First Fix Electrics: What Happens and What to Watch For
Free with emailWhat first-fix electrics involves, what it costs (£2,500–£4,000), and the checks you must do before the plasterer arrives. Covers consumer unit placement, circuit types, Part P certification, and the communication failures that cause expensive rework.
Do this first:
If your electrician doesn't come back to issue the certificate, your building control sign-off is blocked. Not delayed. Blocked. The building control officer will not sign off your extension without the Electrical Installation Certificate. And if the electrician who did the work won't return (it happens more than you'd think), a replacement electrician may insist on opening up finished walls to verify what's behind them before they'll put their name to it.
That certificate dependency makes first-fix electrics one of the highest-stakes phases of your build. Not because the work itself is particularly complex for a qualified electrician, but because the consequences of getting it wrong, or of poor communication during the process, ripple through every phase that follows.
Your electrical layout plan must be complete before first fix begins. Socket positions, lighting zones, circuit allocations, and the consumer unit location should all be decided and drawn up. If you haven't done that yet, stop here and do it first. This leaf covers the installation, not the planning.
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