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.
Standards
The standards every inspection is carried out to
An EICR is only as good as the person signing it. Every inspection here is carried out to these standards, and each one is checked against the issuing body's own register rather than taken on trust.
Qualified to inspect, not just to install
Inspecting an existing installation is a separate qualification from wiring a new one. 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.
You get the test results
Not just a pass or fail. The report lists each circuit and the readings taken, which is the part worth checking.
Working to the current standard
BS 7671 as amended in 2026. That amendment changed which findings make a report unsatisfactory, and not everyone has caught up.
Reviews you can read
Not a star rating with no detail behind it. We publish no figure of our own, because we have none to publish yet.
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
- We come back with a date or a question, not a sales call
- 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.