Autumn board-change window open
Consumer unit upgrades and rewires booking from mid-October — send your details
Domestic & light commercial
We are a two-van electrical firm working across the Hollow Roam valley towns. Planned work runs in daylight hours, the supply goes back on the same day wherever the circuit allows, and every altered circuit leaves with paperwork.
01 — What we take on
Most enquiries turn out to be one of these. Read the middle column before you write to us — knowing which row you are in usually saves a survey visit and gets you a closer first figure.
01
Board change · RCBO protection
Replacing an old fuse box or split-load board with individual RCBO protection, so one faulty appliance stops one circuit instead of the whole house. Includes main bonding checks to gas and water, and a test of every existing circuit before we energise.
You probably need this if your board has rewirable fuses, a single trip that takes out everything, or no RCD protection at all.
One dayPower off 3–5 hrs
02
Chasing · First & second fix
New cabling from the board out to sockets, lighting and cooker circuits, planned room by room so you keep power somewhere in the property overnight. Partial rewires are common: kitchens, extensions and upstairs lighting on their own.
You probably need this if you have rubber or fabric-sheathed cable, round-pin sockets, or lighting with no earth at the switch.
4–9 daysPhased by floor
03
7.4kW single phase · Load check
A dedicated protected circuit from the board to a wall unit, with an earthing arrangement suited to your supply and a load assessment so the charger backs off rather than tripping the main fuse when the oven and shower are running.
You probably need this if you are charging from a three-pin socket and an extension lead, which is not a long-term arrangement.
Half daySurvey first
04
Intermittent trips · Insulation testing
Booked in blocks of two hours. We split circuits, test insulation resistance leg by leg and narrow the fault to a length of cable, an accessory or an appliance. You get a written finding even if the repair is someone else's to make.
You probably need this if a trip happens at the same time of day, in wet weather, or only when one appliance runs.
2 hr blocksFindings in writing
05
Layout · Dimming · Outdoor
Circuit design for kitchens, loft conversions and garden lighting: how many points on a circuit, where the switching lives, and which dimming module actually suits the lamps you have chosen. We will tell you when a spec will flicker before it is installed.
You probably need this if new downlights buzz, dim unevenly, or you are planning a room and want the wiring set before plastering.
1–2 daysPer room
06
EICR · Landlord and sale
A full inspection and test of the fixed installation, coded and explained in plain language, with a separate list of what is genuinely urgent versus what can wait for the next decoration. Remedial quotes are itemised so you can shop them around.
You probably need this if you are letting the property, selling it, or have not had the installation tested in a decade.
3–5 hrsReport in 2 days
02 — Before you ask for a rewire
Roughly half the people who write to us asking for a rewire need a board change and two circuits repaired. The two jobs differ by a week of disruption and a great deal of money, so it is worth looking properly first.
Ceramic holders with fuse wire, or a wooden backing board. This is the clearest case for an upgrade, but it says nothing about the cable behind it.
A single RCD covering everything means a freezer defrosts because a bathroom fan failed. RCBOs give each circuit its own protection.
Visible at the board or in the loft, this is the honest rewire signal. The sheathing goes brittle and the insulation value falls away with it.
Common in older lighting circuits. It limits which fittings can be used and usually means the lighting legs alone want replacing.
Spurs off spurs, and junction boxes buried behind plasterboard. These can often be brought into order without touching the rest of the property.
Stop using the circuit and book fault finding rather than an upgrade. A loose connection is a repair, and it will not wait for a bigger job.
If you are unsure which of these you are looking at, photograph the open board door and the oldest cable you can see and send both with your enquiry. We can usually tell you whether it is a day or a week before anyone drives out.
03 — How a visit runs
The question we are asked most often is how long the power is off. Here is the shape of a typical planned day so you can decide where to work, what to defrost and when to be in.
We walk the property, open the board, check the bonding and agree where cable can run. Nothing is switched off and nothing is chased.
Power stays onOn the day, we agree a start time, isolate the supply and set up a temporary socket where you need one — usually a desk, a router or a fridge.
One socket kept liveCable, accessories and the board itself go in. Dust sheets down, chasing done in one pass, and debris bagged as we go rather than at the end.
The noisy partContinuity, insulation resistance, loop impedance and RCD timings on every circuit. We re-energise, walk you round the labelling and issue the certificate.
Paperwork the same week04 — Field notes
The difference between a finished job and an abandoned one is mostly in the last two hours. These are the things we do not treat as extras.
Every way marked with what it actually feeds, written after testing rather than copied from the old board. Wrong labels cause the next fault.
Installation or minor works certificates with the measured values on them, issued for the work we did and no more, sent by email within the week.
Chases are filled and rubbed back level, ready for your decorator. We do not skim whole walls or paint — we say so up front rather than at the end.
Boards lifted are screwed down again, not nailed, and marked where a cable runs beneath so the next person does not put a fixing through it.
Replaced boards and accessories stay on site for you to see before they go for recycling. Nothing disappears into the van unexplained.
05 — Questions
If yours is not here, put it in the notes field below and we will answer it in the reply rather than on a call.
06 — Request a visit
The more you can say now, the closer the first figure will be. Photographs of the board and of the oldest cable you can find are worth more than any description.