Blackshaw Electrical

Business info

Installations

We have extensive experience in designing and commissioning domestic installations. Our domestic electricians can provide the full range of domestic electrical services, from a complete house rewire, new build wiring, to adding additional electrical power sockets, light fittings, testing and garden power/lighting installations.

We have extensive experience in designing and commissioning domestic electrical installations, whether this involves modification of an existing installation or designing and fitting from new. All of our installation undertaken are carried out by qualified electricians to the latest electrical safety regulations.



Typical installations undertake by us include:

• Electrical installation to new-build housing and extensions
• Full house or apartment rewire
• TV, telephone and data / network installation
• Garden power and lighting installations.
• New lighting design / LED
• Security lighting
• Electric showers and heating.
• Air source heat pump wiring.
• Addition of a new socket to an existing circuit
• Lighting upgrade from a pendant to down lighting
• Replacement of white accessories (i.e. sockets or light switches) with modern metallic or brightly coloured accessories
• Installation of an outside socket
• Installation of new circuits for cookers or electric showers
• Rewire of kitchens including sockets, fused switches for appliances, cooker circuits and lighting
• Rewire of bathrooms including lighting, shaver sockets and electric showers
• Consumer unit change and certification
• Loft conversions
• Single room renovations
• Installation of sub-main to a new consumer unit in the garage
• Fire alarm installation and testing
• Earthing upgrade

Please remember that Building Regulations (Part P) state that nearly all new domestic electrical work now has to be certified by a registered company. Making changes to the electrical installation in your own home is an important issue and should not be attempted without full knowledge of the regulations.



Testing and certification

As described in “Part-P” of the building regulations all electrical work carried out in the home or domestic setting must be carried out by a competent person and properly tested, inspected and certificated according to BS7671. Work that is not certificated is deemed illegal and may be dangerous and/or cause problems when you are later trying to sell your property. Anybody who does electrical installation work on your home and does not provide the correct certification is performing a criminal offense. Domestic electrical work being carried out is broadly split into 3 categories:

Minor Works: replacement of a light fitting, addition of a new socket to an existing circuit etc. This work should be certificated by issue of the “Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate”.Work not covered here is any installation work carried out in special locations (kitchens, bathrooms and gardens) or formation of a new circuit.

Electrical installation: Formation of a new circuit, any work carried out in special locations (i.e. kitchens, bathrooms or outdoors), earthing upgrades, consumer unit (fuse box) change, sub-main installation, rewire of a property etc. This type of work requires a) the issue of the “electrical installation certificate” b) the notification of building control. In the case of NICEIC registered electricians building control are automatically informed by the electrician. The customer will receive written notification of this process from the relevant council.

Periodic Inspection Report (or Electrical installation condition report), sometimes called “landlord certificate”. The purpose of this report is to assess the condition of an existing electrical installation. It is a very useful way for a new or prospective landlord to assess the condition of the household electrical system. The result is usually an investigation, of defined scope (either full test or sample test), followed by issue of a certificate including relevant test results and recommendations to remedy problems. These certificates should be commissioned by people living in a dwelling with an installation greater than 10 years old or by landlords who are responsible by law for the electrical safety of their houses to be rented. Landlords are obliged to carry out such an inspection at regular intervals or in the case of change of tenancy of their property.



Electrical Faults

Electrical faults are reasonably common.

They include but are not limited to:

• Nuisance tripping of MCBs (miniature circuit breakers) or RCDs (residual current devices)
• Ingress of water due to excessive damp (garden or house)
• Damage to the insulation of PVC cable
• Incorrect connection in a ring final circuit
• Heat damage of cable due to power overloading of circuits

In minor cases these can go undetected or cause a nuisance but in some instances these can cause genuine risk of electric shock or fire.

Due to the nature of fault finding (i.e. dealing with the unknown) it can be quite difficult to estimate the cost of diagnosis and repair. In this case T Blackshaw electrical operates a policy of “call-out-fee” and pre-agreed “day rate” for diagnosis. Once the problem has been established the customer is usually offered a no obligation “fixed price” or estimate (i.e. a separate contract) for remedial work to be carried out to address the issue.