When it comes to electrical work, you aren’t just going to put your home into the hands of just anyone. An EICR is an important assessment of your home’s electrical installations and should always be carried out by a professional and fully qualified electrician.
But let’s be honest, there are plenty of rogue traders out there and people who claim to have the knowledge but soon bodge things once they’re at your property.
For this reason, we recommend taking the time to research your options so that you can choose an electrician that’s up to standard. In this guide, I’ll give you a few tips on finding the right person for the job.
Does It Have To Be A Qualified Electrician That Carries Out An EICR?
Yes. While an EICR is not a legal requirement for homeowners in the United Kingdom, there are requirements when you do decide to have this assessment carried out.
Primarily, you should keep in mind that an EICR will only be valid if it has been completed by a competent person. What this means is that only a fully qualified electrician is able to do the work.
Legalities aside, it would never be a good idea to attempt to carry out an EICR yourself because electrical work when you aren’t trained is fraught with dangers and risks.
A qualified electrician will be able to safely carry out the EICR and you can feel confident that they will be able to correctly identify potential issues.
Things To Look For When Choosing An Electrician For Your EICR
When it comes to choosing the right person for your EICR, I realise that your options might appear to be endless. If you’ve never hired anyone to do this type of work in the past, you’ve got nothing to go on so the best thing for it is to spend some time researching different electricians and finding one that suits your needs.
How Long Will The Check Take?
The last thing you want is an electrician who will speed through the check just so they can get on with their next job and make as much money as possible during any given day.
An EICR is an incredibly important assessment and it will take time to complete. Naturally, the amount of time required for the check will depend on various factors including the size of your property.
For a large, five-bedroom house, you might expect the check to take up to four hours. If your electrician is telling you that he/she can have it done in half of this time, you’d be wise to question this.
What’s more, I have heard stories of people receiving an EICR with the word LIM written all over it. This means ‘limitation’ and is the electrician’s way of saying that he or she was unable to access a particular part of the property.
If you are available during the check and your electrician never asks to gain access to things like a loft, garage or locked room then it’s a good sign that they’re just cutting corners to get the job done more quickly.
Is The Electrician Properly Qualified?
Perhaps one of the most important things to think about when choosing an electrician for your EICR is what qualifications they have.
All good, trustworthy electricians will usually have their qualifications and accreditations listed on their websites. If they haven’t, they should be more than happy to answer any questions and provide you with the information you need.
Where this isn’t a possibility then you should be asking yourself why they’re not willing to share this information.
At the very least, you’ll want an electrician who is NICEIC-approved but there are other accreditations to look out for such as Which? Approved traders, STROMA and ECA.
What Do Their Past Customers Say?
I always think that one of the best ways to determine someone’s suitability to carry out any type of work is to look at what their previous clients have to say.
To do this, I’d highly recommend using a third-party app like Google or Yelp as electricians have no control over what is published here. Reviews on their own website may well be trustworthy but remember that they’re at liberty to publish anything they want and may not necessarily publish bad reviews.
Where electricians are reliable and trustworthy, this will show in their reviews. Everyone may have one or two bad reviews but if the reports are generally good then this can give you peace of mind.
How Much Do They Charge?
The cost of an EICR largely depends on the size of the property although other factors can come into play.
For a small one-bedroom flat, you may only need to pay just over £100 whereas a large five-bedroom home may cost in excess of £300 for an EICR.
If an electrician is seriously undercharging then there’s reason to ask why this is. Have they got a bad reputation and are lowering their prices to bring in more work? Are they planning to cut corners? I realise that people want a good deal but, generally speaking, you get what you pay for.
On the other hand, you don’t want to go for an electrician that’s enormously overcharging. In this case, you’ll again want to ask questions. Normally, electricians will charge between £40 and £60 an hour for this type of work.
Furthermore, if there is any remedial work that needs to be carried out, it may take up to 48 hours for your electrician to supply you with a quote. During this time, it can be wise to obtain other quotes and maybe even get a second opinion just to make sure that your electrician isn’t pulling issues out of the air to make a few extra £’s.
What Experience Do They Have?
While it does take a qualified electrician to complete an EICR, you’ll generally want to go with someone who has a good amount of experience doing this type of work.
If you want full confidence that your EICR has been completed to a high and reliable standard then going for someone who has completed hundreds of these assessments is always going to be the best option.
Even with the best intentions, a newly qualified electrician may be liable to miss things that a more experienced person would notice immediately.
Why Trust MJP Electrical To Complete Your EICR
If you’re looking for a trusted and experienced electrician in the Bristol and Bath area then MJP Electrical has got you covered.
Not only are we proud of our many accreditations which include being NICEIC approved, Part P Electrical Safety Registered, Safe Contractor Approved and many more but our team are all City and Guilds qualified.
With more than 25 years of experience in working in both domestic and commercial eicr’s, we have the knowledge to perform EICRs to the highest standard.
We take the time and effort to properly assess the electrical installations in your property, giving you the peace of mind that nothing will go ignored.
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