Fuse board replacement
Consumer Unit
Upgrades
Newcastle
Wire fuses and no shock protection out, a protective device on every circuit and surge protection in, all of it tested and labelled before the cover goes back on.
What a modern board actually gets you
You notice the difference the first time something goes wrong. An older board running fuse wire, with a single RCD or none whatsoever, hands you a dark house because one kettle developed a fault. Give every circuit its own device and that kettle knocks out the kitchen sockets alone. The lighting stays up, the freezer keeps going, and working out the culprit is a two-minute job.
The second difference is shock protection, and it matters more. RCDs disconnect quickly enough to change outcomes when somebody puts a drill through a buried cable or a hedge trimmer finds its own lead. A surprising number of installations across Tyneside still have none whatsoever, and that on its own is the strongest argument for changing a board.
Why testing comes before quoting
Fitting a new board over worn-out circuits repairs nothing. All it does is install protection that actually functions, which then reacts to faults the old fuse wire had been shrugging off for a decade. The customer concludes the new board is defective, when in truth long-standing problems have simply become detectable for the first time.
So the existing installation gets tested first. Occasionally that finds nothing and the change is simple. Sometimes it turns up circuits needing attention before anything else happens, and now and then it reveals an installation where a board change is not the right first move at all. Far better you hear that at the quoting stage than halfway through a Tuesday.
Older Tyneside installations
Pre-war terraces and inter-war housing across the city throw up a familiar set of findings. Rubber and fabric-sheathed cable still sitting in the walls. Switch drops with no circuit protective conductor anywhere near them. Henley blocks and a knot of additions around the meter position. Earthing arrangements that predate anything currently in the regulations.
None of it amounts to a disaster and none of it forces an automatic rewire. It does mean the job takes longer than swapping a board in a new build, and that quoting it blind over the phone serves nobody. We look, we test, and we tell you what is actually there.
Boards in flats
In a Tyneside flat the board is frequently nowhere near the meter, which may be in a communal cupboard shared with the other dwelling. That affects where the new unit can practically go, how the tails are run, and who needs to be around when the supply comes off. We sort out the arrangement before booking the work rather than discovering it on the day with a neighbour at work.
What a board change includes
- A test of what is already there before any figure is given
- Supply isolation organised properly at the cut out
- Steel enclosure meeting the current edition
- One protective device guarding each circuit
- Surge protection fitted where it earns its keep
- Arc fault detection on socket ways where specified
- Numbered ways and a completed circuit schedule
- Certificate and full test results handed over
How it runs
What actually happens
Measure first
What is already installed gets inspected and tested. Those readings decide whether a board change is even the right answer and what travels with it.
Price it honestly
A written number built on the findings rather than an optimistic guess, so nothing surfaces as a surprise at two in the afternoon.
Transfer
One circuit at a time, each proved and labelled as it lands. The property loses power in slices instead of sitting dead from morning to evening.
Sign it off
Full test sequence, schedule completed, paperwork issued, and a walk round the finished board with you before the van doors shut.
Recent projects
Jobs like this one
Taken on site the day each of these wrapped up.
FAQs
Asked about this a lot
How do I know whether mine needs doing?
Rewireable fuses with actual fuse wire in them, a wooden or plastic enclosure, or no RCD anywhere are all strong indicators. So is a board that drops the whole property when one appliance fails. If you are unsure, send a photo across and that covers most of what we need without anyone attending.
How long am I without power?
Most of a working day, though not continuously. Circuits transfer in stages so the property comes back on in sections as we go rather than everything sitting dead all day. If you work from home, say so and we will sequence it around your router and your desk.
Are you going to uncover problems?
Sometimes, which is exactly why the testing happens before the quote rather than after. Anything found gets priced separately and explained, and you decide what proceeds. We are not going to hold a job hostage over a code that has sat there harmlessly for twenty years.
Do I need surge protection?
It is required in more situations than it used to be and it is cheap insurance in a property full of electronics. We will tell you whether yours is a case where it genuinely earns its place rather than fitting one automatically because it adds to the invoice.
Where does the new board go in a flat?
Usually where the old one is, but not always. If the existing position is awkward, in a cupboard shared with the upper flat, or somewhere the tails have to take a ridiculous route, there is often a better spot. We will talk through the options and what moving it involves before committing to anything.
Is it worth doing before I sell?
Frequently. An old board with no RCD protection is exactly the sort of thing that surfaces on a buyer's survey and gets used to negotiate. A current board with a recent certificate removes the conversation entirely and normally costs less than the reduction it prevents.
Also worth a look
Other things we do
Get in touch
Get a price for this
If it is urgent, ring instead. If not, put as much in here as you can and something useful comes back — a number or a date, not a brochure.
Call the team0191 934 0119- CoveringNewcastle, Gateshead, North Tyneside and out to Ponteland, Cramlington, Blyth, Prudhoe and the coast at Tynemouth and Whitley Bay.
- FlatsTyneside flats a speciality — shared stairs, split supplies and meters that live in somebody else's cupboard.
- LandlordsInspection reports, multi-let certification, remedials and appliance testing across a portfolio.
- UrgentAnything that has already failed wants a phone call. We can be on the road and walking you through isolation on the same call.
Send the details
The more you put in here, the tighter the figure we can come back with.
Electrician To Your Door
Board looking its age?
Send a photograph of it and we can tell you most of what you need to know without a visit.