Local Traders News » Electricians

National Self Build & Renovation Seminars Held In Swindon This Weekend

Danny — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 08:00:17 +0000

During the 11th and 12th of July at the National Self Build & Renovation Centre in Swindon there are dozens of seminars taking place aimed at home owners and trades men. They are all in aid of the making more space weekend and with so much happening their you will not want to miss it. whether your looking to develop your current home or build a new home from scratch.

Everything from extensions, loft conversions, basement conversions, property development and everything else will be covered with experts on hand to discuss any issues regarding planning permissions, local law, costs, expenses and regulations. The experts confirmed so far are architects: Opinder Liddar & Trevor Avery, design, planning, building regs specialist: Neil Davey and basement conversion expert: Mike Edwards & Sovereign Chemicals to name a few are ready to guide and advise you in any property matter you could possibly have. The event held in Swindon is going to give you all the information and insight you could neeed into anything property related. Along with all the on hand expert advice and information there will also be hundreds of exhibitors with features that you will not find anywhere else. From audio tours and hundreds of home design ideas to the trade village exhibitor area with over 200 stands.

This is the only place to be if you own your own home, are looking to develop property or just have a general interest in property development or trades. Tickets are available free onlne and it is advisable to book early to save disapointment.

Power Cut After Manhole Explosion in Brighton

Danny — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 08:00:29 +0000

Fire fighters were called to The Vogue Gyratory in Brighton on Saturday night, as underground electric cables set on fire, and physically blew off the top of a concrete manhole cover. The manhole cover blew clean into the air, just missing a bystander close by.

More than 50 homes had the power cut off in the area, as electric engineers cut the power to resolve the problem. Insulation within the cabling is believed to be the cause of the fire, which then produced an incredible amount of gas, causing a massive pressure build up, which caused the manhole to blow up in the air.

Richard Chamberlain of Preston Circus Fire has given an official statement, explaining the dangers of what could have happened. A bystander had a very lucky escape as he was sitting on a wall reading a book as the incident happened. EDF Energy Networks were called out to deal with the incident at 19:00pm. Preston Circus Fire Service alerted EDF Energy Networks of the fault, in Lewes Road, Brighton.

After they attended, EDF Energy Networks had to cut the power to 57 homes in the area just after midnight, enabling the engineers to carry out the work. EDF Energy networks also sent out a statement, apologising to the customers affected by the incident, and that the engineers are still working to resolve the problem, as soon as they can.

Boston Two Day Health and Safety Event

Danny — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 08:00:50 +0000

Next week, Boston, in South Lincolnshire is the place for small businesses, construction students, and apprentices to learn more about the awareness of health and safety, as a two day event will be staged absolutely free of charge on Tuesday 15^th and Wednesday 16^th June. There will be a wide range of different trades represented, from roofers, plumbers, electricians, bricklayers, plasterers and many more offering full demonstrations over the course of the two days.

The event is to be held at The Princess Royal Sports Arena, where there will be a wide range of displays and exhibition stands, covering all aspects of health and safety. The main event will be concentrating on five key issues – asbestos, transport, manual handling, work at height, and construction site safety. The events will be coordinated by the South Lincoln Training Group Association, with a major focus from HSE.

Employees and businesses working together are the main elements and key points for good health and safety in the workplace. The event is hoping to bring new people into the construction industry, and to give them a head start, into the future risks involved within their future careers, and how to control them, and take full responsibility for themselves, and their colleagues.

Heath and safety plays a huge part in all aspects of our lives whether that’s in our homes or in the work place and should be taken seriously. Anybody can attend this event and anyone wishing to attend the event is advised to be there for around 9.30am, with free parking available on both days.

A Career In Electrics Can Lead To A Brighter Future

Danny — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 08:00:14 +0000

Becoming an electrician is a long and challenging process, but if you study and work hard the financial gains can be excellent. The average basic salary for a fully qualified and experienced electrician can be anything up to £23,000 so the financial rewards are certainly there. All budding future electricians have to start somewhere and getting your head down at school is usually a good start. If you have aspirations to one day be an electrician you will need as a minimum A-C grades in Maths, English and Science.

The most common way to become an electrician is through an apprenticeship taken between the ages 16-19. If this is the route you decide to take you can expect to be training for 3-4 years before you gain an NVQ Level 3. To get this qualification you will need to spend time on the job training and also attend college a couple of times a week to study the theory side of the job.

Once you become a qualified electrician you could find yourself working in any number of exotic or exciting places. You could be working in some ones homes rewiring a property or installing a switch boards or you could be on a cruise ship travelling the world providing regular maintenance and testing of equipment. The possibilities are endless.

If you are an independent person you could become self employed and start your own business. If this is not your cup of tea you could become part of a large team working on major projects anywhere in the world. Becoming an electrician can open up various different opportunities so check online for information in your local area.

