Each weekend across the UK, DIY shops and warehouses are filled with people keen on tackling the little jobs around the house that always needs doing. Or perhaps they’re looking to start a major project, such as building a deck or constructing a shed. However, when it comes to plumbing, gas and electrical jobs, these jobs are better left to the professionals; and by professionals, we mean fully qualified and certified contractors.
Which Jobs Require an Electrician?
As a homeowner you may legally undertake simple tasks involving electricity, this could include installing an additional socket or light, or perhaps connecting a cooker to an existing connection unit, but that’s about it. When it comes to anything more complicated than these simple tasks, like installing a new shower circuit or a new cooker circuit, you legally require a fully qualified electrician. Before embarking on a home electrical task yourself, it is important to check if you are legally entitled to do so. If you’ve any doubt about the legality of the job at hand, or your ability to do a safe job, hire a certified electrician instead. Not only is it a much safer decision, but it is also a more cost-efficient route. On the off chance you make a real hash of the job you expected that you’d be able to complete, it often costs more to hire an electrician to put things right, than it would have done to have hired an electrician to do the job properly in the first place.
Part P Qualified Electricians
A Part P qualified electrician is one who is able to sign-off their own work in domestic properties; an electrician who is not Part P qualified has to seek local authority building control to approve their work. This is something to bear in mind when you are looking to hire a qualified electrician.
Incorrectly Installed Electronics Can Kill
Electricity is an incredibly dangerous thing, the seemingly mundane 230V domestic supply is more than enough to kill. The human body uses electrical signals to control our organs, and unwanted electricity interrupts these signals, causing hearts and lungs to stop functioning, sometimes resulting in death.
Electrical faults can also start fires in the home. Poorly installed electronics are incredibly dangerous. You could lose everything – if you house burnt to the ground because you installed some faulty wiring yourself against building regulations, you may find your property is not insured and your insurance company is not legally obliged to reimburse you.
On average, 30 people die each year in the UK due to electrocutions and electrical burns. 2.5 million people will receive a mains voltage electric shock every year, and 350,000 will receive a serious injury. Another 46 will die each year as an indirect result of defective wiring or the poor installation of electrical equipment.
Kick Out the Cowboys
Contractors with bogus qualifications who perform poor work are a continual problem in the UK. Despite their poor performances, such workmen still expect to be paid for their work and sometimes things can get ugly if payment is refused, especially against the vulnerable.