Remedial work
A new consumer unit is a common outcome, not an automatic one
The board is where an inspection often spends its time, and replacing it is the most common piece of remedial work that follows. It is not a foregone conclusion, and an old board is not a fault by itself.
Usually a C2, sometimes a C1 where a fault is present rather than foreseeable.
Where is the property?
The postcode tells us whether we cover you.
What an old board actually lacks
Older boards commonly predate RCD protection, which is what disconnects a circuit fast enough to protect a person rather than just the cable. That is the difference that tends to produce a code.
Rewireable fuses are the other common finding. They work, and they are far less discriminating than a modern protective device.
Age is not the same as a fault
An installation is assessed against the current standard, but it is not required to have been built to it. A board installed correctly to the standard of its day, still sound, may attract a C3 improvement recommended and nothing more.
Anyone telling you an old board must be replaced because it is old is selling, not inspecting.
What the work involves
- Isolating the supply, which usually means the property is without power for the day
- Testing every existing circuit before and after, because a new board on unknown circuits proves nothing
- Making good the earthing and bonding, which is often what the code was actually about
- A certificate for the new work, separate from the condition report that prompted it
It is separate work, separately quoted
The inspection tells you what is there. The replacement is a different job with its own certificate, and you are free to have it done by someone else.
Who does the work
Every electrician clears six checks
We do not carry out the inspection. We put you in touch with an electrician who does. An EICR is worth what the person signing it is worth, so these checks are the product. Each is verified against the issuing body's own register, not taken from a logo.
Competent to inspect and test
Inspection and testing carries its own qualification. A good installer is not automatically the right person to sign a report.
Registered with a competent person scheme
Checked on the scheme's own public register, not a badge on a website.
Public liability insurance, in date
We check the certificate and the expiry date, not just that one exists. A lapsed policy is the most common reason to turn someone away.
Reports that carry their schedule
We look at an electrician's reports before sending them a job. The schedule of results is the part worth checking.
Working to the current standard
BS 7671 as currently amended. The 2026 amendment changed what makes a report unsatisfactory, and not everyone has caught up.
A public record worth reading
We read what previous customers wrote instead of counting stars. We publish no figure of our own, because we have none.
Scheme registration and insurance details come with your quote, so you can check them against the public register yourself. How we choose electricians sets out every check, including what gets someone turned away.
Next step
Get the remedial work quoted properly
Send the report, or the codes from it, and the work gets quoted against what was actually found.
Questions
Consumer unit replacement questions
Does a fuse board have to be replaced to pass an EICR?
No. There is no rule that an older board fails. What produces a code is a specific finding, most often the absence of protection that would now be expected, and the report should say which.
Will the power be off all day?
For most of it. The supply has to be isolated to change the board, and every circuit is tested before and after.
Do I get a certificate for the new board?
Yes, and it is a different document from the condition report. New work gets a certificate from whoever carried it out.
Get a quote
Get remedial work quoted
What the report found, and the codes against it if you have them to hand.
- No cost, and no obligation to book anything
- Your details are never sold on or passed around
- A fixed price for the work described, in writing
Would rather talk it through? Leave a number in the form and say so in the details, and we will ring you rather than emailing back.