Before Your Electrician Arrives

Why a bit of prep saves a lot of money

Electrical call-outs are different from plumbing ones: the problem is rarely visible, the clue is often a tripped breaker with no obvious cause, and the worst thing you can do is keep resetting it. Ten minutes of prep before the electrician arrives makes the difference between a 45-minute diagnostic job and a two-hour fishing expedition.

This list assumes you are not comfortable opening anything up yourself — you don't need to be. Everything below is on the safe side of the consumer unit cover.

The 24-hour checklist

Run through these the day before the electrician is due. None of them require any skill beyond what a normal householder already has — but they collectively shave real money off the final invoice.

• Find your consumer unit (fusebox) and photograph the layout. Usually under the stairs, in the hall, or in the garage. Photograph the whole unit with the cover on, then open the cover and photograph which breakers are on and which have tripped. Note the amp rating printed on the main switch (60, 80 or 100A).
• Do NOT keep resetting a breaker that trips again. If it trips twice, leave it off and wait for the electrician. Each reset into a fault slightly damages cables and can, over time, start a fire. One reset is fine — three is dangerous.
• Map which sockets/lights work and which don't. Walk every room with a phone torch and a lamp you know works. Write a list: 'kitchen sockets OK, hall light dead, upstairs landing dead'. Electricians love this — it halves the diagnostic time.
• Unplug everything on the affected circuit. If the upstairs ring trips, unplug every lamp, charger, TV, hair-dryer and extension lead upstairs. Faults are often in an appliance, not the wiring — and this is how an electrician narrows it down. Leave each item near the socket it was plugged into.
• Gather any previous certificates. Find your last EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report), any EIC (installation certificate) from a rewire, and Part P building-notice certificates from kitchen or bathroom refits. If you have none, the electrician has to start from scratch.
• Clear access to loft hatches and floorboards. For whole-circuit faults, the electrician may need to lift a board or go into the loft. Move anything on top of the loft hatch. Take the kids' drawings off the boarded-up hatch in the cupboard.
• Check whether smoke alarms are mains-wired. If one starts chirping the moment the power comes back on, it is probably a flat backup battery in a mains-wired alarm. Worth saying up front so they bring the right 9V or lithium replacements.
• Have a mobile phone torch at full charge. If the electrician isolates at the main switch to work safely, you will need your own light in some rooms. Do not rely on the hall socket working.

Tools worth having ready

These are the things the electrician will either ask for, borrow, or charge you labour to go fetch. Keeping a small dedicated set in a cupboard means you never lose the 20 minutes that turn into the next half-hour block on the invoice. All prices move, so we link to live Amazon UK searches rather than fixed ASINs.

Questions to ask when they arrive

Asked politely on the doorstep, these five or six questions filter out 90% of the problems that turn into complaints later. A professional will welcome them; a cowboy will get irritated.

• Are you NICEIC or NAPIT registered, and can I see the card? Both are Competent Person Schemes that let an electrician self-certify Part P work. Either is fine. No card = no Part P certificate at the end.
• Do you carry public liability insurance? What level? £2 million is the UK standard. Ask to see the certificate — it is on their phone if legit.
• Will the work be notifiable under Part P? Anything in a bathroom, anything new in a kitchen, anything outside and any new circuit is notifiable. If the electrician says 'no need to notify' for a new kitchen circuit, that is a red flag.
• Will I get an EIC or minor-works certificate when you are done? EIC for new circuits, minor-works for additions to an existing circuit. Either way you want the paperwork before you pay.
• What is the test schedule included in the price? Insulation resistance, earth-loop impedance and RCD trip-time tests should all be included in any quoted Part P job.
• Are parts Building Regs compliant (fire-rated downlights, AFDDs where needed)? From 2022 the 18th edition amendment strongly recommends Arc Fault Detection Devices in certain locations. A switched-on electrician will mention them.

Red flags during the visit

If you see any of these on the day, slow things down. You are not obliged to let anyone continue work you are uncomfortable with — even if they've already been there an hour.

• They work without isolating the circuit. Professional electricians always prove-dead before working on a circuit. Any sparky with pliers on a live wire to 'save time' is a risk to themselves and your house.
• They cannot provide a Competent Person Scheme number. Without one, notifiable work has to go through your council as a building notice (~£300 extra). Most 'we don't need to bother with that' electricians are leaving you with uncertified work you cannot sell the house with.
• They fit anything that has no CE/UKCA mark. Cheap imported RCBOs and consumer-unit parts from eBay are a known fire risk. Branded parts (MK, Wylex, Hager, Crabtree) on your fusebox only.
• They refuse to provide the test results. Under BS 7671 they have to test and record. If the numbers are 'at the office' and never arrive, the tests probably were not done.

What to do after the visit

The paperwork and follow-up is where homeowners most often lose money — warranties unregistered, certificates not received, insurance claims unfiled. Run through this list before you pay the final invoice.

• Collect the Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC) or Minor Works certificate on the day — they can email a PDF the same evening. Your Part P Building Regs compliance cert arrives separately from NICEIC/NAPIT in ~30 days.
• Register the certificate number with your local council's building control if they ask — but the scheme usually does this automatically.
• Label the new breaker(s) in the consumer unit with a sharpie or label-maker, so the next electrician knows what each one does.
• Book your next EICR — five years for owner-occupied homes, every change of tenancy for rentals.
• Keep the certificate with your house paperwork; you will need it when you sell.

Find a electrician in Kent

• Electricians in Kent — county-level directory
• Electricians in Maidstone
• Electricians in Canterbury
• Electricians in Dartford
• Electricians in Tunbridge Wells
• Electricians in Ashford

Related guides

• How to Choose a Electrician — the sister guide to this one, covering qualifications, quoting and insurance.
• Trade Shop — curated tools and homeowner kit, by category.
• All Guides — every NearbyTraders homeowner guide, in one place.