Feb 02
The NICEIC (the electrical contracting industries independent voluntary body for electrical installation matters throughout the UK) have released research showing that many women think twice before calling out a male electrician. This has prompted the launch of a new Apprentice Academy to try to encourage more women into the industry.
A survey carried out by the NICEIC of 3,000 women showed that 47% of female homeowners feel intimidated by a male electrician, and 50% would feel more comfortable with a female electrician.
The findings are also supported by the fact that many women are becoming more interested in pursuing a trade. In the 16-24 year old age group, the survey found that 63% of women said ‘they were more intrested in learning a skilled trade rather than a profession, because a trade stays with them for life.’
The results also showed that more of the women who replied were interested in training to be an electrician than any of the other trades – 35% would like to train to be a sparky, with carpenter coming in second with 21%, plumber with 20%, builder with 10% and farrier with 6%.
If you are interested in finding out more, go to their webpage.
Don’t forget you can get free quotes from reliable and insured tradesmen by going to our Find a Tradesman page.
Nov 10
Neweys Online is the online store from Newey & Eyre, the Uk’s leading electrical wholesaler, and they have just cut prices on over 200 top selling products. Check them out at neweysonline.co.uk
Maz Hussain, Web Channel Manager at Rexel, who own Neweys, said:
“With over 12,000 products available to order up to 8pm for next day delivery or collection, Neweys Online has always offered our customers a way to make their life easier.
We are delighted to be able to offer our customers more competitive pricing on over 200 of our top-selling products, as well as reducing our delivery charge to just £4.25. We feel confident we can now offer Neweys Online customers an even better price and a better quality of service.”
If you visit Neweys Online soon and use the voucher code ‘diydoctor1′ when buying anything online, you will receive FREE DELIVERY!
Jul 13
Q. What’s a PAT test and do I need one?
A. It stands for Portable Appliance Test. This is a test to see if your wired appliances such as kettles, toasters, TVs (portable – yes I know hardly portable but still a wired appliance), fridges (same again) etc are safe to use. If you are a Landlord and you supply these to your tenants then you need an annual test on these. If you are a homeowner you don’t – but again if you are suspicious of anything then don’t hesitate to get your local sparky around.
Jul 12
Q. I keep getting shocks when I touch door handles – should I have anti-static carpet installed or get my electrics tested?
A. Ah ha – a good one. Probably not is the reply. Check the BBC weather website on days when you are getting shocks off of door handles, you will probably find that humidity readings are 40% or lower. When the air is this dry, there is not enough moisture to naturally discharge static you accumulate as would happen naturally when the air is moist (moisture conducts electricity – get it?) If you get a shock when you touch a wired appliance or fitting then, yes – get it checked!
Jul 09
A great home and property maintenance group in Chiswick advise the following:
Q. My light bulbs keep blowing. Is there a problem with my electrics?
A. First you must ask yourself how long the lights are on for. An average incandescent (old-fashioned) bulb, will last for on average 1000 hours. A halogen lasts 2000 hours and a long life bulb, 5000 hours. Once you add up the hours of use you will probably find you are withering the range. If bulbs are blowing much sooner than their average life span, you may want an electrician to check the circuits.
May 17
For a long while DIY Doctor has been trying to combat the effects of Cowboy Builders in our industry. We have published articles on Cowboy Builders and how the country loses millions of pounds because the majority of tradespeople in this country do not have any form of insurance to protect their customers.
We have now joined forces with Quotatis who will not allow tradespeople to join their data-base without the relevant insurances. They are also thoroughly vetted and references are followed up to ensure you only receive free quotes from the best of the bunch.
Click into any of our project pages or look at our Find a Tradesman page to be sure to beat the cowboys.
Jun 10
Consumer Unit Example
Todays most popular project was Installing a Consumer Unit:
Learn about the two main types of consumer unit found in the home today. The project contains images and instructions on how to install a consumer unit.
Here is some of the feedback we have received about this project:
User Comments:
Wiring photos and written instructions very helpful reminder of a project carried out some years ago. Thank you.
User Comments:
If RCD’s were cheaper would it not make sence to replace MCB’s with RCD’s
User Comments:
Thanks and easy to follow. I will wire mine up but get it checked before I go live.
User Comments:
Excellent, but should shown wired with buz bar as a whole not bit by bit.
User Comments:
Excellent description and photos – most useful, thanks
User Comments:
Very helpful indeed. Thanks
User Comments:
Excellent info
