Got called out yesterday at around 3pm, customer had no power and could not reset the RCD, gave him the usual information, unplug evetything and switch all fused connection units off, and get back to me if no success.
Well 30 minutes later I get the call still no power, so off I go.
On arrival I checked that everything was unplugged and switched off, then asked usual stuff like have you fitted, changed or done anything to the walls or floors.
Found the circuit with the fault at the fuseboard and it was a 20A radial feeding sockets in the living room, so with it disconnected I powered everything else back up and so off I trundle to find a rough midway point of the faulty circuit, which happened to be a floor socket in the oak floor under the settee.
Lifted up the oak cover and the socket was submersed below 50mm of water.
At first I thought underfloor heating leak, but the client instantly said water table, I disagreed and said as the property is only 2 years old with modern over-site ground work, water should not be able to get in unless flooded outside which it was not.
Anyway the client took me outside and said the house was surrounded by a French drain system as the house is lower than ground level, he checked a covered well in the garden and the water level was higher than the house. That's odd he says there is a pump in the well which should pump out when it gets to a certain level and it's piped to a large pond 30M over there, where's it supplied from I asked, and garage was the reply so I go to check and find it switched off, switched on and water level in well starts dropping.
After about 20 minutes the water covering the floor socket had gone away, so I disconnected the socket and found the previous socket and disconnected there to isolate, it turned out that it was the floor socket and only one other so not a problem.
I need to return and refit socket when its all dry.
So everything depends on this well pump, I don't think I would be happy with this, not on a house worth over a million.
What is a French drain, I need to look this up later, also need to suggest changing the circuit configuration as the pump will not work if the RCD has tripped, the sub-main to the garage is on the same RCD, and then maybe another pump higher in the well for added fail safe.
Still don't understand how the water gets over the polythene over-site though.
Well 30 minutes later I get the call still no power, so off I go.
On arrival I checked that everything was unplugged and switched off, then asked usual stuff like have you fitted, changed or done anything to the walls or floors.
Found the circuit with the fault at the fuseboard and it was a 20A radial feeding sockets in the living room, so with it disconnected I powered everything else back up and so off I trundle to find a rough midway point of the faulty circuit, which happened to be a floor socket in the oak floor under the settee.
Lifted up the oak cover and the socket was submersed below 50mm of water.
At first I thought underfloor heating leak, but the client instantly said water table, I disagreed and said as the property is only 2 years old with modern over-site ground work, water should not be able to get in unless flooded outside which it was not.
Anyway the client took me outside and said the house was surrounded by a French drain system as the house is lower than ground level, he checked a covered well in the garden and the water level was higher than the house. That's odd he says there is a pump in the well which should pump out when it gets to a certain level and it's piped to a large pond 30M over there, where's it supplied from I asked, and garage was the reply so I go to check and find it switched off, switched on and water level in well starts dropping.
After about 20 minutes the water covering the floor socket had gone away, so I disconnected the socket and found the previous socket and disconnected there to isolate, it turned out that it was the floor socket and only one other so not a problem.
I need to return and refit socket when its all dry.
So everything depends on this well pump, I don't think I would be happy with this, not on a house worth over a million.
What is a French drain, I need to look this up later, also need to suggest changing the circuit configuration as the pump will not work if the RCD has tripped, the sub-main to the garage is on the same RCD, and then maybe another pump higher in the well for added fail safe.
Still don't understand how the water gets over the polythene over-site though.
