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News 17th edition regulations In January 2008 the new regulations for electrical installation were published, From 1st of June 2008 all electrical work should be completed to the 17th edition of the regulations (BS1671:2008), This is the first time we have had a major change of the electrical regulation since 1991. Electrical Tips In this section you'll find some tips on having electrical work done in your property and how to make sure you are using a professional electrician. Electrical Rewires Below you'll find some tips for electrical house rewires; -
Before getting an electrician in to look at your property to quote or estimate for your electrical house rewire, you should write down exactly what you want in each room and if possible supply a copy to the electrician. another great idea would be to draw a plan of each floor of your house and mark out where you want each electrical point.
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As ever, you should get at least 3 quotes, but go with the one you feel most comfortable and that you see will give great value rather than the cheapest, you are making an investment in your property after all.
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You should ensure that you are going to employee the services of a professional electrical company and that they are registered with one of the electrical bodies such as the NIC EIC, ask for the electrical companies registration number and then check this with the electrical body either via their website or calling them. If they are members of any other organisation you should check this too.
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Make sure you get a detailed estimate that includes cost of labour, materials and certification, also a schedule of all the work to be carried out, This should mirror you list that you gave the electrician when they came round to quote for your house to be rewired.
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Prices vary for an electrical rewire from property to property and can range (for a 3 bed house) from £2500 if you were to have just standard light fittings and sockets to £4000+ if you wanted the best brushed chrome fittings and downlights (these should be fire rated), extractor fans, security & garden lighting. Something else that can affect the cost of a house rewire is the structure of the building: Is it old Lathe and plaster with floor boards or are the walls rock solid with a chip board floor. Having a lot of furniture around especially heavy furniture will also be worked into the cost as it takes time to move it around to get under the floor boards or to the walls that you want electrical sockets on.
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Having a rewire is a messy business even for the most professional electrical contractor especially when you are having your electrical sockets and switches chased in to the wall! It would be a good idea to put away items that you don't want to get dusty, If possibly you may wish to put them into storage.
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Once work has begun, If you have any questions or wish to make changes, you should bring this up with the qualified electrician doing your rewire as soon as possible, Any delay and you could find it expensive.
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At the end of the electrical rewire, you should receive 2 certificates one should be one for the electrics that includes data on the inspection and testing of the new electrical installation from the electrical contractor and one should be from building control to say it's been registered. These are both required if you've had your house rewired and you may have trouble selling your house in the future without them. Electrical Safety Inspection If you are having or looking to have an electrical inspection then download our useful pdf about PIRs Glossary of Electrical Terms Service head; Belongs to the electricity supplier along with the meter and is how electricity is brought into the property.
Bonding; Is also very important and is used to connect metal (such as pipe work) in a property together to try to prevent electric shocks occurring. Bonding is mainly done at the gas meter, water stop cock, bath and sink taps and boiler; the connections have a tag on them that reads SAFETY ELECTRICAL CONNECTION DO NOT REMOVE. Accessory; Is a double socket outlet, light fitting or switch etc. Socket outlet; A socket outlet is where you plug appliances into to make them work and they come in triple, double or single forms with a double socket outlet being the most common. Circuit; All electrical installations have wiring for its lights and power these are divided up and fed by different fuses or breakers for convenience and each one is called a circuit. 1 Gang 1 Way plate switch; this is an accessory that has one switch and used for turning a light on or off in a room. 1Gang 2 Way plate switch; These are used if you need to be able to turn a light on from one of 2 places as in a stair way you have 1 switch upstairs and one downstairs. Fused Switched spur; Are used to control appliances such as a washing machine in a kitchen. Fused un-switched spur: are as a switched spur but used when you don't want equipment turned off such as a burglar alarm. Fuse; is a piece of wire designed to blow or melt to cut power under certain fault conditions to protect the cable and keep you safe. Breaker/ Miniature Circuit Breaker (MCB); Does the same job as a fuse but is a switch type device which can easily be switched on again, unless there is a fault with the circuit. Surface Mounting; Is where we would use a box behind an accessory on the wall, this usually protrudes from the wall by about 30mm.This type of installation is best used when damage to decoration is to be avoided. Flush Mounting; This where the wall is chased and all that is seen is the accessory itself and the box is hidden. This method looks better but some plastering and redecoration is needed. Trunking; Comes in different forms, colours and sizes and can be of plastic or metal construction it is a way of running and protecting cables when other ways are not possible. Conduit; is like trunking but comes in tubular form
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