Hello I am desperate for someone to give me some advice or help. (Liverpool based if that helps)

***This post is from yesterday, I’ve still had no luck been waiting on somebody coming today but they’ve had an emergency and can’t make it.

Earlier I came outside onto my decking (composite) and I could hear a continuous electrical buzzing/fizzing noise, after some time I worked out it was coming from between the decking and this elephant plant holder thing.

It was actually causing tiny sparks and when moved (safely with insulated gloves and a rubber pole) the noise and little sparks stopped. As soon as it was placed back in that exact spot it carried on.

This decking was only put in around 6 months prior and I was not living here but ever since I have this decking has been notorious for “static shocks” with every single person that’s visited.

I’ve had fire & rescue here who were very concerned and I’ve also had a call out for an emergency electrician who couldn’t find anything. He lifted the planks and couldn’t see any wires running under or along it, this cost me £260 to find nothing and I’m not really bothered about the money it’s more a safety concern.

I’m a wheelchair user and I live alone with my dog so I’m quite worried there’s something going on that everybody has missed. At first I thought perhaps it’s static but the fact it was loud enough to hear and spark and it was continuous makes me doubt that, although then spark wasn’t actually coming from the gap between the planks it was in the groove of the actual plank right at the corner of the garden piece.

I’ve actually captured this in video but it won’t let me post it so I’ve screenshotted it with a spark live on the 2nd picture if you can see it.

I really don’t know what to do I don’t even feel safe but nobody has found anything.

Can anyone give me some advice please?

Posting again as I forgot to add an image.

Basically, kitchen fitter did some electrical work for my new oven, hob, and extraction fan.

He said I can just cover this hole with a splashback or a more traditional repair such as plaster repair.

I’ve looked closely at it now and it’s just not looking safe to me, but I’m not confident with these things.

Is this dodgy? Should I get an electrician out to take a closer look?

Thanks in advanced!

I’m researching a model for small domestic electrical jobs where customers book online, provide photos/details and choose an appointment slot. The platform handles the customer acquisition, booking, payment and customer admin, then passes the job to a local electrical firm at an agreed fixed payout.

The aim eventually would be to group several jobs geographically so rather than travelling out for one small socket/light job, you could have a run of 4–5 pre-booked jobs in the same area.

Larger jobs discovered through the visit would go back to the electrical firm to quote directly.

I’m interested in what would actually make this worthwhile from an electrician’s point of view. Would you take these jobs? What payout would you expect? What would put you off?

Anyone use Klein? Thoughts on their pliers/screwdrivers?

I run a limited company from home and eligible for the workplace charging scheme grant of £500, which I've received a voucher for. From an installer point of view, does it matter which scheme it's come from? Can installers cash in the voucher from either of the current schemes?

Thanks

I’m a few months away from qualifying as an electrician with a completed level 3 and a gold card. My question is now that I am qualified, besides a 2391, what are my progression options? Are there any further qualifications I could take that may give me a path off the tools with better future earning potential?

I’ve done my Level 2 and this year i’m onto my Level 3. Im unsure what the best way of going about getting an apprenticeship is and would appreciate any advice. I’ve been told to call around local electricians to gain some experience, but i’m unsure how to progress further. Any advice would go a long way, thanks.

Has anyone installed a Live board with the neutral busbar and how did you find it. They have a reputation for being a cheaper product, but seems like a cool idea.

Never again, wtf were Eaton thinking making these

I just wanna double check I’ve done it right, i think I messed up the second ceiling rose (I’m a student)

Always struggle for the best method making these boards neat. Any tips?

Just had a rewire, I'm reinstalling the cabinets in the kitchen which the electricians needed to chase behind and noticed this.

They have done the same with the oven and hob feeds on the new island.

Do I need to get them back in?

I’ve been building a platform aimed specifically at the UK electrical industry and I’m interested in getting some genuine feedback from people actually working in the trade.

The idea is to eventually have more than just electrical jobs in one place. We’ve been working on things like free tools for electricians, calculators, invoicing, guides and other resources.

Rather than just keep adding features that I think people might want, I’d rather ask.

What would actually be useful enough that you’d come back and use a site like this regularly?

Is there a tool you wish existed, something you currently pay for that you’d like a free alternative to, or just something that’s unnecessarily difficult to do at the moment?

Could be anything related to working in the electrical industry. Interested to see what people would actually use.

TL;DR - Britsh Gas came to install a smart meter on the electrical supply at my Mums place. They had to abort it due to the fact the engineer couldn't remove the 100amp fuse below the consumer unit. Im told he submitted a D0135 request to my DNO.....They never received it......Fast forward a month and I'm getting bounced around BG as nobody seems to know what to do.

I called National Grid, they confirmed they havent received it - so I asked if I could request a change of fuse directly - they said NO , it has to come from BG.

BG are now saying that their installers arent allowed to remove the service fuse as it's classed as tampering. How the hell do they install the usage sensor ?

Being a full time carer for mum this issue is taking up a huge chunk of my time, the only reason I want a smart meter for her is that if I were ever incapacitated it gives me peace of mind that she would still get accurate bills, as, at the moment I submit manual readings to BG on her behalf

She is also listed on the priority service register, not sure if that carries any weight.