TV Streaming

Danny — Thu, 27 May 2010 09:16:40 +0000

With the World Cup 2010 on our door step the old age family feud of who’s watching what will be breaking out yet again throughout the nation along with a bunch of people huddled around a tiny TV! Yet families fighting for the remote over whether it will be Coronation Street or England vs USA that’s on the box, or the smallest member of the household missing out on the footy action are about to become a thing of the past.

Elgato, an award winning TV software producer, have developed and released a product called The Elgate EyeTV Netstream DTT which allows you to stream TV through to your computer in any room in the house and if you have more than one programme to be watched Elgato’s software allows you to record it onto the network. The beauty of this lies in the how easy it can be setup and installed and the fact that it will never broadcast anything less than what you would receive on your own TV, quality wise. Just plug it in and hook it up to your router and away you go, making no difference whether or not you use a MAC or a PC, the Elgato EyeTV will support both. All of this is provided whilst also allowing you to surf the internet, download & upload files and send and receive emails.

All in all it not only allows the freedom of what you watch and what you record but also turns your home computer into a home entertainment system.

Health and Safety in the Work Place

Danny — Thu, 20 May 2010 13:47:24 +0000

The importance of keeping your business up to date with Health and Safety standards grows everyday as failing to comply with the set regulations can and will impact you business greatly, leading to illness, injury and in some cases legal action. For the above reasons going above and beyond the legal requirements will benefit your business greatly, not only saving costs but also enhancing your reputation with your customer and employees.

Take for example a case which went to court on July 16^th 2009, involving an electrician, a Mr Purcell, that was contracted to fit a bilge alarm onto a fishing boat the Our Julie. The electrician fell between decks after not being supplied with the correct ladder to allow descending between decks. The electrician sustained a number of major injuries including a broken back and fractures to his skull, which resulted in him being unable to continue working.

The court found that the Managing Director for Our Julia Ltd had positioned the ladder incorrectly and fined the company £7,000 with £2,028 court costs as it found that the injuries Mr Purcell incurred could and should have been prevented. This shows that the extent of failing to put the correct measures in place could be an expensive mistake. The only way to prevent anything like this happening to you or your business is to get then right procedures and practices in place and monitor them regularly.

To get the best information on how to implement the legal health and safety requirements into your business you should visit the Health and Safety Executive website.

Fitting an Extractor Fan

Danny — Sun, 16 May 2010 00:13:49 +0000

This brief explanation will tell how to install an extractor fan to a wall, whilst always remembering where ever the fan is mounted, there will also be an element of electrical wiring to be done, so please bear in mind, a competent and professional electrician, will be required for this part.

Before any drilling etc, always be sure where you want the fan to be mounted. It’s probably best to have the area checked for any cables or pipes behind, before work commences, whilst remembering to check outside of the property behind where the fan is to be mounted, for any obstructions – soil pipes, drain pipes etc.

Checking with the manufacturer’s fitting guide, position the fan, and mark down the diameter and position. Drill a hole in the marked position, preferably using something solid and sturdy, like a hammer drill. A sharp standard normally masonry drill bit should do the trick. Now the inside wall is drilled, using this as a marker, mark the fan opening on the outside wall. It’s now time to drill a collection of holes usually using a guide of between 30 & 40mm intervals around the edge of the marked points. This is usually done using a standard 10mm drill bit.

Next, bring out the hammer and chisel, whilst always remembering to wear full protective gloves and safety goggles. Use a bolster chisel, take out the rest of the brickwork within the area drilled, to reveal the circle with the correct diameter, and take off any rough edges. To take the cable and conduit, it might be necessary to cut in some groves on the plasterboard. Usually best to use the hammer and small chisel to do this neatly and correctly. Please be aware that by doing this, it might be necessary to do a bit of redecoration afterwards, to tidy everything up.

Next, take the ducting supplied with the fan kit, and place into the hole. (Should usually sit flush either side of the wall), and making sure on the outside of the wall, the duct is sloping downwards. Tidying up around the work area is next, best to use sand and cement on the outside, whilst just using filler on the inside.

Next, refer to the manufacturers fitting instructions again, mark the fitting holes, and re position the fan. Usually, they have a slatted front cover grill, be aware to position these horizontally. The outside grill cover should be fitted with similar guidelines. Wall, Ceiling, or window fans can be switched on and off, using a pull cord, by a standard wall light switch, or by a switched fuse spur socket. Always be sure you a certain which one of these you want to use before work takes place, and again, always consult a qualified electrician to carry out this process of the installation.

Great Yarmouth College Offers Construction Trade Taster Sessions

Sarah — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 20:10:37 +0000

On Thursday 29th April 2010, potential students interested in studying at Great Yarmouth College will be able to attend for a taster session taking place between 4.30pm and 8pm. The college, which offers courses in engineering and the construction industry has more than 500 students studying there.

