Many of us have noticed the amount of jobs that need doing at home lately, and this could mean you need to hire an electrician during lockdown.
But is this still possible?
Perhaps you work from home or your business has an electrical emergency. Or maybe you are in the middle of home improvements and you need more help.
Despite all the ongoing changes, current rules mean that you are allowed to invite tradespeople into your home to carry out improvements.
Thinking about safety is essential at this time. How will you get the work done? Will you discuss the job in person with the electrician or over the phone or email? Now more than ever, we all need peace of mind when letting people into our homes.
Let’s begin with asking if you need to hire an electrician.
At IPF Electrical our services include:
We are a team of experienced electrical professionals with a focus on delivering honest, professional and premium service to our customers.
For example, if you need an electrical test, you may be concerned about what an engineer could find and how much it will cost to fix it. We have created a schedule of rates with a list of fixed prices.
The prices are built around the most common problematic areas that we have come across in our experience. This enables us to provide complete transparency during the quotation stage.
We will photograph any electrical equipment that may be faulty or have issues. This is then sent to the customer along with a report. Once the work is completed, we then photograph the equipment again so you can see the progress made.
So you have decided to hire an electrician during lockdown therefore it’s essential that you both have clear communication. You need some ground rules and health and safety rules in advance.
For example, what parts of your home can they walk through? Can they use your bathroom? Is there anywhere you would prefer them not to go? Will your initial meeting be on the phone or in an open space such as your garden or driveway?
You can discuss the initial job over the phone, but if you would like them to see the work in advance, you may consider a video call. This will enable our electricians to see and identify the work along with how long it will take to do. Most tradespeople will be comfortable doing video calls, you just need to make sure you have a good internet connection and that your camera and microphone are working. A video tour of your home is a great way to show a tradesperson your home before they visit to give them an idea of space and what needs doing.
At IPF Electrical, we will clearly communicate our plans on working safely with you. This allows you to be confident in the work we do. It will also help to eliminate any confusion over safety measures that our electricians need to take. Any companies you use in lockdown should be following Government guidelines. They will need to carry out a comprehensive health and safety risk assessment.
A key part of any contractor entering your home is to remember to maintain distance, both for your safety and theirs. A customer must stay at least 2 metres apart from the electrician. Also, it is preferable to be in a separate room if possible when the work is carried out.
Your electrician will arrive with suitable PPE gear and maintain distance throughout the job. They will eat and drink away from the property, in their own van for example. Remember to try not to offer any refreshments (as kind as this is!).
Good hygiene is essential to everyone during this time. At IPF, our electricians will wash their hands before, during and after they carry out their work. Please don’t offer them a towel, they will use their own hand towels. Our electricians will thoroughly wipe down all tools and instruments and safely get rid of any wipes and gloves.
Customers can help by making sure the work area is well ventilated, for example with an open window or door. You may also wish to provide some anti-bacterial wipes or hand sanitiser in the room they are working in. However, the electrician will bring their own cleaning products and clean down any surfaces they have touched.
Try to use electronic equipment like your iPad or phone for signatures, documents and payment. This means there is less chance of paper, pens and cash changing hands. If you can’t do this, just communicate that clearly with your electrician on how payment will be made.
Before any work starts, it is essential to make sure that no one has Covid-19. The first step with this is basically to ask your electrician over the phone when arranging the work. It may seem awkward, but it’s the right thing to do.
Equally, our contractors will ask you if anyone in your family has recently had symptoms. We must keep everyone safe. If anyone in your household has the virus or is currently isolating, the work must be rescheduled.
In conclusion, you can hire an electrician during lockdown although you must ensure safety measures are in place for you and them. Clearly communicate with each other on the phone or via email before the work begins. Make sure you feel confident that the electrician has taken the appropriate safety measures before they enter your home.
Ventilate the area where the electrician will be working and maintain your distance. Try to keep all documents and payment in electronic format if possible.
If the project takes a long time and requires a bigger team, such as with renovations and extensions, you may even want to ask the company to hire a portable chemical toilet. These can be hired from around £50 a week and it could save you a problem if your bathroom is off limits.
If you need emergency electrical work or any of the services mentioned above, you can still hire an electrician during lockdown and at IPF Electrical, we’re here to help.