On a correctly wired socket, these two readings are the other way round.

Back of a socket with the red conductor in the N terminal and the black conductor in the L terminal — Line and neutral swapped
The red line conductor is connected to the socket’s N terminal, and the black neutral to L.

Back of the socket with the red conductor now in the L terminal and the black in N — After our repair: rewired
Red line is now in the L terminal and black neutral in N.

Kewtech tester reading 240 volts line to earth and under 2 volts neutral to earth — After our repair: retested
240 volts between line and earth, and under 2 volts between neutral and earth.

From our visits.

Select a photograph for a closer look.

Double socket hanging away from its wall opening with a plug still inserted — An incorrectly fitted socket
This socket had not been installed correctly and had come away from the wall over time.

Close-up of a consumer unit connection with discolouration around a large cable terminal — A loose consumer unit connection
A loose connection inside the consumer unit, with copper left exposed by poor termination.

Rear of a removed double socket showing blackened and deformed material around a connection — A socket damaged by fire
A loose connection caused arcing and the socket caught fire. The damage is visible on the back of the fitting.

Cooker switch and socket beside a hob, with a cable running down through the worktop — A cooker cable without protection
The cable to this cooker switch was installed without mechanical protection. It should have been protected in trunking or conduit.

Ceiling opening with a round junction box, taped wiring and a bare copper wire end — Wiring at a ceiling opening
Wiring around a ceiling opening, with taped connections and a bare copper end visible.

Light switch with its left edge and fixing position covered by wooden door trim — A switch behind the door trim
The wooden door trim overlaps the switch plate and covers its left-hand fixing position.

Double socket held at its edges by external screws and a small clip — A socket with makeshift fixings
External screws and a small clip have been used around the socket plate to hold it against the wall.

Rear of a socket showing blackened and deformed material around a terminal — A blackened socket connection
Blackened and deformed material around a connection on the back of this socket.

Consumer unit with a large opening around incoming cables at its lower left corner — An open cable entry
A large opening remains around the cables where they enter the consumer unit.

Cable with split outer covering, damaged coloured insulation and exposed wire strands — A badly damaged cable
The cable covering and insulation are damaged, leaving individual wire strands exposed.

White box in garden soil with plastic wrapping, foil and a cable beside it — A box in the soil
A box uncovered in the soil, with plastic wrapping and foil around it.

Wiring joined in exposed connector strips between wooden timbers — Connections between timbers
Connector strips and wiring between the timbers, with no enclosing junction box visible.

Outdoor double socket with a charred, cracked faceplate around one set of pin holes and brown staining — A burnt outdoor socket
The faceplate is charred and cracked around one set of pin holes, with brown staining across the socket and blackened seals where the cables enter.

Inside a consumer unit, blackened terminals and charred insulation along part of the neutral bar — A scorched neutral bar
Blackened terminals and charred insulation along part of the neutral bar, with scorching on the casing above.

Single socket on a wall with a radiator overlapping its switch side — A socket behind a radiator
The radiator overlaps the left side of this socket and partly covers its switch.

Cracked socket box hanging from a torn opening in plasterboard, with taped cables — A socket pulled from the wall
The socket and its box had come away from the plasterboard, leaving conductors exposed. On an electrical condition report this is a C1: danger present, needing immediate action.

Inside an old rewireable fuse board, a clump of red conductors with burnt insulation and exposed copper beside the fuse terminals — An overloaded fuse board
Too many cables had been connected to this rewireable fuse board, and the connections had not been tightened. Over time the insulation fused into one clump and burnt, leaving bare copper exposed.

Four sections of grey plastic pipe on loft insulation, scorched black at one end, one with a hole burnt through, with cables running between them — Drainpipe over halogen spotlights
Low-voltage halogen spotlights had sections of plastic drainpipe fitted over them to keep the loft insulation off. The heat from the lamps scorched and melted the pipes, and this came close to starting a fire.

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Rogue’s Gallery

The affected circuit was still live.

The damaged socket

Damage beside the house

The aftermath on the patio

A thank-you card afterwards

The test reading

Line and neutral swapped

After our repair: rewired

After our repair: retested

From our visits.

An incorrectly fitted socket

A loose consumer unit connection

A socket damaged by fire

A cooker cable without protection

Wiring at a ceiling opening

A switch behind the door trim

A socket with makeshift fixings

A blackened socket connection

An open cable entry

A badly damaged cable

A box in the soil

Connections between timbers

A burnt outdoor socket

A scorched neutral bar

A socket behind a radiator

A socket pulled from the wall

An overloaded fuse board

Drainpipe over halogen spotlights

Have a fault of your own?

Not sure what you need?Give us a call.

Not sure what you need?
Give us a call.