Telling a good electrician from a cheap one

Electrical work is the one trade in a building where a mistake can stay hidden for years and then declare itself all at once. A crooked wall is visible, a dripping pipe announces itself, but bad wiring sits behind the plaster until the day something catches fire or somebody gets a shock. Which is why choosing an electrician is not a decision to make on price alone.

# Seven questions worth asking

1. Will the estimate be itemised into materials and labour? A single number means either nothing was calculated, or they would rather you did not see what is being bought.
2. What conductor size for which circuit? The answer should be specific and should relate to the load.
3. Which circuits get RCD protection? A correct answer includes socket circuits and wet areas.
4. How will you assess the earthing? If the answer is anything other than measuring it with an earth tester, it is not being assessed.
5. What documentation comes at the end? A single-line diagram and a circuit schedule is the minimum.
6. Will you insulation test, and will I get the readings? That test is done with an instrument and produces numbers.
7. What does the guarantee cover, and for how long? It should be agreed and written down before work starts.

# Signals that should worry you

• A price dramatically below the others. The difference nearly always comes out of materials, and electrical materials are the wrong place to save.
• A firm price given over the phone with no site visit.
• A vague, general answer when you ask about earthing.
• "That is how we do it here" standing in for a reference to the regulations.
• Unwillingness to provide a materials list with specifications.
• A suggestion to leave the RCD out because "it keeps tripping".
• No contract, and no written estimate either.

# Why the cheapest quote is usually the dearest

In wiring a house, labour is a smaller share of the total than most people assume. The gap between two quotes usually comes from somewhere else: a smaller conductor, non-approved accessories, no RCD, no earth pit, or simply fewer circuits.

None of that is visible on handover day. All of it is visible five years later, when a circuit runs hot under load, or when there is no RCD to operate at the moment one was needed. And by then, putting it right means opening the same walls again.

# The local point

In a small town or village there is a real advantage: an electrician who lives in the same place stands behind the work, because their reputation is built there. If something goes wrong, there is somebody you can actually find. That is worth something, and it never shows up in a quote.

If you have a proposal in hand and want a second opinion, a survey and review is available as a standalone service, including when the work eventually goes to somebody else.