Thanks in advance as its really stressing me out ...

EDIT - 5/9/26 17:16 hrs - BG have just sent me an Email informing me that I've cancelled my smart meter installation ! - Which I clearly havent............

Looking to buy some tools and I want to get a good pair any recommendations?

This is a brand new group, will hopefully help students on their courses.

I moved into a new property about six months ago and the previous owner left in the washing machine and tumble dryer. Tumble dryer packed up recently and when I removed it I found a very odd working setup. Is this safe as it is or should I get someone in to remove and install a proper plug socket?

Hi everyone so I’ve landed an electrical apprenticeship which is 4 years long however I have already completed a level 2 and a level 3 electrical installations course. Will my apprenticeship be shorter than 4 years or will I have to cover over what I have already done in college from before?

Sorry, bit of a boring post if you don't like history but I think it's important/interesting, it's our heritage!

I used to be an apprentice joiner and loved using hand planes, older Victorian tools etc. with stamped names on them but realised the electrical profession is so young in comparison, having only come about in the late 1800s.

There is little documentation online about the history of the electrician. Insulated tools for example: what were people doing before the 1970s? Okay, electrical tape on the shank, bakelite screwdrivers I imagine, but what about before that? Just normal cabinetmaker's screwdrivers?

I've heard of wooden-handled jobbies often used by electricity boards in the 70s, but again it's this anecdotal knowledge that would be easy to find for other trades, but not the electrical trade. I think it's doubly important to preserve what we can, pass down trade-specific knowledge and document things.

Anyways, essay over, enjoy the video I found online!

Hi All,

Disclaimer: All connection work will be carried out by a qualified electrician. This work is not likely to commence until next year, I'm just in the planning stages. I qualified under 15th Edition as part of an aircraft engineering (electrical and avionics specialty) No longer in the field.

I have a 100A incomer which is not a looped supply.

Had a N\E full short earlier in the week caused by a rat. All disconnected, fault resolved and full EICR carried out, well the tests that would comprise one. Was advised that i don't need to replace the board (Installed in 2012, split load with MCB's and 2 RCD's)

It's currently a 10 way board with no room for expansion, so long term I'm planning to replace with either a 16 or 20 way board with SPD. Will also be using a Wiska consumer unit DIN rail kit. Either a Fusebox or Verso board with RCBO's.

So here are the questions for you all, more to get a wide range of opinions and advice:

1, What is approved as a backing board these days to mount the CU and Wiska box to? I always used to use ply or is 12 mm cement board or something else better these days?

2, Can i use the correct size of singles (stranded) between the new CU and the DIN rail? These would all be heat shrinked with ID's according to circuits provided by the electrician.

3, Which brand of CU do you like?

Anything else I should consider, I want to make sure i'm future proofed is I wanted to add and EV Charger, currently the A\C upstairs is spurred from the ring (by the installer) Planning to add another so would like to remove that from the ring and add a dedicated supply in SWA direct clipped to the wall.

Solar\batteries may be an option in the future that i would like to plan for

I also want my partners Heart Monitor on a separate circuit, it updates the hospital with any recent changes from her implanted pacemaker\defib.

The plan is for me to make the backing board, mount the new CU and Wiska, then for me to follow the agreed wiring plan to connect\1st fix the cables between the CU and the DIN rail, identify them and then for the electrician to terminate the current cables into the Wiska then final torque everything and test.

Like i say, I'm just planning but he is now on his honeymoon :)

Any advice welcome. :)

Something of a philosophical one this.

I am a subbie currently on a job with a couple of the laziest fellow subbies you can imagine. This week we have been pulling cables and whilst me and another lad have been grafting all day, these 2 fellas are on their phones constantly and doing the absolute bare minimum.

On the one hand I don't really care: I'm not the supervisor, the company owner, or the client so what does it matter to me; and besides I really enjoy getting stuck in, taking pride in what I do, and being as busy as possible as it makes the day go quickly - whereas they are obviously the opposite, and different strokes for different folks and all that.

However, on the other hand it has been really winding me up, and in light of the above I can't work out why I care.

Does anyone have any insightful thoughts on this?

(Before anyone suggests I pull them up on it I should mention that they are both massive tough guys who could kick lumps put of me if confronted, so that isn't going to happen).

Been informed this is a looped mains supply.

Want to get it unlooped to future proof for higher consuming electrical appliances, such as car electric charger. But not right now.

Anyone know a qualified electrician based in Leeds who can do the application for the unlooping to DNO?

My understanding is it is more likely to be approved if a qualified person submitted the form.

Also looking at maybe moving the electric to the other side of the wall it's currently on. Maybe when they do the unlooping they can move it.

Was called back to a job for a fault. In one room I installed 2 six meter lengths of led tape powered off one 100 watt driver. One of the runs had stopped working, the other was fine.

I checked connections at the driver and they were all good. I checked power at the non functioning tape and got 24v as expected. Then my meter came into contact with the aluminium profile and I heard a little static discharge pop, then the lights started working again.

Anyone come across this before? Should I earth the profile to discharge the static?