Simple wiring jobs in the house- have a crack or get a man??

[vexed]

I usually have a go at DIY jobs but I'm not particularly practical. I'd do simple plumbing like changing a tap.
There are a few v. simple wiring jobs required about the house.
Changing a light switch to dimmer, putting up LED batten lights to replace old fittings. I've always been a bit reticent about messing the house electrics but it appears too simple to get an electrician in for! Am I being a wimp, or just prudent?

[TriumphStag3.0V8]

Well, nothing you have said there is notifiable work so you can legally DIY it.

Changing a light fitting or switch is pretty straightforward, there are plenty of YouTube videos and websites that will explain how to do it.

Key thing (after making sure the power is off before working on anything) is to check it and check it again and to make sure any cables you have disconnected and reconnected are secure in their holders.

IANAE

however, If you are not sure about what you are doing, then don't do it. Electricity can be dangerous and can kill you. If you know what you are doing, it's fine (and easy) but that is the case for anything. But with electricity you could kill yourself or burn your house down in the worst case.

Depends how much you are willing to learn.

[Biggus thingus]

I'd say crack on, just take basic safety measures like switching mains off at the consumer unit

One thing i did was change a few light switches to more modern ones - brass plated to white plastic

The bottom of the stairs switch is a double, hallway and landing. i've managed to put a new plate on but now the switch for the hallway light is in the on position for off and off for on, bugs the st out of me but i'm leaving it

[craigthecoupe]

only you know your ability, its your call to make. one thing id say, is have your phone to hand, and before you start, take a clear picture of what you find when you open it up. its useful to refer back to, and worst case, you can revert back to original.

[Baldchap]

With respect to swapping lights, you only need to take the feed to the light fitting (if it's a ceiling rose, the output to the pendant or whatever) and use those two wires across the new LED fitting. Most these days have the drivers built in, so it really is simple.

Changing a switch, if it's a single switched bulb is much the same. There's a wire 'in' and a wire 'out' (although being alternating current they swap roles 50 or so times a second). Your biggest issue is making sure the fitting and bulb is dimmable. Also, be aware, cheapo ones like LAP are noisy as hell.

[Griffith4ever]

Get a volt meter and learn, or be shown how to test for live AC voltage. After that, the rest is just a case of following instructions.

I don't see sparkies testing like I do, but I don't want to trust I've switched off the right breaker, or, the wiring is not as it should be. 53 and still not shocked and done lots of mains wiring. (Not shocked as an adult. Had a couple as a child being careless )

Btw, it's never "illegal" to do DIY electrical work (a much as people like to tell you it is), but the more advanced stuff like installing fuse panels, needs to be signed off by qualified professionals, which they won't want to do, so best left to them. The stuff you mention doesn't need to be.

https://www.tmtcentral.co.uk/What-DIY-Electrical-W...

[Simpo Two]

vexed said:

I usually have a go at DIY jobs but I'm not particularly practical. I'd do simple plumbing like changing a tap.
There are a few v. simple wiring jobs required about the house.
Changing a light switch to dimmer, putting up LED batten lights to replace old fittings. I've always been a bit reticent about messing the house electrics but it appears too simple to get an electrician in for! Am I being a wimp, or just prudent?

If you get stuck, you can always put the old fitting back on. Just be really really careful that any wires you need to touch are dead.

I had a close one when fitting my kitchen and putting in deeper pattress boxes. I isolated the supply by throwing the relevant circuit breaker - test it, yes, dead - then took off the old faceplate. After pulling out the old box the cavity was full of debris so I thought I'd do a neat job by vacuuming it out. Got the vacuum cleaner out - doesn't work - ah yes the breaker is out, doh. Put breaker back in, vacuum clean the hole, great. I just didn't remember to throw the breaker again afterwards. I came very close to touching a live wire; I felt a tingle and thought 'st it's live!'. It's that easy. Now I always try to handle wires by the insulation if possible as an extra precaution.

Edited by Simpo Two on Thursday 26th May 09:28

[drmike37]

craigthecoupe said:

only you know your ability, its your call to make. one thing id say, is have your phone to hand, and before you start, take a clear picture of what you find when you open it up. its useful to refer back to, and worst case, you can revert back to original.

