Electrical Work in the Triangle

One crew, and why we do not rush

Electrical is our smallest trade, one crew, and it books out further ahead than most. We are not going to pretend that is convenient.

It is also the trade where cutting a corner does not show up as a callback. It shows up years later as a warm outlet behind a sofa. So the work is done by licensed electricians, it is permitted where a permit is required, and it is inspected. If that means you wait a few days longer for a booking, we would rather that than the alternative.

Total loss of power is the emergency

Panel upgrade is the one emergency-eligible service in this section, and specifically for a total loss of power to the house where the utility has confirmed the supply is live. That is covered around the clock.

Everything else here is scheduled work. A dead outlet, a flickering light, a fan that wobbles, are all real and none of them are a two in the morning problem.

Two things that are genuine emergencies but are not ours: if you can smell burning or see scorching at an outlet or panel, switch that circuit off at the consumer unit and call us immediately, and if there is an actual fire, call the fire service first. And if the power is out across your street, that is the utility, not us, and they will restore it faster than anyone.

What the Triangle housing stock throws up

Full panels. A great many houses here were built with panels sized for the loads of their decade. Add a heat pump, an EV charger and a hot tub and there is no capacity left. Half of what we get called about turns out to be a capacity conversation rather than a fault.

Aluminium branch wiring, in houses built roughly between the mid 1960s and mid 1970s. It is not inherently unsafe, but the terminations are, and they need specific connectors rather than being ignored.

Federal Pacific and Zinsco panels. Both were installed widely and both have documented failure modes where breakers do not trip under fault. If you have one, an electrical safety inspection is worth an hour of your time.

Ungrounded two-prong outlets in older houses, frequently replaced with three-prong receptacles by a previous owner without a ground actually being present, which looks safe and is not.

What we do not do

We do not work on the utility side of the meter. The service drop, the meter itself and the supply from the street belong to the power company, and we coordinate with them rather than touching it.

We do not do low-voltage systems: alarms, network cabling, home automation beyond wiring a switch, and audio-visual installation.

We do not do solar photovoltaic installation, though we will work alongside your solar installer on the panel side.

We do not disturb asbestos or knob-and-tube insulation without the right contractor involved.