Getting quotes for electrical work in the UK
Electrical work is one of the few trades where the paperwork at the end is not admin. It is the thing that proves the job was done properly, and you will be asked for it when you sell.
An electrical quote should name the circuits, the consumer unit, making good, and which certificate you receive. Most domestic work is notifiable under Part P, so use an electrician on a competent person scheme who can self-certify. Missing certification is not a saving, it is a cost deferred to your sale.
What a real quote itemises
Ask for these in writing. Somebody who works properly will be glad to list them, because it is how their price gets justified against a cheaper one.
- Exactly which circuits. New circuits, alterations to existing ones, and anything in a kitchen or bathroom, which is where the rules tighten.
- The consumer unit. Whether it is being replaced, and whether RCD or RCBO protection is included. A quote to add circuits to a board that cannot support them is not a whole quote.
- Making good. Chasing walls, lifting floors and replastering. Electricians frequently exclude making good, reasonably, but it must be said rather than discovered.
- Certification. Which certificate you get at the end and who notifies building control. See below, because this is the part that costs people money later.
- Testing. Whether an EICR or a periodic inspection is included, or quoted separately.
- Parts and fittings. Who is supplying sockets, switches and light fittings. A quote assuming you buy them reads far cheaper than one that does not.
Part P, and why the certificate is the whole point
Most electrical work in a home in England and Wales is notifiable under Part P of the Building Regulations. An electrician registered with a competent person scheme, such as NICEIC, NAPIT, ELECSA or STROMA, can self-certify and notify building control for you, and you get a certificate. Somebody outside a scheme cannot, which means you would have to notify building control yourself and pay for the inspection. The registers are free to search and the scheme name alone is not enough: check the individual business is on it.
No certificate is not a saving, it is a cost deferred to your sale
The cheapest way to do electrical work is without certification, and it is the one that fails a conveyancing enquiry years later. A buyer's solicitor asks for the Part P certificate for any notifiable work, and if it does not exist the options are retrospective regularisation or an indemnity policy, both of which cost more than the certificate would have. Ask which certificate you will receive before anybody starts.
Three quotes, and the general checks
Get three for anything beyond a small job. You are not looking for the cheapest, you are looking for the outlier. Then run the same three checks you would for any trade: the registration their trade requires, current public liability cover, and the company on Companies House. Those checks are here.
Can Tradelynx introduce you to one?
We only route work in Bournemouth, Portsmouth and Southampton, and only in the trades we have people for: right now that is builder, carpenter, electrician, handyman, landscaper and roofer / guttering. Everywhere else, and in every other trade, we are still building our supply and would rather say so than pretend.
What is worth keeping afterwards
The Part P certificate or EICR, the date, the scheme registration number, and what circuits were touched. This is the single most requested document when a house is sold.
A HomeLynx Passport is free and covers every UK home, whether or not we route work near you. If you already have somebody you trust, they can run your job through Tradelynx wherever you both are.