Test
and inspection
A Period Inspection Report (PIR) is a survey of
the your property’s electric cables, earthing,
the fuse board and accessories such as switches
and sockets.
The Report compares the condition of your installation
with the current IEE Wiring Regulations (BS7671).
Although your installation may have been acceptable
when first installed, safety standards have improved
over the years, so your electrical system may need
modernisation in order to meet current safety standards.
The Report will set out clearly any remedial work
required to bring the installation up to the new
standards and there is no obligation to ask ATB
Electrical to complete this work.
The IEE Wiring Regulations (BS7671) recommend that
for domestic installations, a Periodic Inspection
Report is carried out every 10 years. You should
also commission a report before you move into a
new home if you have any worries about the condition
of the electrics. A poor installation can lead to
increased shock risk and risk of fires.
Rewires
You may require a rewire if your electrical installation
is old and has failed a test and inspection, or
you may want to increase the number and change
the position of sockets and lighting points. A
rewire is also an opportunity to bring your home
up to date with modern living standards by incorporating
multiple sockets for your TV/home cinema centre,
installing mirror lights and shaver sockets in
your bathroom and enhancing you garden through
subtle feature lighting.
Fuseboards
Modern fuse boards with miniature circuit breakers
(mcb’s) are much safer and easier to use
than old style rewireable fuses – no more
fiddling around in the dark to find the fusewire
- mcb’s are reset at the flick of a switch.
If you have access to a garden, the Wiring Regulations
now state that an Residual Current Device (RCD)
must be used for circuits supplying equipment
used outside. A modern fuseboard will incorporate
an RCD and give you greater protection against
electric shock both inside and outside your home.
Fault
finding and repair
Faults will be attended as soon as possible and
in the meantime safety advice will be given. The
first priority is to make the fault safe with
minimum inconvenience and then put in place temporary
or long term solutions to the problem. If faults
cannot be easily rectified, a solution will be
recommended, along with an estimate of the costs.
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