The Nightmare Continues......

Oh man! What a day! Got home mid-morning to a letter telling us that we have to have the wiring re-done to be surface mounted again, (i.e. in that hideous trunking), as it does not comply with their specifications and therefore the work cannot be signed off as complete. So, what they're saying here is that, because of not being able to tick a box on a form, a mere and worthless formality, they are willing to put us and their contractors to the trouble of re-doing much of the wiring work jsut because we object to our home being made to look like a portacabin and sank in the wires! Unbelievable!

You can be sure that we're not taking this without a fight and are appealing to them to be reasonable about it. Their reason for having the wires all surface mounted (official: so they can be easily accessed, real: cheaper and quicker to do in the first place), falls down when you note that their own specification for the kitchen (where there is more wiring than anywhere in the whole flat) and the bathroom include wires sunk into the walls and all sockets and switches flush! So, one thing in one room and another in the other rooms. Total nonsense! We'll also be contacting the local Councillor, who by all reports is a man of action, to ask him to get them to make a note on the file and sign the work off regardless of our alterations. I mean, surely the fact that they are safely done and fully functional is what really matters, not their silly paperwork? I hope we can convince him and that he can lean on them.

If all else fails and we have to go back through with it, we have a contingency plan consisting of being here to have the electricians route the wires in the least visible places and then, if possible, to re-sink what wires cannot be hidden in cupboards or by furnishings once the project is signed off and all inspections complete. Naturally, we would like to avoid this and are going to do all we can to prevent any further action being taken!

They say we have a voice in things, but it turns out to be unlikely to be true in actual fact and when it's something that really bothers you. When you think that so many tennants have refused all the work anyway or denied access to their properties, but we have co-operated against our will with wiring in the first place, (my mum's place is twice the age of this building and has never needed re-wiring!), it's amazing that they go to all this trouble to hassle us! Oh, and they're threatening to make us pay for the re-doing of work that they unreasonably insist on as well! The fact that not one person, including the Council Clerk of Works who was here the other day, have ever said anything actively disuading us from improving the look of the re-wiring, then we get a letter saying we should have known better is just one of the things that make me WILD!

Man, how much I want all this mayhem to be OVER and to be able to focus on something more important, or at least more interesting!=( We're having to wait for vouchers for the re-decoration anyway and I think there'll be an inspection to see how much is needed, so should we have to submit to a 2nd re-wire, then we'd best leave any re-sinking until after then...... We shall see.

AAAAAAAAARRRRRRGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!