This job came about after the homeowner contacted us to carry out an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR). She was keen to make sure the electrics in the property were safe and wanted the inspection carried out by a contractor she could trust to provide an honest and thorough report.
An EICR is essentially a detailed health check of the electrical installation within a property. It allows us to assess the condition of the wiring, accessories and protective devices, and identify any issues that may present a safety risk now or in the future.
For a proper inspection to be carried out thoroughly, we normally allow around a full day on site. This gives us enough time to test each circuit individually, inspect the condition of the wiring where accessible, and check that the protective devices and earthing arrangements meet current safety requirements.
During this inspection it became clear that the property still had an older style rewireable fuse board installed. These fuse boards were very common in homes for many years, but they do not offer the same level of protection that modern consumer units provide today.
Rewireable fuses rely on a piece of fuse wire melting when a fault occurs. While this system did its job historically, it lacks many of the additional safety features that are now considered standard in modern installations.
The EICR also identified a number of smaller issues around the property which needed attention. These were addressed first as part of the remedial work recommended within the report. In many homes we inspect, the majority of issues are relatively minor and can be corrected without major disruption.
Once the initial remedial items had been completed, we returned to carry out the replacement of the fuse board.
The old rewireable fuse board was carefully removed and replaced with a modern consumer unit designed to provide significantly improved protection for the electrical installation. Modern consumer units incorporate devices such as miniature circuit breakers (MCBs) and residual current devices (RCDs), which help protect both the wiring and the people using the installation.
RCD protection is particularly important as it provides an additional layer of safety by rapidly disconnecting the supply if an electrical fault is detected that could cause electric shock.
As with all fuse board replacements, the installation must be fully tested once the work is complete. Each circuit was individually tested to confirm it was operating correctly and safely with the new consumer unit in place.
Because this type of work falls under Building Regulations, the installation was also registered with Building Control. Certification for the work was issued on the day of completion so the homeowner has full documentation confirming the installation meets current regulations.
Carrying out an EICR before undertaking work like this is always the best approach. It allows us to properly assess the condition of the installation and identify any issues before major work begins.
This also gives the homeowner a clear picture of what needs addressing and what the likely costs will be. Without an inspection first, replacing a fuse board can sometimes reveal other underlying problems in the installation, which could leave the homeowner facing unexpected costs once work has already started.
By carrying out the inspection first, everything is identified up front. The homeowner can then decide how and when to proceed with any recommended work, allowing them to budget properly and avoid being put in a position where decisions have to be made under pressure.
In this case the result was a much safer electrical installation, with modern protection in place and any existing issues resolved. The homeowner now has the peace of mind of knowing that the electrics in the property have been properly inspected, updated where necessary, and fully certified for continued safe use.
