HOW TO REPLACE YOUR FUSEBOARD

What you MUST know before replacing your fuse board

Having made the decision to replace your old fuse board, it is important to ensure that this important job is completed by a competent electrician.

Think of your fuse board as the main hub of your home – its the ‘thinking centre’ to all electrical aspects in your home. If the job is carried out incorrectly, your home will be in a dangerous condition and your family is then at risk from electrical harm.

Firstly, I will outline the main reasons why you may need or want to upgrade your old fuse board to a new 17th Edition Consumer Unit:

• You are having some other electrical work carried out and need to comply with the regulations.
• Your old fuse board is overloaded and starting to cause problems for the remainder of the installation.
• Your wiring installation is in poor condition but you cannot afford a rewire, changing to a 17th Edition Consumer Unit will offer some protection.

Whatever the reason upgrading an old consumer unit to one incorporating two residual current devices (RCDs), is a job that many people will now have to consider at some point.

The above points may have been raised by another tradesperson in your home such as a builder if are having a large building project undertaken.

Please DO NOT be tempted into hiring anyone who IS NOT a qualified electrician to carry out electrical work in your home, even if they offer to carry out the work for a fraction of the price because ‘they know all about electrics’

It’s not just the price that counts, a competent electrician will be fully qualified, Part P compliantand fully insured to do the job AND have a lengthy guarantee on the job for years to come.

If the person fitting the consumer unit is not qualified, Part P compliant, and is not insured, it really is better to walk away. These people are not interested in your safety or future well being, they are only interested in your cash!

Yet over the years I have come across the same objections about price when quoting for a replacement consumer unit /fuse board. They normally go as follows…

• I can buy one myself for £80 in a well known DIY Shop
• My mate that works for %%%%%% can do it for £xxx
• I’ve had a quote from my builder and he reckons he can do it for £xxx
• Mick down the pub said if I get the board he’ll fit it for £50

Please don’t believe anyone who say you don’t need a certificate or dis-regards the importance of certification. Not only if an electrical certificate your peace of mind that your home is safe, it is also an important document that is needed should you wish to sell or let your home in the future.

It is not simply a peace of paper signed by the electrician, it is a legal document and the electrician needs to carry out several tests on the installation before they can issue a certificate.

The Electrician who carries out the installation should also issue the certificate. BEWARE some ‘electricians’ employ someone else to issue the certificate. This practice is NOT APPROVED and means your electrician is not Part P compliant.

So having obtained a quote from a genuine electrician, you might be wondering how they arrive at the cost.

So what is the Cost?

When you ask an Electrician to quote for a Fuse Board/New Consumer Unit, there are a number of things he will take into consideration, therefore costs will vary. You should be aware of these:

The materials involved

You can now go to a high street hardware/DIY shop and buy new Consumer Units for a reasonable amount of money, they come preloaded with MCBs, which may or may not be the right rating for your circuits, you will have to add to that the cost of Meter Tails and the fact that if anything goes wrong with the unit you will need to pay to have it removed and a new one refitted.

On the other hand your electrician will have accounted for all necessary items required and if he supplies the board it will be of good quality and if anything goes wrong with the unit he will have to replace it at no cost to you. You only Pay Once.

Checking earthing and bonding arrangements

Before the consumer unit is changed, the electrician will have checked the distributor’s equipment at the origin of the installation (where your meter is) along with the earthing and bonding arrangements. This is to ensure that they are properly connected, safe and that they comply with the regulations. If they do not then work may have to be postponed until the distributor rectifies any issues highlighted.

The time involved for installation

This will depend on the size of the property, number of circuits and location of the old fuse board. Stripping out the old, marking up cables ensuring they are in good condition and long enough then installing the New Consumer Unit.

The time involved in Testing

All of the circuits in the property will have to be tested, there is a series of predefined tests that must be applied to each of the circuits, and the results of this testing form a big part of the certification you will receive.

This is perhaps the most important part of changing a Fuse Board, however it is often the part that is not carried out correctly or at all by those who charge below market value for installing a new Consumer Unit. Often they will Fudge the test and fake the certificate, because they haven’t allowed time in their cost to do it correctly or they just are not capable of testing to the correct standard.

Allowance for Fault Finding

A good electrician will have built in an allowance for some Fault Finding because experience tells us that there are often minor issues that need to be resolved, if this has been built into the cost then often the electrician will not bother you with the detail, but will just rectify simple faults as found. Major faults would be notified to you and be discussed as a separate Job.

Again someone who is quoting below market value will not have factored in time for fault finding and you run two serious risks here. The first is that you are likely to be presented with an “Extras” bill at the end which could be substantially higher than your original quote or secondly the “electrician” will bodge the job in order to make it work so he can get paid his original fee, the result is you are left with a potentially dangerous installation.

Certification and Registration

Electricians have to comply with strict regulations, a change of consumer unit is a serious undertaking and must meet all of the relevant Standards and Regulations, in order to comply with these Electricians will issue Certification for both the Electrical Installation and for Compliance with Part “P” of the Building Regulations. Apart from the fact that doing this properly takes time, it also requires the electrician to be registered with an awarding body and all the associated costs that go with that, such as ongoing training, insurance, membership fees.

Profit

And finally we get to Profit, which is after all why any Electrician is in Business. A good electrician who runs a good business will have built in a profit margin into his quote for the job, this is how he stays in business and can provide a good service to his clients, he will be happy to take payment in any legal manner.

Your cheep quote electrician, will not have factored in profit, because in his mind it is pretty much all profit, he will supply a cheap quality consumer unit, fudge the test results, hide any faults that show up and then tell you he prefers to be paid in cash.

