Light Fitting Wiring

When we were called to this job in the photograph it was a little bit of a disaster to be fair. The homeowner had tried themselves to install their new light fitting and had made a bit of a mess of things.

We were contacted by a lady who had reached despair. The light had been wired incorrectly, was installed dangerously and was hanging off the ceiling.

The important thing to remember is that electricity is dangerous! Whilst electrical items such as light fittings, switches and sockets are sold to the public and are readily available in lots of stores, it does not mean that it is safe to install them yourself. Electricians have to follow the wiring regulations (550+ page British Standard) and the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 (Legal regulations) and as such there are requirements that can only be followed by qualified electricians!! We have to undertake safety testing when carrying out electrical work, it is not enough to simply connect things and see if it works.

Here the light fitting wiring was done incorrectly and there was nearly further problems and damage caused. We regularly come across broken circuits and damaged wiring caused by DIY installations and it ends up costing more money than was saved by undertaking the work themselves.

1) I can’t get an electrician to come and fit one light, will you do it?

Absolutely. We will attend to fit one light fitting no problem. A normal straight forward light fitting swap is normally covered under our minimum charge plus parts pricing. Details of this are on our website. Parts costs are mostly minimal for lighting swaps. We are happy to undertake the vast majority of seemingly minor jobs for you. We will do so safely and in accordance with the wiring regulations.

2) Are all light fittings covered under the same cost?

Most simple light fittings are, yes. There are occasions where we will ask for photographs via a messenger app or email so we can see where the installation needs to take place and what other tools or equipment may be require in order to carry this out. For instance, a simple light fitting replacement in a bedroom or bathroom can be a very different amount of work and cost than the installation of a large, ornate chandelier over a set of stairs on a landing. The ceiling may require strengthening, access may have to be via mobile scaffold and the light fitting may require building.

3) Is there a discount for fitting multiple light fittings?

Normally yes. Contact us for a quote and we will discuss your requirements with you.

4) My existing light fitting is blowing the electrics help!

If your existing light fitting is blowing the electrical supply to the lights then there is a fault somewhere. It could be that the light fitting wiring is faulty, the light fitting itself is faulty or that there is a fault on the circuit supplying the lights.

In any event  you should not attempt to investigate the issue yourself. Please call us and we will investigate the issue for you. We have specialised test equipment and can find issues on circuits and with light fittings. Electricity is dangerous and should be left to the professionals to investigate and repair. If your light fitting is blowing the electrics then you should leave the circuit turned off at the consumer unit and call an electrician to come and investigate the problem for you.

5) I have taken down light fittings to decorate and now nothing is working!

That is fairly common and we are happy to attend and put this right for you. Please do not worry about your electrical installation we are here to help. We will reinstate the lights for you and then check that everything is safe afterwards. We will check for an earth and that the circuit appears in good condition.

6) I have changed the light switches and now nothing works properly… help….

Of course, we can help. We may need to spend a little time investigating which wires go where but we can do this with our specialised test equipment. We will reinstate the wiring for you and get things back up and running for you.

We have had calls from customers that have taken down light fittings or removed switches and had multiple cables of different colours on show. We do sometimes have to spend some time tracing and marking the cables in order to put things right for you. Our best advice would always be to call us in first and not to tackle electrical work yourself unless you are suitable qualified, experience and competent. We know that many of you undertake some work yourself because you cannot find an electrician that you trust or that is reliable and that’s ok, we are here for you especially.

7) Can you help me install the light myself?

No unfortunately, our insurance would never cover us for this type of advice. If we instructed you to carry out electrical work and you were injured as a result then we could be liable. We are not trying to keep anything a secret or stop you from doing the work and there are plenty of videos on the internet for you to watch. You are also free to buy the test equipment required from any good supplier and the wiring regulations from many good booksellers 😊. We are here however, to do the project for you, fix the project if it has gone wrong and to offer helpful advice on safety and finding a good electrician for your needs, even if that isn’t us! We have a few trusted electricians that are happy for us to pass their details on when we are too busy or the job isn’t right for us.

If you have light fitting wiring that needs to be sorted out for whatever reason then please just give us a call. If you have made a blunder then we can have a chuckle about it and try to fix the problem for you. There are all sorts of funny circumstances that have led customer to contact us and luckily we have a great sense of humour.

Don’t struggle with wiring problems, call the professionals.