The college has recently invested £6 million in a new Centre for Construction and Manufacturing Technologies which opened in January and the open evening will be an opportunity for students looking to learn a trade to explore the college’s facilities and see the new equipment the college has to offer.

Courses that are on offer at the college include joinery, painting and decorating, electrical work, bricklaying and plumbing and the awards appeal to a number of different age groups, from conventional students who have left school and are looking to train to begin a career as a qualified tradesperson, to mature students looking to learn new skills and retrain to take their career in a new direction. This could be due to a lack of jobs in their current industry due to the economic down turn or interest in learning a trade for reasons such as better job prospects, more interesting roles or better pay than an existing role.

The head of the centre, Daniel O’Callaghan, said,

“Although we are now in a recession new students can take heart from the fact that there is invariably a skills shortage when you come out of recession because of older people retiring.”

If you’re interested in finding out more about studying opportunities to become a qualified tradesman, places on the taster sessions at the college can be booked by calling 01493 419213.

Connecting Wiring in a Pendant Light Fitting

Teresa — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 11:34:17 +0000

When you’ve chosen a new light fitting and have done the preparations for fitting your new light, the next stage is to connect the wiring to complete the installation.

If the cables that are in place are old they will not be earthed so you need to check this carefully. You should be able to indentify this by looking at the cables and they will either be covered by rubber or lead. Working with old cabling could be dangerous so you should not attempt to install the light yourself unless you are a qualified electrician. The best thing to do is call an experienced electrician who can carry out an upgrade or rewiring of your electrical cables.

If the cables are already upgraded in an old house or newer in a more modern property, then it should be fairly easy to install the new light fitting. Make sure that the cable circuit is still turned off at the fuse board, cut the feed cable and put it through the hole in the ceiling with the switch cable.

You can then connect the main feed and the switch cable to the four- terminal junction box. The new light should have wiring instructions accompanying it advising how to fit the light – you should always follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

A useful tip is to always allow more cable at the terminals as this will make things easier if you decide to change the light fitting again in the future. When connecting the light, the earth (yellow/green) wires should be fitted first, then the main supply and switch cable can be wired by putting the copper ends into the correct terminals and then tightening the screws so they hold the ends of the wire in place.

The ceiling rose can then be placed over the cables and fixed on to the base of the light fitting before adding light shade and bulb. You should now be safe to turn the mains electric back on at the fuse box and everything should be working correctly. If the light does not come on, or if there is no power when you turn the mains switch back on, you may find that a fuse has blown and needs to be changed.

It is important to remember that electricity can be dangerous, so you should only install a light fitting yourself if you are certain that you know what you are doing. If at all in doubt, you should call a qualified electrician to advise and complete the installation for you which should be quite a cheap job as it is a small job to undertake, however it is better to be safe than sorry.

Installing a Pendant Light

Teresa — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 10:18:48 +0000

If you are installing a new light fitting then firstly you need to turn the electric circuit you will be installing the light on off at the mains. You can find out which is the correct lighting circuit by process of elimination. The correct circuit can be found by switching all the lights in your home on, then by turning each circuit off at the fuse box in turn, you will be able to see when the light you want to change goes out.

The next step is to decide where you would like the light to be positioned and clear away any furniture that may be in the way so you can put a ladder up safely if necessary. Mark out on the ceiling where the light is going to be placed (you will also need to do this on the floor above as you will need to add reinforcement). Then with the light off at the mains, you can find where the cables already run.

Pendant lights can be fitted to an existing lighting circuit which should be fitted with 1mm 2 twin earth cable. If the cables are in the loft then they will be fairly easy to find however if the cables are in the floor space then you will need to lift up the floor boards in the room above to gain access to them. If you are unsure at any point about dealing with electrics, you should contact a qualified electrician.

Once you have found the wires, make sure that the cables are the correct ones by using a power tester. The cables will not be live at the moment if they are the correct ones because you previously turned them off at the mains, but you can test it to double check by turning the relevant switch on and off at the fuse box.

When you have determined the correct cables and the position you are going to have the pendant you will need to reinforce the ceiling above, especially if you have a heavy light fitting. This can be done by using thick board and fixing it between the ceiling joists with screws. This will help spread the weight on the load bearing joists rather than putting pressure on a thin ceiling, otherwise your light fitting could end up on the floor.

Once the ceiling has been reinforced you then can drill a hole using a 32mm drill bit through the ceiling and the reinforcement so you can feed the cables through. It is safer to drill through from the floor above so you know you’re not hitting any other cables or damaging anything running through the ceiling – the top part of the light will cover any unsightly holes. You should now be ready to wire the light fitting.