Buying new house - get electrics checked?

virginblue4

Hi everyone,

Currently in the process of purchasing our first house (3 bedroom, semi detached, approximately 120 years old, modern decoration with a new kitchen and bathroom within the past 5 years or so) and have a couple of questions regarding the electrics. We had a full building survey undertaken and as these surveyors aren’t electricians they put the usual insert recommending that we have a qualified electrician check out the electrics before exchanging contracts. Initially I had decided that I wasn’t going to bother as I don’t really think that many people do it, but then realised that 1. It could highlight problems that may be costly to fix and 2. Safety.

I then contacted a few local electricians who I found on Checkatrade but am a little confused. I asked for a few quotes but so far only two have responded. One quoted £90 for a full condition report and certification and the other quoted £280 for EICR (which would take a whole day) or £90 for a visual check. I then went back to the first person asking him to clarify what the £90 would get me as another electrician has quoted £280 for a full report and he just replied “the price is for a full condition report”. From looking online it seems very cheap, making me think the job may not be carried out properly.

Now I have a few questions:

Q1 - is £90 very cheap for a full EICR?
Q2 - is a full EICR over the top?
Q3 - is a visual check for suitable?
Q4 - should I get the electrics checked at all?

Thank you!

Browntoa

If the consumer unit looks good with RCD protection then no.

If it was obviously dangerous they would have mentioned in the survey

dj1471

£90 is too cheap. Did you specify the number of circuits or otherwise how big the job would be? Otherwise they're just making up numbers.

You can easily do your own visual inspection, if it raises any concerns then go for a full EICR. Some guidance here:
https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/guides-and-advice/around-the-home/visual-checks/

Also worth investing in a simple socket tester to identify common wiring issues, e.g:
https://www.screwfix.com/c/tools/socket-testers/cat7910008

Make sure your solicitor asks the usual question about any electrical work having been done by the current owners and make sure it was certified. If not, an EICR is a good idea.

Some electricians will do a basic inspection for property buyers for free, I had one when I purchased my current property.

baldelectrician

You should use a competent person for the work, links below
In Scotland:
http://www.certificationregister.co.uk/

In England and Wales:
http://www.competentperson.co.uk

Also
https://www.niceic.com (search for approved contractors)

https://www.select.org.uk

bris

I pay £80 for an EICR and it takes about an hour. A whole day? He's at it, he wants to do totally unnecessary work.

aj9648

Yes yes yes - get it checked out....we didn’t and we’re stung by it!! I’ve learned hard way to check everything!!

bertiewhite

virginblue4 wrote: »

£90 for a visual check.

I'm not a qualified electrician but I'd guess a visual check would be checking if there's a modern distribution board, what colour wiring you have and if there are any obvious wires hanging out anywhere, which is something you could do yourself.

Happy to be corrected though.

Tom99

bris wrote: »

I pay £80 for an EICR and it takes about an hour. A whole day? He's at it, he wants to do totally unnecessary work.

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]An EICR is at least 8 pages long, writing it out probably takes longer than an hour.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]It includes:[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]- Check and test the earthing and bonding.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]- Suitability of the consumer unit.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]- Load testing of each circuit.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]- Type, age and condition of the wiring throughout the property.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]- Note any general wear and tear.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]- Visually check all the fittings and their locations, noting any issues such as sockets too close to the floor. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]This is the report you should have been given:[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]http://www.eec247.com/mandatory/eicr/eicr.html[/FONT]

Ectophile

The £90 one is a "drive by" EICR. Landlords get those, as all they want is a bit of paper to say the house is safe to let. They don't actually want an electrician poking around too much in case they find something.


A proper EICR involves testing every circuit in the house (not just looking at it). The electrician will check that all the earth bonding is right. They will test any RCDs to make sure they work correctly.


In all, it's time consuming and expensive, and you should assume that the electrician will find some faults.

bris

Tom99 wrote: »

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]An EICR is at least 8 pages long, writing it out probably takes longer than an hour.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]It includes:[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]- Check and test the earthing and bonding.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]- Suitability of the consumer unit.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]- Load testing of each circuit.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]- Type, age and condition of the wiring throughout the property.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]- Note any general wear and tear.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]- Visually check all the fittings and their locations, noting any issues such as sockets too close to the floor. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]This is the report you should have been given:[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]http://www.eec247.com/mandatory/eicr/eicr.html[/FONT]

I know exactly what they do, I get enough of them done.


He inputs everything into software on his Ipad as he works so nothing needs to be written down, the report is emailed to me before he even leaves.


The equipment he uses finds all the faults, if any, so it's not just about getting it for a tenancy, it really does need to be safe.


Beware the rogues too, a lot of these guys try to create work when things don't meet current standards. They don't have to, very few do as standards are changing all the time, they just need to be correct at the time of installation.

Tom99

bris wrote: »

I know exactly what they do, I get enough of them done.
He inputs everything into software on his Ipad as he works so nothing needs to be written down, the report is emailed to me before he even leaves.
The equipment he uses finds all the faults, if any, so it's not just about getting it for a tenancy, it really does need to be safe.
Beware the rogues too, a lot of these guys try to create work when things don't meet current standards. They don't have to, very few do as standards are changing all the time, they just need to be correct at the time of installation.

That's good, the best of six quotes I had 4 years ago was:

"Each circuit takes roughly 45mins - 1hr, and the cost is £25 per circuit."

So 6 circuits was £150 and 8 £200 and 4-6 hrs for 6 circuits