Electrician in Winchester& Across Hampshire25 Years, One Accountable Pair of Hands

Additional sockets are usually taken from an existing ring or radial circuit where its capacity and condition allow, and from a new circuit at the board where they do not. Kitchens frequently need the latter: ovens, induction hobs and instant hot taps are individual high-load appliances that belong on their own protected circuits rather than shared with worktop sockets.

Outdoor sockets need weatherproof accessories with the correct IP rating, RCD protection and cable routed in the right containment, not indoor accessories in a plastic box. Garden offices, sheds and workshops are best fed by a properly sized, protected submain with its own small distribution board, which gives you local isolation and room to add circuits later.

Lighting is the work where the difference between competent and careless is most visible. Downlights need fire-rated fittings with correct clearance and insulation management, dimmable drivers matched to the switch, and a layout planned around the furniture rather than the joists. Two-way and multi-way switching, and separately switched task and ambient circuits, are decided at quote stage because retrofitting them later means chasing walls twice.

External lighting covers path, patio, façade and security lighting, using IP-rated fittings, correctly glanded connections and cable protected where it enters and leaves the building. Where security is the objective we discuss sensor placement and lux levels, because a floodlight aimed badly is a nuisance to neighbours and useless as a deterrent.

Fault finding is a test-instrument job, not a guessing job. Nuisance tripping usually resolves to accumulated earth leakage across a shared RCD, a damaged cable, water ingress in an outside accessory, or a failing appliance, and each of those has a different signature on insulation resistance and loop impedance readings. Splitting circuits across separate RCBOs is often the permanent cure, which is why fault finding and consumer unit work frequently belong in the same quote.

Dead sockets and intermittent lights are commonly a loose termination or a broken ring, both located by testing sections in sequence. We record what was found and what was done, so that if anything recurs there is a trail rather than a fresh start.

On extensions and renovations we work to the building programme: first fix cabling before plaster, second fix accessories after decoration, then test, certify and notify. Coordinating with builders, kitchen fitters and plasterers is part of the job, and quoting it in two visits rather than one keeps the price honest.

Commercial work - offices, shops, workshops and light industrial units - brings three-phase supplies, distribution boards, emergency lighting, and scheduling around trading hours so power-down happens when it costs you least. Documentation requirements are heavier and we plan for that from the start, rather than producing paperwork after the fact.

Larger projects often sit alongside other services we provide: consumer unit upgrades, EICR inspections, rewires, EV charging for staff or fleet, and solar for daytime consumption. Where several are needed we sequence them so scaffolding, isolation and disruption happen once.