Homeowner Advice

HOMEOWNER ADVICE

Have you bought a new home wired by us?

We have 40 years’ experience of wiring new homes, aiming to achieve the highest quality standards. If anything is not quite as it should be, we’re here to get it sorted quickly or provide troubleshooting advice that could help easily fix the problem. 


To add any extra items to your installation, you’ll need to order these through your builder, who will then contact us to organise the installation.

Customer Care Visits

We provide a 2-year warranty for the electrical installation in every property we wire. If your home is still within its 2-year warranty period and you experience a problem with the electrics that might require a customer care visit, you should contact your house builder and they will ask us to resolve the issue on their behalf.


If you experience a problem with your electrics after the warranty period has ended, please contact our customer care team by emailing customercare@clarksonevans.co.uk or calling 01452 858999

 

Customer care opening hours:

Monday to Thursday 8am to 5pm and 8am to 4pm on Fridays.

Out-of-hours Emergency Service

Our customer care opening hours are:

Monday to Thursday 8am to 5pm and 8am to 4pm on Fridays.

 

We provide an out-of-hours emergency service at all other times. Call us on 01452 530336 and your call will be handled by our dedicated out of hours service team.

 

Emergencies are defined as: ‘No heating or hot water (winter months only), power is continually tripping out, alarm is continually sounding, or there’s a possible health and safety risk’. If we determine that an engineer’s visit is needed in an emergency situation because the problem cannot be resolved over the phone, we will aim to be there as soon as possible (and within 4 hours).


What should I do if there’s a loss of power at my property?


Start by checking the consumer unit (also known as the fuse board) to see if any of the fuse switches have tripped. This can happen if you plug in a faulty device or if a lamp blows, for example.

If you need to reset switches inside your consumer unit and identify the reason for them tripping, this video explains the steps to take.

If none of the switches in your consumer unit have tripped, the loss of power could be due to a local power cut or a loss of incoming supply to your property alone. To check if there’s been a power cut affecting your whole area, look outside at local streetlights (in hours of darkness) or check with your neighbours. If your property seems to be the only one affected, look inside your electricity meter box. A loss of incoming supply will mean the screen inside the meter box is blank. If this is the case, contact your local electricity network operator by calling 105. Note that this will not be the same company that sends you your electricity bill.



How can I stop my power from continually tripping out?


If your power keeps tripping out, this is usually due to you having a faulty appliance, with kettles and irons being the most common culprits. To find out which of your appliances is faulty, follow the steps in our video above.

Ceiling Spotlight Bulbs

How do I change a ceiling spotlight bulb?

 

The process to follow will vary according to the type of spotlight bulb fitting. Watch our videos to see how to replace bulbs in the most common fittings.

Why do my bulbs keep blowing?

The wiring in your home will not make bulbs blow. The most common cause of limited bulb life is that they are poor quality bulbs, are not fitted correctly, are becoming too hot or the amount of vibration is excessive, for example in high traffic areas.

Smoke Alarms

How can I stop my smoke alarm from continually sounding?


If your smoke alarms are sounding and there is no sign of fire or smoke in your property, there may be a fault or a problem with dust affecting the sensor. To stop the alarm from sounding, press the hush/test button on the unit which will typically silence the alarm for around 8 minutes (depending on alarm type) before it re-arms. Clear the air if needed or try vacuuming the units. If the alarms continue to sound as a false alarm, they may need to be removed and replaced.



How can I check my smoke alarm is working and make sure it is well maintained?


Watch our video above for guidance on how to test your smoke alarms and the steps you should take to keep them working correctly.

Why is my smoke alarm beeping regularly?


This is an indication that the battery needs changing. Details on how to do this should have been provided with the manufacturer’s instructions in your home handover pack, or you can watch our videos below for guidance.




Fuses

How do I change a fuse?


If you find that an appliance outlet is not working, it is most likely because of a blown fuse. Watch our video below for guidance on how to replace a fuse.

Intruder Alarms

How do I silence my intruder alarm?


You should be able to silence your alarm by simply entering your code.



If you have forgotten your alarm code

 

We do not keep records of individual alarm codes but if you have forgotten yours, we can arrange for one of our alarm engineers to visit your property and reset it for you. If you have an alarm maintenance contract with us the reset can be done free of charge when your next service is due, or a chargeable visit can be arranged if you would like the code to be reset more urgently.

 

If you do not have an alarm maintenance contract with us, we can arrange a chargeable visit to reset your code on the condition that you also enter an alarm maintenance contract with us (as we do not carry out works on non-contracted alarm systems).



