How long does a EICR take to do

3mph

Arranged for electrician to do a EICR check on a flat, 2 bed, 2 bath, kitchen/Dine/Lounge, 100 sqm. He reckons it could take most of the day which is causing access problems since EA doesn't want to spend more than an hour accompanying him and its a holiday home so owners not there.

Flat is all electric, no gas, so electric radiators, 4 air con / heaters, hot water tank - immersion heater.

Any idea how long the checks normally take as I didn't think they did much other than plug tester into sockets.

Sorry its a length of string job but I am guessing the same amount of work as say a 3 bed house.

Thanks

EDIT - should have googled, just done that and seems to be 2 to 4 hours for 3 bed house.
But would love to hear from anyone with personal experience of this.

eddddy

My electrician said up to 4 hours for a similar property. (But maybe he said that to make his fee sound cheap. Maybe allow 2 to 4 hours)

If a property is unoccupied, I generally tell tradesmen to collect the key from the EA, and return it to them afterwards. But I guess it depends how much you trust the electrician, and how valuable (and 'stealable') the stuff in the house is.

davidmcn

As above - not sure why an electrician needs to be supervised by EA? (I'll refrain from commenting on which trade I'd trust more!)

Owain_Moneysaver

I didn't think they did much other than plug tester into sockets.

A proper EICR will involve inspection (ie removing) of as many sockets, switches and light points as possible for visual inspection and to determine circuit layout, testing from multiple points back to the consumer unit, visual inspection of cables in loft and floor voids if accessible, visual inspection and continuity testing of main equipotential bonding from the gas/water intakes back to the consumer unit, visual inspection and continuity testing below bath and basin for supplementary bonding in bathrooms (if not all circuits protected by RCD to 17th Edition).

To insulation test the installation all lightbulbs must be removed, fluorescent/led light power supplies isolated, all fixed appliances disconnected, timeswitches disconnected, smoke alarms disconnected, anything else that might be damaged by the test voltage disconnected, all switches on so the full fixed cabling is connected, the insulation test performed, then everything reconnected and after reconnection tested for safety and function.

Especially with electric heating there will be multiple appliances and multiple circuits that have to be tested. If you have economy 7 then there will be a separate off-peak consumer unit which will have to be tested separately. If there are external lights then that means getting out the ladders to disconnect at the light leaving the cable connected for testing.

Electrician will say 'most of the day' as he doesn't know what he'll find until he starts the job.

Then the reports have to be written up and the certificate issued.

On the other hand you can get electricians that will do a certificate in 20 minutes. They're called drive-by certificates and don't involve getting out of the car.

3mph

Thanks everyone, that helps.
I'm interested to see the sellers response, since they haven't been very helpful so far. If they object then I guess I can just tell them to arrange their own EICR but I'm not exchanging contracts until I have an EICR since the flat is all electric.

3mph

Owain Mon - thanks I had not appreciated that at all. Thought it was just using the tester plug thing. I think I will google a bit more. Thanks again.

Owain_Moneysaver

3mph wrote: »

Thanks everyone, that helps.
I'm interested to see the sellers response, since they haven't been very helpful so far. If they object then I guess I can just tell them to arrange their own EICR

No, because you don't know the diligence of the electrician they'll use, and their electrician will have no contractual relationship to you.

Also your electrician will be able to answer any questions you ask him before he does the inspection, like whether you'd need to change the wiring to use storage heaters or combi storage heaters like Duoheat and off-peak hot water on an E7 tariff.

Just say to the seller that if access is not available to your electrician for an EICR you won't be proceeding any further with the sale, thank you. There's always another property ...

3mph

Thanks again, will do.