Electrical safety · a plain-English guide
Know your electrics.
You don't need to be an electrician — or a plumber — to make good decisions about your home. You just need someone to explain the basics without jargon or a sales pitch. Here's a plain-English guide to the things Sutton homeowners and landlords ask Stay Safe about most, from a firm that would rather you understood the work than felt sold to.
The four things people ask most.
No jargon, and no attempt to sell you work you don't need — just what each thing is and why it matters.
Your consumer unit
01The consumer unit — the 'fuse box' — is where your electricity is distributed and protected. Modern units use RCDs and RCBOs that cut power in a fraction of a second if there's a fault or a shock risk. Older boards with rewireable fuses or a single RCD don't offer the same protection. Upgrading is one of the most worthwhile safety improvements a property can have — it's notifiable work, and we handle the notification and certification for you.
- RCD / RCBO protection
- Notifiable work
- Certificated by us
What an EICR checks
02An Electrical Installation Condition Report is a health-check of your fixed wiring. Findings are coded: C1 means danger present, C2 means potentially dangerous, C3 is an improvement recommendation, and FI means further investigation needed. A satisfactory report has no C1 or C2 codes. Landlords are legally required to hold one and renew it every five years; homeowners often get one when buying, selling or renovating.
- C1 · C2 · C3 codes
- Renew every 5 yrs (landlords)
- Plain-English report
Boilers, bathrooms & gas safety
03Because Stay Safe covers plumbing as well as electrics, a bathroom or kitchen job is handled by one firm rather than split across two. Boiler and plumbing work is provided with the appropriate gas safety certification, and all works are guaranteed and insured. It also means the power, the lighting and the pipework are coordinated on one visit — not three trades turning up on three different days.
- Boilers to bathrooms
- Gas safety certification
- One firm, both trades
Signs a property needs a rewire
04Old rubber, lead or fabric-sheathed cabling, a fuse box with rewireable fuses, sockets that are scarce or scorched, frequent tripping, or a property untouched for 30+ years are all signs the wiring may be at the end of its life. A rewire isn't always needed — sometimes targeted remedial work will do — which is exactly why an honest inspection comes first, before anyone quotes you for a full rewire.
- Old rubber/lead cabling
- Frequent tripping
- Inspection first, quote second
How we work.
01
We test before we quote
For anything condition-related, we inspect and report first. That way a quote for remedial work or a rewire is based on what your installation actually needs — not a guess and not a scare.
02
No jargon, no upselling
We explain findings in plain English and only recommend work that genuinely improves safety or compliance. 'Took the time to explain what was needed and why' comes straight from our reviews.
03
Tested & certificated
Electrical work is tested and certificated; plumbing and gas work is provided with the appropriate safety certification. Notifiable work is notified and signed off, so the paperwork stands up.
04
You keep the paperwork
Where a job is notifiable or needs certification you receive the certificate on completion — an EICR, an installation certificate or a gas safety certificate — to hand to a buyer, insurer or letting agent whenever you need it.