What other factors should you consider when having electrical work carried out?
One of the most common question we get asked by our potential customers in Eltham, Swanley, Sidcup, Lee Green & surrounding areas is how much is this work going to cost me? Here I try to highlight some of the considerations to take in to account before having any electrical work carried out in your home which will have an affect on the price of the work.
Registration and insurance – This is vital to ensuring that your electrician is who and what they say they are, any electrician who is serious about serving the domestic electrical market will be registered with a part P scheme, this will mean they are assessed yearly by their scheme assessor for things like insurances held, test equipment calibration, knowledge of regulations & that their work is compliant with current regulations also.
Current installation – one of the 1st things I check during any quote visit is the consumer unit & earthing/bonding arrangements in the property, before carrying out any work I will need to asses whether there is sufficient space in the existing consumer unit for the new work (if a new circuit), whether the circuit has an RCD present for my new work where applicable, whether there is bonding conductors to the incoming metallic pipework & whether there is even a main earth present in the property (you’d be surprised how many don’t have a main earth)
- Route of cabling – This is another major factor that will play a part in the cost of the project.Are you redecorating or replacing the flooring?
- Are you planning on removing the ceiling which will give an electrician suitable access to the floor joist above?
- Are the new sockets/switches going to be chased flush into the wall or is surface trunking/conduit suitable?
- These are factors that will affect how a job will be carried out & these are the sort of questions that I would look to find the answers to in order to prepare as accurate a quote as possible, generally speaking in a lot of circumstances having electrical work carried out around other decorative or renovation work would be a good solution.
- Accessibility – This will play a major part on the project also as unhindered access will of course mean it is easier to work and also quicker which means the most cost efficient way to approach a job, things to consider are;
- Is there local parking to the job to allow easy access to tools/materials?
- Will the electrician be able to turn circuits off at all times of the day?
- Are other trades due to come in and work in areas at certain times?
- Will anybody be living at the property and will the property be empty or have furniture etc in?
- Usually for bigger jobs like house rewires we would recommend the property be as empty as possible both for the trades and the customer as it is a disruptive, noisy process.
Specification – Having a thorough specification in mind before gathering quotes can help to avoid any extra charges at the end of the project, if needed, your electrician may be able to help you with some advice and recommendations on the quote visit, things like outside lighting & power, socket positions, undercounter lighting, smoke alarms, boiler supplies, additional lighting and switching points often get overlooked when drawing up plans for electrical installations.
- Repair work – After the electrical work is carried out, who will be repairing the damage, will your electrician be filling in the chases or will a plasterer be following behind? Is the electrician arranging the plastering or will you be arranging the repairs?
- Upon completion – Upon completion of electrical works you should receive either a minor work certificate or an electrical installation certificate depending on the works carried out, just this week a customer in Eltham has called me reporting of problems with a builder stating that no electrical certificate is necessary for a rewire as it was a commercial premises! Also with work that falls under Part P of the building regulations you should also be issued with a building control compliance certificate otherwise known as a Part P certificate.