Fire hazard from incompetent builder!

[BlogOnTheTyne]

Why would a fully qualified builder fit lampshades directly dangling off the light bulbs, rather than unscrewing the light fittings, attaching the lampshade and then replacing the bulb underneath?

But this is exactly what my builder has done and I only just discovered it, weeks after the main building works finished because of the strong smell of burning and smoke!

The new rooms haven't really been used yet, as we've had to wait for flooring to be fitted by a separate company. So the first time the ceiling lights went on for any length of time was a couple of days ago.

Across 3 hrs, the lampshade plastic - which was in direct contact with 100watt light bulbs - melted onto the lightbulbs in 4 ceiling lights. No one noticed this but today, when I went in to prepare for the return of the flooring company, I noticed a strong smell of burning as soon as I put the lights on and smoke coming from the lights!

After they'd cooled down, I got up on the step ladders and this was when I discovered that the builder has left the light shades dangling from the light bulbs - ie the round metal/plastic circle that you'd normally fit between the ceiling light fitting, is just sitting on top of a glass bulb - that gets v v v hot? Why would you do that? I probably knew how to fit a lamp shade by the time I was 15 and didn't even come from a DIY kind of family!

I've phoned the builder today and he's apologised but that's all. I suppose the cost of the new lampshades is minor compared with the cost of the whole building project - but surely they might want to do something more, as a gesture, given our family was at risk of fire - as was the entire new build project?

If the plastic had continued to melt onto the bulb and got hotter and hotter, would it have meant the entire light shade would catch fire and then the ceiling etc catch fire - or does that kind of thing not happen?

I'm really upset here because of the potential danger to my DCs.

At a guess, I would say that a) he didn't think putting up the lampshades was part of the building work, politely went along with the request because you are the client but .........
b) had one of the very junior people on the team do the job (who quite possibly had never fitted one in his life before)

At least you caught it before any real harm was caused.

In fact, I'd thought at first that the lampshade fittings were part of a separate small job with fixtures that were done by a junior workman but as I began the conversation with the boss today, he confessed and reminded me that he'd done the lampshade fittings and light bulbs for extra cash handout at the end of the main project, as I'd not felt safe balancing on the v top rung of my small step ladders, to do this myself. I remembered then that the lampshades had indeed been fitted before the day the very last few things were done - so it WAS the boss.

But I'm still stumped to understand why anyone - whether junior or the boss or even an untrained person - would think it was right and safe to dangle a lampshade from the ceiling bulb and not screw it in the fitting? I mean, it would be like a surgeon forgetting to sew up a wound or a banker not bothering to tot up the end accounts. Just unbelievably silly really, not to say incredibly dangerous. The way he confessed made it sound as if he'd been fully aware of what he'd done but thought it wouldn't really matter.

I still feel cross.

I'm sure surgeons cut off the wrong leg all the time, unless someone reminds them. That's why they visit your bed before the op and write "this one" on it in felt-tip.