Why not just use extension leads?

Homes built decades ago were wired for a lamp and a television per room, not for a desk with two screens, chargers in every bedroom and a kitchen full of appliances. Trailing extension leads and adaptors add heat and trip hazards, and a lead run under a carpet or through a doorway is a fire risk. Sockets in the right places remove the problem, and twin sockets with built-in USB outlets cut the clutter of chargers as well.

Can a socket be added to an existing circuit?

Often, yes. A new socket can be spurred from a nearby socket on a ring circuit, or the ring can be extended, provided the circuit has the capacity and is in sound condition. A kitchen refit, a home office with heaters or a utility room with a dryer may need a circuit of its own. When the electrician looks at the board, they will tell you whether there is a spare way and whether the existing circuit has RCD protection, which the Wiring Regulations expect for sockets in a home. Adding a socket to an existing circuit is not notifiable building work unless it is in a bathroom zone, but you should still receive a Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate showing that it was tested.

What about lighting?

Lighting jobs range from swapping a pendant for a new fitting to planning downlights across a kitchen extension. Points worth discussing:

recessed downlights in a ceiling with a floor above usually need to be fire-rated, so that the ceiling keeps its ability to hold back fire
LED fittings need compatible dimmers, or they flicker and buzz
a bathroom light must have the right rating for its zone, and work in the zones around a bath or shower is notifiable
two-way switching, so that a landing light works from upstairs and down, needs extra cable and is easiest during redecoration
outside, a light on a dusk sensor or a movement sensor needs a weatherproof fitting and cable rated for the job

Old lighting circuits in houses from before the 1960s sometimes have no earth, in which case metal light fittings cannot safely be used until the circuit is rewired, and the electrician will say so.

How is power taken into the garden?

Outdoor sockets, pond pumps, garden lighting and power to a shed, summerhouse or garden office all need cable that can live outside, which usually means steel wire armoured cable buried at a safe depth or clipped along a wall, protected by its own RCD. A garden room with heating, lighting and several sockets normally gets its own small consumer unit fed from the house, which counts as a new circuit and is notifiable under Part P. Tell the electrician how far the building is from the house, what will run in it and whether the route crosses a patio, a drive or a neighbour's land, since each changes the planning and the digging.

Can I have a hot tub, a pool pump or an electric gate?

Yes, each with its own rules. A hot tub or swimming pool is a special location under BS 7671, with strict requirements on distance from the water, the type of supply and the protection, so it needs a dedicated circuit designed for the purpose rather than an extension lead from the kitchen. Gate motors, driveway lighting and garden lighting on long runs need cable sized for the distance so that the voltage does not drop. A car charger is a separate job with its own earthing requirements and is best raised as an enquiry of its own.

Is there anything the Building Regulations or the council need to know?

In England, work that adds a new circuit, replaces the consumer unit or takes place in the zones around a bath or shower must be done by an electrician registered with a government-authorised competent person scheme, who notifies it for you, or be notified to the council's building control before it starts. Most socket and lighting additions are outside that list, but you should still receive a certificate for any work done. Planning is separate: an outside light or a socket on the wall of a house does not usually need planning permission, but a listed building may need listed building consent for anything fixed to its fabric, and in a conservation area it is worth a quick word with Epping Forest District Council about fittings on the front of the house.

What should the enquiry include?

what you want, room by room, with a sketch or photos if it helps
a photo of the consumer unit so the electrician can see how many spare ways there are
for outside work, the distance from the house and what the cable would cross
whether the house is listed or in a conservation area
whether you own or rent, as tenants need the landlord's agreement for alterations
your postcode

If an electrician covers your postcode and you consent, your enquiry goes to that one electrician. If nobody does, we tell you and nothing is shared.

Who you will hear from

We pass your enquiry to one local electrician, if one covers your postcode. It is never sent to a list of companies. If nobody covers your postcode, we will tell you and will not pass your details on.