Do I Need a Certificate for my Electrical Work?

The kind of certificate you need depends on the type of electrical appliance or installation you have. In this post I’ll explain some common types of electrical work, how they need to be tested and what certification is needed.

Anything with a plug on it, for example kettles, toasters, lamps, etc, should be PAT tested for a home office or business. In a normal working environment these types of appliances need to be tested every year. If it is a hire company then they’ll need testing every time the equipment goes out. Alternatively, if the environment is “high risk”, like a building site, then appliances will possibly need weekly testing. The best way to inspect a plug appliance is visually. Make sure everyone is aware of what to look for: things like smashed casing, split cables, cracked plug or exposed wiring.

For electrical installations you will require an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR). This used to be known as a Periodic Inspection Report (PIR). An EICR is like an MOT on your electrical installation which is normally carried out every 5 or 10 years for a domestic installation. For jobs like a complete rewire or a complete new circuit there is an Installation Certificate. There is also a Minor Works Certificate which covers jobs such as adding to or altering an existing circuit in some circumstances.  In these cases I have to notify building control that minor works has an installation certificate.

If you have any queries regarding certification for electrical work, or you require help with any of the jobs mentioned above, don’t hesitate to contact us for advice and a competitively priced service.

Call us on:

Colchester 01206 617 611

Ipswich 01473 730953

Mobile 07906 868 122

A day in the life of Dave Blundell

A Day In The Life of David Blundell 

An electrician’s work is never done. There’s always plenty to do and so I always get up early, and I’m out of the house by 7.30 am.

I get loads of landlord inspections, and going out to do one is the first job of today. Landlord inspections tend to always fail on the same things. These include: cracked sockets, lights in toilets not being waterproof, labelling missing on the fuse board and burnt out ceiling pendants. Today’s property is no different and fails on all of these points. I already have the go ahead to repair or replace anything that needs doing, but I always like to check before starting remedial work as there are costs associated with this. I then repair and replace everything to make the property safe, and then of course get the vacuum cleaner out to tidy up after myself. For student accommodation, it’s advisable for landlords to tell the students to test the RCD and smoke alarm once a month. That way you’ve done your duty of care to the tenants

Then I’m typically off to do a little fitting job like putting in a John Lewis or Next light fitting (p.s remember to buy your light bulbs because they don’t come with them as standard).

Then I go over to another house and replace some down lights that have burned out. This was because they’d been covered in insulation. I remove the insulation that was in the ceiling around the fitting, and put in a nice new one.

 Last job of the day is to stop off at the wholesaler to pick up a hob to fit for a client over the weekend. This is a last minute job as their hob broke.  It turned out to be cheaper to replace it than to repair it, and here at David Blundell Electrical we always give the client the most cost effective solution to their electrical problems.