There's something in your home that works harder than almost anything else, and you probably haven't looked at it in years.
It's your electrics. The fuseboard tucked away under the stairs, in a cupboard or up in the loft. It just sits there, quietly working, day in, day out. Nobody notices it. Why would you? It's never caused you a problem.
Until one day it does.
"It's never had a problem before"
I've been an electrician for 33 years, and I hear this almost every week. A light stops working, or something keeps tripping, and the first thing people say to me is, "Well, it's been fine up until now."
And they're right. It has been fine. But here's the thing. It hasn't been fine because it's in good shape. It's been fine because it's been sleeping.
Think about how much has changed in your home since your electrics were put in. More sockets in use. Extension leads behind the TV. Phone chargers, laptops, air fryers, games consoles, maybe an electric car or a hot tub. Every year we ask a little more of a system that was often built for a lot less.
It quietly takes the strain. Quietly ages. Quietly works, until it doesn't.
The 1986 car MOT
Here's how I explain it to customers.
If you took a 1986 car for an MOT today, it wouldn't have rear seat belts. It wouldn't have head restraints. It wouldn't have ABS. It might still drive perfectly well. But nobody would say it's as safe as a modern car.
Your electrics are exactly the same.
The wiring regulations get updated as we learn more about keeping people safe. A lot of the homes I go into were wired to the 15th Edition, or even earlier. Today we work to the 18th.
Now, I want to be really clear here. Old doesn't mean unsafe. If your electrics were put in properly to the standards of the day, they don't suddenly become dangerous when the rules change. They're just not built to today's standard. On an inspection report, a lot of this shows up as "improvement recommended", not "dangerous".
What it does mean is that it's worth checking. Wiring ages, and over the years things get added, changed and worn. An inspection tells you whether it's still in good shape, and whether any newer safety features, like RCD protection, are worth adding.
Same as the car. A 1986 car can still pass its MOT. It just doesn't have the seat belts.
My eight-year-old "new" tyre
A little story. I hadn't ridden my bike for years, so I'd always thought of it as having a new front tyre. The other day I had a proper look and checked the date on it. That "new" tyre is eight years old.
In my head it was still new, because I'd hardly used it. But time doesn't care whether you've used something or not. Rubber ages. So does wiring.
That's what happens with our homes. It's always worked, so in our heads it's still fine.
"Are you just trying to make the job bigger?"
I understand why people are wary. The trades don't always have the best name, and everyone's heard a story about someone getting ripped off. So when I go round to fix a light and mention that the fuseboard needs looking at, I can see some people wondering if I'm trying it on.
I'm not. I'm just telling you what I can see. You know your home better than anyone, but I've looked behind thousands of fuseboards over the years, and I know what to look for. It's my job to tell you what you don't know, clearly and honestly, and then let you decide.
That's why it's my mission to bring a little trust back to the trade.
What it feels like afterwards
When customers do go ahead and get their electrics brought up to date, this is the sort of thing they say to me:
"Oh my God, there are good people out there. You've put my mind at ease. I feel safer in my house now. I can sleep better at night."
And that's the bit I love. Your wiring has been sleeping for years. Once it's sorted, you're the one who gets to sleep.
Not sure how old your electrics are?
You don't need to know. That's my job. An Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) is a bit like an MOT for your home's electrics. It tells you what's safe, what's ageing and what needs attention, in plain English.
If you're in London or Essex and you'd like to book an EICR, get in touch here or give me a call. No pressure, just an honest look and a straight answer.
Karl Brooks
Tack Electrical, NICEIC approved electrician
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