I always check I've got my phone in my pocket if I'm doing anything like electrics/ work up a ladder. Makes it easier to call myself an ambulance if I f** up!

[QJumper]

drmike37 said:

I always check I've got my phone in my pocket if I'm doing anything like electrics/ work up a ladder. Makes it easier to call myself an ambulance if I f** up!

I also have my phone with me, to take a photo of how things were connected before I disconnect anything, in case I need to refer to it.

[James6112]

drmike37 said:

I always check I've got my phone in my pocket if I'm doing anything like electrics/ work up a ladder. Makes it easier to call myself an ambulance if I f** up!

My electricians phone vibrated at the exact moment he was touching a wire. He jumped like was a shock!

[Ice_blue_tvr]

drmike37 said:

I always check I've got my phone in my pocket if I'm doing anything like electrics/ work up a ladder. Makes it easier to call myself an ambulance if I f** up!

Yep, or when under the car.

At OP, if you can change a tap you can work on simple electrics for sure.

Sometimes when I've isolated the electrics I'll tap the wires together just to be sure

[Nimby]

vexed said:

...changing a light switch to dimmer, putting up LED batten lights to replace old fittings...

If that's the same circuit, be aware that not all mains LEDs are dimmable.

[Wagonwheel555]

What you plan to do is really not difficult, even for an average DIY person.

As others have said, take pictures or notes of what cable goes where at the moment so if you mess it up, just put it back to how it was.

Switch the lighting circuits off at the breaker, make sure to turn both off if you have two. Depending on the age of house you could have borrowed neutrals for landing/hallway setups so flick both off or just turn the mains off full stop.

Electrics can be difficult which is why we have professionals but changing a light fitting is perfectly DIYable.

[Shnozz]

I have an aversion to paying tradesman for small jobs, plus its hard work getting anyone out for minor jobs that don't earn them much money. It also tends to mean if you have a basic understanding even if its a job outside of your own comfort zone, you have a better idea of what it involves and whether someone is taking the piss when it comes to estimates/charges.

Youtube is a wonderful resource these days before you take on any job. Just make sure electrics are isolated and crack on. I haven't come unstuck yet.

[R56Cooper]

QJumper said:

drmike37 said:

I always check I've got my phone in my pocket if I'm doing anything like electrics/ work up a ladder. Makes it easier to call myself an ambulance if I f** up!

I also have my phone with me, to take a photo of how things were connected before I disconnect anything, in case I need to refer to it.

Good tip. Worst case scenario if you can't work out how to connect the new fitting you can just put it back like it was and get someone in.

I'm happy to have a go at most jobs but I'm always cautious when it comes to electric because from what I understand, it's entirely possible to get a light or socket to work, whilst still being in an extremely dangerous condition. It's not as simple as "it works so it must be fine".

[Piersman2]

TriumphStag3.0V8 said:

But with electricity you could kill yourself or burn your house down in the worst case.

I can't help but think killing yourself would be the slightly worse case scenario here, unless of course multiple people happened to be in the house and couldn't get out when it went on fire!

[vexed]

Thanks guys. I think I'll have a go at the basics. Some good advice. Dimmer and LEDs on different circuit but good to know for the future.

[Mercdriver]

Take care of previously dodgy work, our house had DIY connection of lights to power circuit without separate fuse. Sparky rewired kitchen for us and I warned him of dodgy wiring and to switch off the whole house when he was working on the kitchen.

Did he listen to me? No, pulled C/B for the lighting circuit and worked on the rewiring of the kitchen light.
Oh st I heard he had got a shock from badly installed light switch with feed from socket ring main, very naughty.

So do not assume that previous work has been carried out by a competent sparky, it might save your life, always check cables with a multimeter. If you don’t know how to use one get a qualified sparky in.

[spikeyhead]

I'm happy enough working on my own electrics, but if I need a spark then

https://www.niceic.com/householder/find-a-contract...

will allow people to find a local sparks. If you need a small job doing, it's far easier to persuade someone to travel to you if they only have to go half a mile.

[alfabeat]

Get yourself one of these: https://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-ac-non-contact-volt...

Just swipe around all the wires before touching anything to double check nothing is live. I learned my lesson on an old house that had very strange wiring circuits (DIY!), which still had a live socket despite the breaker being off and all other sockets being dead.