Electrical Inspection on new home - what am i after?

fox1977

Hi there,

With a bit of look we should be exchanging contracts on a new house next week. I am keen to get the electrics inspected to ensure they are safe. What should i be looking for from an electrical contractor? Am i after a saftey certificate?

I have spotted a few companies on the net offering free saftey inspections but I am naturally weary of these as they will probably try and sell me more stuff (and I am skint!!).

What is the basic entry level thing i am after to ensure that things are safe to use (in the first instance).

Thanks in advance

clutton_2

if it is a new house, ask the builder/developer to provide you with a NICCIE report - why should you have to pay for this ?

fox1977

Buying a repo. Already asked about a few things and not a chance! Sold as seen (almost!).

clutton_2

you need a Periodic Inspection Report from a NICCIE qualified electrical engineer

fox1977

How much are we looking at (roughly)? The house is a 3 bedroom semi

Thanks

Soot2006

I had a full electrical test done for my peace of mind when moved into house. Took a few hours & involved plugging stuff into sockets, unscrewing light fittings, sockets, etc ... lots of different things were done & at the end of it all I was given carbon copies of all the measures (not that I know what they mean!). A week later a certificate arrived in the post to say system had been tested safe + there was a list of things the guy thought I "might be interested in fixing in the future but were not necessary for the safety of the system" ...
Cost £130 which on the "Is this quotes fair" board was seen to be about normal for 2 bedroom house.

fox1977

Cheers soot.

I was was thinking about 200 or under.

clutton_2

this cert could be for 10 years - so quite cheap really

waynehayes

clutton wrote: »

you need a Periodic Inspection Report from a NICCIE qualified electrical engineer

Just so you know, the electrician doesn't necessarily have to be registered with the NIC/EIC. There are other competency schemes such as Napit and Elecsa. It's just the NIC/EIC is the most well known.