Location: a new apartment in Ramat Aviv.
The defect: no hanging hooks were installed for the lamps. As a result, the inspection found loose lamps hanging from their electrical wires alone.
Explanation: the hanging hook attaches the light fixture to the ceiling. An apartment is usually handed over with simple light fixtures (lamp holders). Under the Electricity Law, these fixtures are supposed to hang from hooks.
The cause: not knowing the standard, or forgetting.
The consequences: the hook fixes the lamp to the ceiling. Without it, the only thing tying the fixture to the ceiling is the electrical wires, and wires are not meant to carry a light fixture. If the wires burn or wear out, or the lamp is pulled downward for whatever reason, it will come off the wires easily and may fall on a resident's head. This is a safety issue.
The contractor may say: "You'll be putting up new light fixtures anyway when you move into the new apartment..." That may be true and it may not. Even if it is, you will not necessarily replace all of them, and the ones you do replace you may replace after a few months rather than right away. Until then, the danger is there.
Standard: the Electricity Law. The Electricity Law is in fact several sets of regulations on matters related to electricity, among them the installation of lighting fixtures. It is one of the laws that bind the seller or contractor toward the buyer.
The repair: install hooks for all the ceiling lamps in the apartment.
Repair cost: about ₪500
The engineers of Arad Bedek Bayit, led by building engineer Ron Arad, whom courts appoint as their own expert on construction defects. The company has been inspecting apartments and buildings since 2001. Engineer Ron Arad · More about the company