Electrical work is one of the most important jobs you need to do for your home safety, but it’s not a work you do by yourself and it is advisable to always use qualified electrician.
The UK regulations are restricted on this point. According to their regulations, electrical work should only be performed by a qualified electrician.
Whether you want to have a full house electrical work or a simple wiring issue, don’t do it yourself. It’s dangerous and illegal, especially in London, it could leave you with serious penalties. If you live UK, especially in London or Essex, finding a qualified electrician shouldn’t be that hard. However, if you are having second thoughts, you don’t know what to do, and where to start, this article might help you.
In this article, we will discuss the necessary steps that every UK homeowner and landlord should take to hire the right electrician. By the end of the article, you will be able to find a qualified and registered electrician that gets the work done with satisfactory results.
First, you must know why it is important to hire a qualified electrician.
Why hire a Qualified Electrician?
If you want to hire the right electrician, you must know why you are hiring him in the first place. Knowing the reasons helps you to make the right decisions.
Qualified electricians are licensed technicians authorised by either NICEIC or NAPIT, which makes them updated to the new electrical codes and technologies. Hiring one ensures that your home and property safety is in good hands. The right electrical system helps improve your lifestyle quality safety by reducing the chances of electrical overloads, short circuits, and faults.
However, not all registered electricians are the same, there are degrees of quality services, some are good, and some are great. Hiring the right electrician means you hire an electrician that provides top-rated services.
1
Identify Your Reasons
As mentioned before, knowing why you are hiring an electrician helps significantly in the process of choosing one. To do so there are some questions, tests, and research to be done by your half. Identify your electrical problem, what is wrong and what do you want to fix.
For example, you might experience tripping fuses, or losing power, sparkling lights, or malfunction appliances.
Giving the right answers to your electrician improves his work and makes it up to the housing authority’s safety standards. The homework you do will provide valuable answers to your electrician, and sometimes it can even reduce your costs.
2
Ask For Recommendations
When you’re looking for a qualified electrician in London or anywhere in the UK, it’s advised to ask for recommendations from people you know. If you know someone hired before you hire a registered electrician, ask them if he or she is good at their work. The more people you ask the more potential of getting the qualified electrician are there.
Ask for the little things like how much they ask, their qualifications, what agencies they work with, how you can contact them.
The importance of the research you do makes a big difference between hiring non-rated electrician services and top-rated and qualified electrician work.
It’s important to keep a list of the recommended electricians in UK so that in case you are not comfortable with one, you can choose another from the list.
3
Check for his Work Capability and Qualifications
Electrician maintenance and inspection should be done up to the standards of safety regulations. It’s not a fun job to do, it’s serious, it carries danger and safety responsibilities. Only a registered electrician knows the aspect of the job. Because of that, it’s important for you to ask for the electrician qualifications.
How to check if an electrician is qualified?
Checking for the qualification of an electrician reveals its strengths, weaknesses, and whether his work meets the legal standards.
To check if your electrician is qualified and registered there are two important things he must have.
First, a registered electrician must be approved by any local authority near you, or simply call them to check if he is registered or not. Secondly, he must have qualified tradesmen who can certify for his work, otherwise, this is considered as a red flag.
It’s important for you to choose an electrician who has the necessary capability and qualifications to do the job you want. Finely, the job they do must meet part P of building regulations.
4
Ask for his List of References
A professional qualified UK electrician usually is the one who is willing to show and share his list of references. Because he knows how valuable it can be when a new customer or client approaches him.
The list of references tells so much about an electrician, his field of expertise, knowledge, and wealth within his field. To hire the right electrician you must have access to his list of references, at least to know what his customers have to say about his work. If you ever noticed that your electrician is avoiding showing his references, that is a big red flag about his credibility and capability.
Always ask the electrician for his list of references before making any contact and before giving him the job.
5
Make sure they are covered by Liability Insurance
Being cautious never hurts, it’s the smart move to take because of the nature of the job, accidents could happen. Making sure that your electrician is covered by liability insurance protects you from potential lawsuits or extra expenses in case of a work injury.
In most cases, registered electricians in the UK are usually fully insured because it’s a legal requirement for all licensed electricians to have insurance.
Don’t be embarrassed about asking them, there is no shame about that. When you notice that he refused to answer your question this indicates that he doesn’t have liability insurance.
In case of an electrical accident and your electrician is not covered by liability insurance, you are legally going to be liable.
Remember always hire a fully insured and qualified electrician.
6
Hire an Electrician that you feel comfortable with
Your final strategy of hiring the right electrician is to find a qualified London electrician that you feel comfortable with. It benefits you when you sign a contract with an electrician that doesn’t have a bad attitude or communication skills.
Be cautious when you speak with him, try to read the signs of bad attitudes, what is he like, is he polite, respectful, does he have good communication skills. You will be surprised when you know how a man’s attitude tells too much about his work ethic.
Conclusion
No matter how small or big your electrical work is, it’s in your best interest to keep your attention on it. Electrical work should only be done by a qualified UK electrician or you are going to have financial liabilities.
There are many registered electricians in UK and London. Don’t make rush decisions when choosing one, always choose the one who does your work up to the safety standards.
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