An Easy Understanding of DIY Electrical Works That You Can Tackle Alone

We all know and say that electricity is potentially dangerous. But a very few have the actual idea about how fatal and devastating it actually is. Whether it is flicking on a night bulb or charging our phones, we are so very used to safe electricity in our daily life that we think we can tackle any kind of electrical fix DIY easily without letting professionals intervene.

This thought itself is a severe mistake in the first place. Taking electricity lightly is a risk that is simply not affordable for anyone. It is always advisable to call in a professional electrician to make any changes — big or small — related to electrics. And London is such a place where one easily gets access to some technically sound and experienced specialists as local handymen to cater to one’s needs.

Electrical works in compliance with Part P of the Building Regulations

As statutory requirement it is essential that certain new electrical works must comply with Part P of the building regulations. In easier words it means that many of the electrical works in your home that you want to take up DIY as a layman or woman might need to be performed by a qualified and registered electrician. So, is there any electrical work at home that one can perform with his or her own hand without calling in a pro?

The answer is yes, thankfully there are some tasks that you can do alone on DIY mode and boost your self-reliance. Those works include the following –

• Replacements
• Minor repairing and
• Thoroughly identical (or ‘like’ for ‘like’) changes

These are actually the electrical jobs that you are allowed to undertake all on your own. In other words, you can change and move sockets, light switches, and ceiling lights. You can even change wires that appear worn out, damaged or old.

If a room has insufficient sockets, lights or switches you can install more of those into the room.

No DIY repair is allowed for you inside the bathroom or the kitchen and not even in the outdoors. Only a specialist is allowed to undertake every kind of electric works at those places.

Notifiable electric work and non-qualified handymen

Notifiable electric works are those works related to electrics that need to be inspected once the execution is over to ensure safety. The best examples include changing a fuse board and installing new circuits. Such works require direct involvement of your local Building Regulations department. Usually, people hire licensed electricians for such works. These works are as dangerous as complicated. Moreover, an electrician has to self-certify the work he has executed.

If you are planning to try out your hands on any DIY notifiable electrical work first you should know the idea is not great. Awful lot of risk is involved. It is important to have the work inspected and verified by a professional electrician once you have completed the job. This may prove to be both time-consuming and costly. In easier words it means the job would have been easier to tackle had you hired an electrician in the first place.

Be as cautious and careful as you can

Whenever you are handling electrics DIY you must be as cautious and careful as you can. The point is never whether you are handling a permissible electrical job or a notifiable one that needs to meet regulated standards by yourself. A moment’s carelessness can prove to be equally fatal in both cases. Therefore, it is essential to take your own sweet time and be as safe as it is possible. This cannot be stressed enough however hard one may try. Every small or big step you perform has to be double or even triple checked. You can even rope in a partner who will make sure you are pulling anything silly or making any mistake.

You must not be in a hurry either to complete the job. Give yourself ample time to finish the electrical job. Do not attempt doing these works at night when you are already little exhausted both mentally and physically after a day’s work. If you value your peace of mind then it is always better to hire certified professionals to get any job related to electrics done.

These days one of the more popular DIY electrical works is installing electric showers. The range of appliance is unbelievably successful on commercial aspect and there are various factors in its favour. Most importantly the product undeniably redefines one’s bathing experience taking it to the next level. The items are also reasonable in price and easily affordable. There is no complexity involved in its functioning. An electric shower does not store water separately; rather it heats water almost instantly. You can regulate the temperature. In addition to all the factors mentioned above, the gadget is economic to run.

But considering all these positive factors about the product if you think you can install it yourself DIY, you are badly mistaken. Electrical safety is the primary priority under all circumstances. If you plan to install an electric shower DIY right from scratch then that is a strict no-no. it involves too much technical complexities that a layman cannot handle. And let us not talk about the risk it involves separately. But yes, if you are planning to replace an electric shower unit with a new one with the same model, make and features then you can easily go DIY.

As a matter of fact, as far as electric showers are concerned the price of installing one by a licensed electrician turns out to be much more than the cost of the item itself. Replacing a power shower DIY is allowed because the infrastructure is already in place. The power and the water cablings are already in place. All that is to be done is installing the new unit and raising the rail. According to trained and licensed professionals providing expert electrician services in London this does not involve a high skill level or technical know how.

Before anything else, you must check the kilowatt (kW) rating of the appliance. If it has a higher kW rating than the one that is still installed, it means the existing electrical cables could be insufficient as the new model consumes greater electricity. So, you may require install new electrical cabling to run the new power shower safely. In that case handing the job over to a trained and qualified electrician is a better choice.