Faulty electrics are a common problem within London and have the potential to be extremely dangerous.
Causing 12,500 fires and 2,000 electric shock accidents in the home each year, according to the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting (NICEIC), it is absolutely essential that you take no risks and leave any problems to the professionals.
Whilst the worst things that can happen for many aspects of home DIY are not actually that bad, any mistakes relating to electricity could result in your paying the ultimate price.
Call in the Experts
If you suspect your home or property is experiencing problems caused by faulty wiring, it is crucial that you turn to a fully qualified, registered electrician such as the team at J & P to take a look.
Do You Know What To Look For?
Would you know what to look for when trying to get to the root cause of an electrical problem? What are the tell-tale signs and causes? What measures must be taken to rectify the problem and prevent them from recurring?
Electrical Fault ‘Spot List’
Below we have identified some of the most important electrical fault causes and have used these to create a ‘spot list’ for you.
- If a fuse box has a wooden back, or cast iron switches, it’s a sure sign it’s very old and needs replacing. The same applies if the fuse box has no labels on it.
- Some boxes may have a mix of fuses, including those that can be re-wired. Again, this is a sign it’s old and needs attention.
- A black electric cable entering the box may also indicate it’s out of date. Modern wiring into fuse boxes is PVC insulated in grey or white. The old black cables are insulated with rubber, which decays over time.
- If there’s only one or two in a room, it can indicate the electrics in that part of the home are old and out of date.
- Broken plastic revealing the inner workings of the socket or switch.
- Are sockets of the more modern, 3-pin variety, or of the round-pin type? Round-pin indicates they’re old and need changing.
- Sockets fitted into skirting boards, rather than directly into the wall itself.
- Plugs which feel hot.
Sockets, Plugs and Switches
Lights
- Braided flex (which can look like cord or rope wound around itself) hanging from features such as a ceiling rose.
- Flickering lights.
- Light fittings with bulbs that need replacing more regularly than usual.
- Don’t overload sockets with too many extension leads and ‘four-in-one’ type plugs.
- Upgrade all old wiring, even if you haven’t had problems up to that point.
- The NICEIC recommends that you have a full electrical inspection of your home by a qualified electrician every ten years (particularly important if you’re thinking of selling your home).
- Make sure you keep the certificate after an inspection for re-selling purposes.
- Rewire before you decorate – wiring work often requires pulling up floorboards, working behind plaster and plasterboard, and under carpets and flooring.
- If you’ve got a number of electrical jobs the need doing, they can all add up and it can be more cost-effective to have a home totally re-wired. Get quotes for both.
- Change wires that don’t go anywhere and are either not taped up at the ends, or have ends wrapped in electrical tape.
- Tighten up wobbly switches, plugs etc (after switching off the power source).
Further Information
If you would like any further information regarding the services available from J&P Group, contact us 24/7 for all your roofing enquiries on Tel. 020 7610 1616, email info@thejandpgroup.co.uk or via our Facebook page & we will be happy to answer any questions that you may have.
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Last Updated on April 4, 2019 