Electrical DIY & the Don’t die for DIY Campaign!

We love a bit of DIY and many people turn to Google or Youtube for their new DIY project inspiration, see amazing results and save money by doing it themselves.

How about Electrical DIY?

As a general rule, if you need to look online to do Electrical DIY, you probably shouldn’t do it!

Did you know that Electrical DIY is responsible for half of the electrical shocks in the UK?

The most common causes are: accidentally cutting through power leads, drilling into wiring, repairing electrical items while they are still switched on, not using special equipment and tools used by electricians! In addition to this, a survey of registered electricians, a third said that they had seen or been involved with fixing dangerous DIY electrical mishaps that had resulted in serious electrical fires, serious electrical shocks and significant repair costs due to DIY damage carried out by the homeowner or an unregistered electrician, due to lack of knowledge of current rules and regs and basic safety guidelines.

What is Part P Regulation?

By law, landlords and homeowners must be able to prove that all electrical installation work meets Part P, or they will be committing a criminal offence. Local authorities even got the power to make homeowners/landlords remove or alter any work that does not meet the Requirements of Building Regulations. 

Part P of the Building Regulations, the framework that covers householders who are having work done in their homes, states that works which are deemed more dangerous (notifiable work carried out in the bathroom, garden lighting, electric gate installation, installation or alteration of a circuit, new Consumer Unit installation or alteration of a fusebox, swimming pool, sauna …), must be undertaken or reviewed and signed off by a registered electrician in the UK. Without this, in the event of an accident, your home and life insurance will be invalid and the electrical work will be classed as illegal, which is a criminal offence!

If you need some electrical work done in your home, it is always the best and safest option to get a competent person to do the job for you and ask for advice. So where and how can you find a local electrician, who is registered with one of the national bodies? You can find a registered electrician by your postcode here or contact us Cavendish Electricals directly.

Electricity is everywhere in our homes and it is part of our daily lives. We use it from the moment we wake up and through our day, so it is ever so easy to forget how powerful and dangerous it can be.

We should make sure we live in a safe environment when it comes to electricity, and pay attention to electrical safety at home.

Shockingly, most homeowners don’t do a full EICR check on their property when moving into a new home, do not know what it is or had it done 10-20+ years ago and forgotten about it. This is a quick and relatively cheap way of checking your home safety by a fully qualified electrician, who should give you an EICR report/certificate after. (For landlords this is mandatory now in the UK). This will be beneficial for your own and home safety,for your  home insurance provider to prove that you had maintained good safety standards to prevent injuries, accidents and house fires.

RCD, what is it and do I need it? 

Ask your electrician about fitting your fusebox with RCD (Residual Current Device) if you haven’t got it already. In short term it is a life-saving device that switches the electricity off automatically if there’s a fault. This is an important safety feature for everyone, especially important if you have young children, pets or regularly carry out DIY projects around the home.

If you still wish to carry out some electrical DIY, you need to make sure you are getting guidance from a reputable source only, as it could be life saving! There is a campaign called: Don’t Die for DIY, which is drawing attention that you can not always rely safely on Electrical DIY information and Advice online.

For more information on electrical safety and how to get regular maintenance, testing and protection please get in touch.

You must check if your electrician is qualified and also registered to carry out Domestic work under Part P and he must be registered with one of the 5 main organization, which you can check on the Competent Person scheme here.

Please Feel free to contact Cavendish Eletricals & Services and send us an enquiry through our web page. If you have any question you can email us to info@cavendishelectricals.co.uk or you can call us on 015 3648 3348.

We cover a wide range of areas: Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Greater London (M25).