Electricity (lights and plugs) not working in Loft Conversion but work in rest of house

DecBoy

Hi, I would really appreciate some advise, we have family staying with us at the moment in our spare room (which is a loft conversion). Last night as the weather is cold they turned on the small electric heater and also they plugged in some phone chargers and it cut the electricity off from the full house. One switch was down in the electricity box so i put this back up, all the electricity came back except for the lights and plugs on the third floor in the loft conversion...even the light outside the bedroom door isnt working...all switches are up in the box. I am guessing the loft conversion is wired off the 2nd floor circuit (which is working) and thats why the switch isnt tripping? Also should there be second box exclusively for the 3rd floor where maybe the fuse is just gone and I need to replace? Really appreciate any advise, thanks very much!

GrumpyDil

Was it a properly signed off loft conversion with electrical certs etc.

I'm asking because that sounds suspiciously like the power has been run off a fused spur and the fuse has blown, hence why it's not come back on after resetting the triped fuse.

If it is running off a fused spur then that is certainly not an approrpriate way of doing it.

I'd suggest getting a sparks in to take a look.

DecBoy

Thanks for your response! We purchased the property with the conversion completed by prior owners, the electrics were certified for the house as part of our requests during the purchase but of course this can mean very little when something goes wrong. Would it be a case of now having to replace the fuse and it should work? Also we don’t know where this second fuse box is, we’re not at the property currently but Im hoping its in one of the storage presses in the loft. Thanks for your feedback and advise it is appreciated.

Aylesbury_Duck

Replacing the fuse is treating the symptom, not the cause. You need to get an electrician in to see how the wiring to the loft conversion has been done and to do it properly if it's needed. One heater and a few phone chargers is all it took to blow it, so something's not right.

If the people who did the conversion took short-cuts with the electrics, are you confident other things are as they should be, e.g. fire-rated stairs, fire doors, load bearing floor, etc? I have a relative who inherited a "loft conversion" but the reality was that it was posh storage space and not somewhere people should be living/sleeping.

DecBoy

Thanks, yes we understand your point. The tactical plan for now is to find out what the problem is, if we can do a temporary fix so that at least the lights can come on and stop using the heater until we can get our electrician available to come to do a full review.

GrumpyDil

If I was at the house I would be having a good look around and isolating the various circuits in the house to confirm exactly what circuit this runs off and go from there. My suspicion is that this may be a bodge but the problem is that without eyes on the ground no one can tell you for certain what has been done and what your options are.