Ask The Trades - Print Page

Ask The Trades
https://www.askthetrades.co.uk/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl DIY Forum >> Electrical Questions >> Cost for Testing a home https://www.askthetrades.co.uk/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1231584410 Message started by side-show-bob55 on Jan 10^th, 2009, 10:46am

Title: Cost for Testing a home
Post by side-show-bob55 on Jan 10^th, 2009, 10:46am

Hi All

I want to have the electrics checked in my 4 bed bungalow, can anyone give me a rough idea as to how much it would cost? The house is a 1960ish build so i am not sure if the earthing is to current standards. If any issues are found is there a time limit on when they have to be done?

Cheers
Rob

Title: Re: Cost for Testing a home
Post by cosbycarl on Jan 10^th, 2009, 12:15pm

A PIR alone should cost about £80, my previous company charged £75 but they were doing a lot of them for one client, so maybe thats why they were quite cheap. I also suppose it depends on how long an electrician is in your property for, a periodic inspection should take about 4 hours or so if done properly.

As for getting any issues sorted in a given time, it depends how dangerous to yourself, others around you and to your property, it is.

Title: Re: Cost for Testing a home
Post by The_Trician on Jan 10^th, 2009, 2:01pm

That's way too cheap, and I would expect that you would only get a 'Visual Inspection Report' for such money, with little or no actual testing being carried out properly.

A PIR, or 'Periodic Inspection Report' should be done every 10 years for domestic properties, or even more frequently than that if the property is being let by a landlord.

For a 4 bed property, and depending upon the actual number of ccts I charge £150.

For this, I 100% test and trace every cct. The customer gets a detailed written report and a list of remedial work required to be carried out.

As for a time limit, it would depend upon the severity of any non-compliances found. These are coded from 1 to 4.

Any 1's & 2's ought to be corrected as soon as possible.

I have seen 'Drive by' PIRs done from the seat of a van before now, and would expect that this is all you would get for a paltry £80.

TT

Title: Re: Cost for Testing a home
Post by cosbycarl on Jan 10^th, 2009, 2:52pm

Like i said, my previous company were doing a lot for one client, they had 40 sparks on the books just from exeter down to cornwall, (never mind the others covering from scotland through to the south) so they could do a lot with one hit. Different if your a one man band TT, you wouldnt be expected to do that many a day, plus you wouldnt be expected to win such a contract if its just you and a few others (im assuming it is just you and maybe a few more in your business? Im going on the questions you ask regarding your work on here thats all so please dont take any offence as im not being like anything)

Im just speaking from my background, ive always worked for large companies and only know what they charge. I dont PIR from my van, I spend as long as it takes, even if they do try to apply pressure. 4 hours is seen as the minimum across the board, but like you say it depends on the size and state of the property, could be more, could be less.

Title: Re: Cost for Testing a home
Post by Zambezi on Jan 10^th, 2009, 9:26pm

Some jobs it could take 4 hours to write up the report!

Title: Re: Cost for Testing a home
Post by cosbycarl on Jan 10^th, 2009, 10:39pm

Im now assuming there is more writing involved with just filling out a 6 page periodic inspection cert? I think i briefly saw the top man for the nic (tony something) carry out one on their dvd. If i remember rightly, he did plan drawings of the property etc... I suppose if you wanna do that then it will take bloody ages to fill one in.

Title: Re: Cost for Testing a home
Post by LSpark on Jan 11^th, 2009, 1:14am

wrote on Jan 10^th, 2009, 12:15pm:

A PIR alone should cost about £80

How can you be running a bona-fide business and be doing a proper inspection and test for that price???

wrote on Jan 10^th, 2009, 2:52pm:

so they could do a lot with one hit

One hit of the test button per job ?!

There are far too many reports being carried out on the quick and easy, some for a lot of money and some not. The important thing is not the price but weather or not it's done properly. I've tested a lot now and found major lapses in correct information, even down the type of circuit breakers in the board, showing a basic lack of competence or not doing the job properly, which is the same thing.

Title: Re: Cost for Testing a home
Post by dingbat on Jan 11^th, 2009, 9:42am

There is far too much confusion in the PIR market, among both clients and sparks.

Most domestic properties will never, ever have a full periodic inspection and test carried out. If they did, most would fail, but these failures are almost always obvious in the early stages of the visual inspection - old cable, bodged alterations, incorrect application of protective measures, etc. - rendering the testing pretty well pointless.

Now, there's a lot of resistance to the use of visual-only reporting, but I, for one, see real potential in their application, both for clients and for sparks.

A visual inspection report, for £80, would serve the needs of both parties in most cases. Almost nobody in that market is prepared to cough up the real cost of carrying out a full I & T, but for a professional assessment of the general condition this is far better value for money than you get from a surveyor and far more cost-effective.

Think of it as actually getting paid for a pre-quote survey!

There is much to be done to educate the public in this respect, but insisting on a full PIR (say. £250) which invariably results in an unsatisfactory assessment, will not help the process.

For house purchases, all surveyors recommend an electrical inspection, so why not offer one? There is a market out there for a basic inspection, but not for an expensive, complicated (and usually pointless) service which results in the same overall assessment.

You must make it clear what you are offering (and not offering) and this must also be clearly stated on the report. You must also be impartial and to that end you should insist on payment up-front (like surveyors do). If the visual inspection is satisfactory (it almost always won't be!) you need to also make it clear that there may be latent defects that a visual-only won't reveal.

But, providing you know what you are doing, treat your clients needs with respect and carry out your work diligently, this is a potential growth area for sparks who are fully competent with regards to their knowledge of the regs.

Title: Re: Cost for Testing a home
Post by LSpark on Jan 11^th, 2009, 10:09am

I agree with your thoughts Ding, they make much sense. I do think there will be a trend towards visual inspections; remember that they are still a relatively new thing.

The two main concerns I have are

A) If your doing a Visual report and then quoting for the remedial work, there are many instances where the wiring is relatively new but there are latent defects e.g. damaged cables that only insulation tests can detect
B) There will still be a rogue element that won't even be able to or have any desire to carry out a visual inspection competently

But the latter is something that will probably never be cured, there’s people who enjoy the job and have the interests of safety in mind, and then there’s those who just want to make a quick buck.

Title: Re: Cost for Testing a home
Post by Lectrician on Jan 11^th, 2009, 10:30am

I am a fan of visual condition reports, but these are not recognised by many who are requesting the periodic inspection (housing associations, sheltered housing, insurance companies etc).

Title: Re: Cost for Testing a home
Post by LSpark on Jan 11^th, 2009, 11:17am

Yes I was going to add about housing associations, some are so strict they wont even accept a NAPIT report.

Title: Re: Cost for Testing a home
Post by The_Trician on Jan 11^th, 2009, 12:29pm

Agree with the comments concerning the validity of VIRs, but I also find that a full PIR can save much time and money if the quote for the remedial works is successful. You know exactly what goes where and how healthy or otherwise each cct is before you start. Your quote can be much more accurate if you have 90% of your materials list drawn up before you start the job.

A good example might be low IR readings, shared neutrals etc on an existing C/U which has to be changed.

TT

Title: Re: Cost for Testing a home
Post by wozzy on Jan 11^th, 2009, 5:22pm

i asked ELECSA if they are in the process or thinking of producing VIRs, their reply was definatly not s they have enough certs already, shame.