Electrician in Sandhurst
Our base, and the town we work in most. Consumer units, rewires, EICRs, EV chargers and the everyday jobs, across Central Sandhurst, Little Sandhurst, College Town and Owlsmoor.
Where we are based
Switch Smart Electrical is registered in Sandhurst, and it is the town we work in most. Its four wards, Central Sandhurst, Little Sandhurst, College Town and Owlsmoor, hold roughly 7,500 homes and around 22,000 people.
The Royal Military Academy has been here since 1812 and the railway since 1849, but most of the houses came later. Sandhurst grew from a Berkshire village into the town it is now largely through estate building, from the late 1950s into the 1980s.
Why the age of the estates matters
That history is why so much of our work here looks the way it does. A house wired in 1968 and never substantially altered since is now approaching sixty years old.
The cable in it may well still be serviceable. The fuse board in front of it usually is not, and the protection standards it was installed to have moved on several times since.
Example A 1960s ring circuit, sixty years on
- AThe original ring. Out from the fuse box, round the downstairs sockets and back to the same 30 A fuse.
- BA spur: one extra socket taken off the ring. Normal enough on its own.
- CA spur off that spur. The ring was never designed for it.
- DA garage supply run from a socket.
- EA junction box under the floor, out of sight.
- FExtension sockets fed from that junction box, adding load to the same ring.
- !Rewirable fuses and no RCD anywhere on the board.
What we find most often
The single most common thing we are called out to is a rewirable fuse box with no RCD protection anywhere in the house. These were entirely normal when the estates went up. They are not automatically dangerous, but they give none of the protection a modern board does against an electric shock or a developing fault.
If the board is the problem, a consumer unit replacement deals with it. If the wiring is too, a rewire is the bigger job to plan for. An inspection tells you which.
Sixty years of alterations
After the board, it is the alterations. Sixty years is a long time for a ring circuit, and most houses of this age have had sockets spurred off, a kitchen reworked, an extension added and a garage supply run at various points, by various people.
Individually each change may be fine. Together they can leave circuits loaded in ways nobody designed for, with junction boxes nobody can find. Fig. 1 shows how it builds up.
None of that means you need a rewire tomorrow. It means it is worth knowing, and an EICR is how you find out rather than guess.
Building control in Sandhurst
Sandhurst is in Bracknell Forest. For notifiable work, such as a new circuit, a consumer unit replacement or work in a bathroom, a registered installer self-certifies through their scheme and the notification goes to Bracknell Forest building control on your behalf.
You receive a Building Regulations compliance certificate for your records. Keep it with the house paperwork: you will want it when you sell.
Small jobs too
Extra sockets, a light that has stopped working, an outdoor socket, a fault that trips the board. Being local makes small jobs practical. A photo on WhatsApp is the quickest way to start.
Around Sandhurst
Check your postcode
The map is centred on Sandhurst town centre, with the wards and the places around them. Put in a postcode for the distance, the council and the nearest town page.
Work in Sandhurst
What Sandhurst houses need most
The age of the estates decides most of it: boards, rewires and inspections, plus chargers and outdoor circuits for the drives and gardens.
- 01Consumer unitsRewirable fuse boxes swapped for steel boards with RCD and surge protection.Consumer units
- 02RewiresFull and partial rewires in 1960s to 1980s houses, planned with you room by room.Rewires
- 03EICRs and testingCondition reports for homeowners, landlords and letting agents, with the codes explained.EICRs
- 06EV chargersA chargepoint on its own circuit, with a cable route that does not carve up the drive.EV chargers
Other towns we cover
Which parts of Sandhurst do you cover?
All of it: Central Sandhurst, Little Sandhurst, College Town and Owlsmoor, and over the borders towards Crowthorne, Yateley and Blackwater.
How do I know whether my house needs rewiring?
Age alone does not decide it. A rewirable fuse box, no RCD protection, black rubber or fabric-covered cable, or round-pin sockets make a house a strong candidate. The reliable answer is an EICR, which tests the installation and tells you what needs doing rather than what might.
Is a rewirable fuse box dangerous?
Not automatically. It protects the cables from overload, but it gives no RCD protection, which is the part of a modern board there to protect people from an electric shock. If yours has rewirable fuses it is worth replacing, and worth an inspection of the wiring behind it first.
Who notifies building control for electrical work in Sandhurst?
For notifiable work, a registered installer self-certifies through their scheme and the notification goes to Bracknell Forest building control for you. You receive the certificate for your records; you will want it when you sell.
Will you come out for a small job?
Yes. Extra sockets, a light that has stopped working, an outdoor socket, a fault that trips the board. Being local makes small jobs practical.
Registration and standards
- Scheme NAPIT registered Registered electrical installer
- Licence 3889228 TrustMark Check the register
- Standard Work to BS 7671 The IET Wiring Regulations
- Building Regulations Part P notified Notifiable work reported to building control
Get in touch
Send us a photo of the job.
A photo of the fuse board, the fault or the room, sent on WhatsApp, is often the quickest way to start. Or call, or use the enquiry form and we will come back to you.
- 01A photo of the fuse board, or of the problem
- 02Your postcode, so we know where the job is
- 03A sentence on what you would like done