He is likely not registered, not insured and possibly not even qualified. If anything goes wrong and it will you have absolutely no comeback.

Conclusion

When you take all of the above into consideration, you will appreciate that there is a big difference between what you can buy a Consumer Unit for off-the-shelf in a well known DIY Chain, and the cost of a fully installed fully certified and fully guaranteed Unit. You should ask yourself when you get a cheap quote “How can he do it so Cheap”?…what is not getting done…

Most reputable electricians would agree that anything below £350 is too cheap and something is being missed and anything above £550 for a standard domestic board is too high (unless there are mitigating circumstances).

PERIODIC INPECTION REPORTS WESTEND GLASGOW LANDLORD CERT

Periodic Inspection Explained

All electrical installations deteriorate with age and use. They should therefore be inspected and tested at appropriate intervals to check whether they are in a satisfactory condition for continued service. Such safety checks are commonly referred to as 'periodic inspection and testing'.

A periodic inspection will:

• Reveal if any of your electrical circuits or equipment are overloaded.
• Find any potential electric shock risks and fire hazards.
• Identify any defective electrical work.
• Highlight any lack of earthing or bonding.

Tests are also carried out on wiring and fixed electrical equipment to check that they are safe. A schedule of circuits is also provided, which is invaluable for a property.

How often is a periodic inspection required? Your electrics should be inspected and tested every:

• 10 years for an owner-occupied home.
• 5 years for a rented home.
• 3 years for a caravan
• 1 year for a swimming pool.

Other times when a periodic inspection should be carried out are:

• When a property is being prepared for letting.
• Before selling a property or buying a previously-occupied property.

Who should carry out the periodic inspection and what happens? 
Periodic inspection and testing should be carried out only by electrically competent persons, such as registered electricians. They will check the condition of the electrics against the UK standard for the safety of electrical installations, BS 7671 – Requirements for Electrical Installations (IEE Wiring Regulations).

The inspection takes into account all the relevant circumstances and checks on:

• The adequacy of earthing and bonding.
• The suitability of the switchgear and controlgear. For example, an old fusebox with a wooden back, cast-iron switches, or a mixture of both will need replacing.
• The serviceability of switches, sockets and lighting fittings. Items that  may need replacing include: older round-pin sockets, round light switches, cables with fabric coating hanging from ceiling roses to light fittings, black switches and sockets mounted in skirting boards.
• The type of wiring system and its condition. For example, cables coated in black rubber were phased out in the 1960s. Likewise cables coated in lead or fabric are even older and may well need replacing (modern cables use longer-lasting pvc insulation).
• Sockets that may be used to supply portable electrical equipment for use outdoors, making sure they are protected by a suitable residual current device (RCD).
• The presence of adequate identification and notices.
• The extent of any wear and tear, damage or other deterioration.
• Any changes in the use of the premises that have led to, or may lead to, unsafe conditions.

The competent person will then issue an Electrical Installation Condition Report detailing any observed damage, deterioration, defects, dangerous conditions and any non-compliances with the present-day safety standard that might give rise to danger.

If any dangerous or potentially dangerous condition or conditions are found, the overall condition of the electrical installation will be declared to be 'unsatisfactory', meaning that remedial action is required without delay to remove the risks to those in the premises.

If you would like to arrange for a Periodic Inspection to be carried out, the following leaflets may be helpful:

electricians glasgow

Apprentice Electricians in Paisley

Youth unemployment leads Renfrewshire to be branded a “hotspot” A DEPRESSING new report has claimed that Renfrewshire is one of the UK’s “hotspots” for youth unemployment. The study identifies Renfrewshire Paisley as one of 152 local authority areas where the proportion of young people claiming Jobseekers Allowance is more than double the national average. More than 12.5 per cent of young people in Paisley are claiming unemployment benefits, and are either out of work or full-time education or training. The findings come only weeks after statistics emerged showing there are eight people chasing any one vacancy in the area. This latest report was compiled by the Commission on Youth Unemployment, part of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (Acevo). Paisley and Renfrewshire South MP Douglas Alexander said: “Worryingly, this report is further confirmation of what we already know. “Local young people in paisley and renfrewshire want to work, contribute to their community and be part of the local workforce but the opportunities are not available to them.” Last month, the Labour politician called for more government action to get young people back in work and bring more investment and jobs to our local area. He also pointed out the number of local young people in Paisley and renfrewshire aged 18 to 24 who had been unemployed for over six months had risen by 41.7 per cent. Mr Alexander said: “We cannot continue like this – local people deserve better. “I recently visited the local Kibbleworks centre in Paisley to see the work they are doing to provide training and employment opportunities for local young people who are in care or preparing to leave care. “That’s the kind of approach that can make a real difference but the Government doesn’t seem to understand that, without work, it won’t work. “I urge the Government both in Westminster and Holyrood to strongly consider recommendations such as the part-time job guarantee for people who have been on the work programme for more than a year and the provision of localised education-to-career support for the non-university applicants who are fast becoming forgotten. “We need action now to prevent a generation of local young people here in paisley and Renfrewshire being left on the scrapheap.” Youth Employment Minister Angela Constance, however, claimed the Scottish Government are “determined to tackle this national challenge with a national response”. She said: “I have been appointed as the first Youth Employment Minister anywhere in the UK to see that commitment through, backed up with an additional £30million investment which will go towards Opportunities for All, our guarantee of a place in education or training for every 16 to 19-year-old. “As well as guaranteeing 25,000 Modern Apprenticeship opportunities in every year of this Parliament, prioritising young people within colleges and working with local authorities on Activity Agreements for those, we are working closely with the UK government on implementing those elements of their youth contract relevant to Scotland.”