Who to contact to resolve an issue with your intruder alarm

 

  • For alarms fitted prior to completion of the property that develop a problem within the builder’s 2-year warranty period, you should contact your builder and they will then instruct us to resolve the issue on their behalf.


In any other situation where there is a problem with an alarm fitted by us, contact our customer care team on 01452 351904 or email alarms@clarksonevans.co.uk.



Warranty cover and maintenance contracts

 

Intruder alarms fitted to new homes prior to completion are automatically covered by a 2-year warranty. If you have an intruder alarm that was installed as an extra after completion of your property, this will be covered by a 12-month manufacturer’s warranty.


When your warranty period expires, for peace of mind you can take out a maintenance contract with us. This will entitle you to an annual service of your alarm system and you’ll be able to call upon us to resolve faults free of charge (terms and conditions apply). Contact us on 01452 351904 or email alarms@clarksonevans.co.uk to enquire about a maintenance contract.

 

Note that we do not carry out works on alarm systems that are outside the builder’s or manufacturer’s warranty period and non-contracted. In these circumstances, entering into a maintenance contract would be a condition of us attending to resolve a problem with the alarm system, and this visit itself would also be chargeable.

If you have a Veritas wired alarm system


Watch the videos below for guidance on your Veritas alarm system.

If you have a Qolsys Alarm System


To activate you Qolsys alarm system complete the form here.


Watch the videos below for guidance on your Qolsys alarm system.

Car Chargers 

Please check the power is on. If the power is on at the charger this is not an electrical issue. Please see below links to manufacturers guidance for further help.

Electrical Appliances

There appears to be no power to one or more of my kitchen/utility appliances. What might the problem be?


To troubleshoot an appliance that isn't powering on, first check if the on/off switch is set to on. Next, look for the grid switches located near the hob in your kitchen that are labelled for the appliance and make sure they are turned on. If the appliance still isn't working, check the consumer unit to ensure all circuits are turned on.

Extractor Fans

Why is the fan in my bathroom not working?

It might be that the fan hasn't been turned on, the fan switch is located above the door on the outside of your bathroom.



Why does the fan in my bathroom not stop when the light is turned off?


Every house is designed with a ventilation system to meet the building regulations in place at the time of build. Some rooms, like a bathroom, will be designed to have an overrun timer, so that when an occupant has finished and leaves the room the fan will continue to run for a set period of time to remove odours and water vapour.



Why does the fan in my cloakroom stay on all the time and how can I turn it off?


Every house is designed with a ventilation system to meet the building regulations in place at the time of build. Some rooms without natural ventilation from a window will feature a constantly running fan, which will ramp up and down in accordance with room use.


Heating and Hot Water

How can I set the timings for my heating to come on and go off?


This will depend on the make of heating system you have in your home. You should refer to the manufacturer’s instructions that would have been provided as part of your home handover pack or visit the manufacturer’s website if you do not have these.



How can I set my hot water to warm up and can I set the maximum temperature?


You can set the maximum temperature on any hot water system. For details of how to do this and how to set the timings for your water to heat up, you should refer to the manufacturer’s instructions that would have been provided as part of your home handover pack or visit the manufacturer’s website if you do not have these.

TV Signal

Why can’t I get a TV signal or a Sky signal?


TV aerial and satellite installations do not come as standard for most homes. TV aerials usually need to be ordered as extras, either by contacting your builder or by contacting a TV aerial installer directly. We install the internal wiring for connecting TV and satellite systems if these have been ordered through the builder but we do not fit the aerials themselves. Only authorised Sky installers can fit Sky TV.

Wired Internet Connections


Why does my internet connection not work when I plug in my router?


We install ethernet ports to enable devices to be connected to the internet through a wired connection but you will need to have a subscription to an internet provider so that your internet connection can be activated. You should contact the internet provider of your choice to connect to the internet.


Gas and Water Bonding


Should my gas and water pipes be bonded?


It’s quite common to see a green and yellow cable attached to gas and water pipes in some older properties, and this is known as ‘protective bonding’, to prevent the pipes introducing earth potential and therefore a risk of electric shock if touched. Under the current Wiring Regulations, this bonding is not required to internal metallic pipework if the incoming service to the property is made of plastic or another electrically insulating material.


All of the new homes we now wire have incoming supplies via plastic pipes so gas and water pipe bonding is not required; therefore it should not be cause for concern if the green and yellow bonding cable isn’t present.


Further details can be found in this NHBC guidance.



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