Professional Property Maintenance

Bad DIY Advice Could Kill You!!

DANGER OF THE WEEK AWARD

Bad DIY

I offer this piece of advice for all those who have a friend, work collegue, mate, uncle or cousin who loves to dish out DIY advice with no actual training in the field. DO NOT blindly take that advice without using a bit of common sense. Case in point!

We found this serious fault a few weeks ago when asked to repair an apparent burnt out bulb in a bathroom we had fit about a year earlier. When we entered the loft space to change the transformer we found the burnt piece of plastic pipe waste pipe as shown in the photo. The plastic pipe was resting DIRECTLY ON TOP of the halogen light!

A halogen bulb creates a temperature of approximately 250 degrees Celsius (482 degrees Fahrenheit). So why would it ever make sense to place a chunk of plastic directly on to of the glass bulb? Well here is the story as I understood it.

Someone at the home owners place of employment had told them that if they put fiberglass insulation directly over the lamps in the loft that the bulbs would burn out quickly. So a suggestion was made to put pieces of pipe over the ligts to keep the insulation above the light and allow ventillation. The problem with this solution however is dagerous in so many ways.

The biggest issue as can be seen in the photo is that the lamp melts the plastic with the real possibility of causing a fire! Because the lamps have been modified from the original, tested and safe configuration the home woner is now fully resposible for any damages caused. As the modification would be deemed unsafe the house insurance and contents insurance would probably be void. The home wone would also be liable for damages to any connecting properties damaged.

So you could be living in a cardboard box, your home and contents burned to cinders, your insurance won’t pay out, your neighbour sues you for damages and of course the bank wants their mortgage payments every month on a property you can’t live in or sell. All of this because some dope at work suggested a piece of flammable plastic be placed on your hot lightbulb.

As a professional before playing with your electrics or gas! Don’t rely on bad advice that could leave you homeless or worse - DEAD!