Electrician in Southampton

Southampton properties and the work they need

Southampton has an unusually wide spread of housing for a city its size, and the electrical work that comes out of it varies just as much.

The Victorian and Edwardian terraces through Portswood, Shirley, Bevois Valley and parts of Bitterne are where original consumer units, limited RCD protection and wiring extended piecemeal over decades still turn up. Rewires and board replacements are common. A good share of that stock is rented, and much of it is student housing, which is why landlord certificates and EICRs make up a large part of what I do in the city.

The post-war estates further out, like Millbrook, Lordshill, Thornhill and Weston, are a different story. The wiring is usually sound, but the board has often come to the end of its life. That tends to mean an upgrade or an extra circuit rather than a full rewire.

Closer to the waterfront and around Ocean Village there are a lot of newer flats. The questions there are usually about car chargers and extra circuits, and what can actually be done in a flat with a shared supply.

None of that tells me what your property needs — only looking at it does that. But it does mean I usually have a fair idea of what I am likely to find before I arrive.

What I get asked for most in the city

Faults and tripping. A breaker that will not stay in, a room with no power, lights that flicker or a socket that has died. The job is finding the cause rather than swapping parts and hoping, which is what fault finding is for.

Fuse boards and consumer units. Whether an older board needs replacing, or only part of it does, and whether it will carry what you are planning to add. There is more on that on the Southampton consumer unit page.

Inspections and landlord work. An EICR before you buy, sell or let, the five-yearly certificate a tenancy needs, and any repairs the report asks for. I’ll tell you what it says in normal words rather than hand you a list of codes.

Sockets, lighting and everyday jobs. Extra sockets where a room has outgrown them, lights and switches replaced, extractor fans, outdoor sockets and garden or driveway lighting in weatherproof fittings.

Extensions, conversions and outbuildings. Wiring is much easier while the walls are still open, so it pays to agree where sockets and lights go early. A garage being turned into a room needs wiring for living in, and a workshop or garden office needs its own supply.

Car charging. An EV charge point needs a circuit of its own, so the board and the incoming supply decide what is possible — and in a flat, what the building allows matters too.

Not sure where to start?

You don’t need to work it out before you ring. Tell me what’s happening and I’ll explain what’s involved. With more than 15 years behind me I can usually say what needs doing now, what’s worth thinking about, and what’s fine left alone. The quote is free. Let’s have a chat.