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Property/DIY

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Original poster

Any sparkies?? Do we need an electrician for this.

22 replies

Richtea67 · 13/01/2023 17:43

We have these types of light fittings in our new house (see pic). My husband is very reluctant to get involved in anything electrical (bar changing a lightbulb), and thinks we'll need electricians to change these to pendant light fittings. I'm thinking surely not that this is basic DIY....any advice appreciated!

Any sparkies?? Do we need an electrician for this.

OP posts:

SnarkyBag · 13/01/2023 17:49

It’s possible to do it yourself with the right tools, knowledge and assumption the current fitting and wires have been fitted safely

Diyextension · 13/01/2023 18:58

Watch YouTube,plenty of electricians on there, it’s easy when you know how.
just need to understand what wire is what.

MaybeSmaller · 13/01/2023 19:07

It's one of the easier DIY tasks, but if you've literally never done anything other than change a lightbulb before, I would spend a few evenings watching sparky videos on YouTube as pp says rather than going in blind.

Have a look at channels like The DIY Guy, Pouse around the House and Ultimate Handyman. (There are plenty of other good ones, but a lot of them are aimed more at sparks in the trade than DIYers having their first crack at it.)

If after that, you're still not sure, then I would call in the electrician.

LindorDoubleChoc · 13/01/2023 19:12

I'd get a professional in to do anything at all with electrics, other than changing bulbs.

That's just me I guess. But I work in the trade and have knowledge of some very expensive, some almost lethal, mistakes made by amateurs.

Diyextension · 13/01/2023 19:35

When they were changing a light fitting ?

Salome61 · 13/01/2023 19:48

I would employ an electrician, perhaps save money somehow on another job?

Oakbeam · 13/01/2023 19:52

Basic DIY as far as I am concerned. Just make sure you know what all the wires do.

And isolate the circuit at the fuse box before you work on it.

tanstaafl · 13/01/2023 21:27

Put a bulb in and turn it on.
then switch off the ‘fuse’ (circuit breaker) in the consumer unit checking the light has gone off.

unscrew the 3 crosshead screws at 11, 3 and 7 o’clock.

carefully lower the light fitting in order to see how big a hole there is in the ceiling.

will the hole be covered by a pendant fitting?

if the answer is no, get an electrician in, it’s not worth the hassle for reluctant diyers

screw the 3 crosshead screws back.

gravyriceandchips · 13/01/2023 21:44

Oakbeam · 13/01/2023 19:52

Basic DIY as far as I am concerned. Just make sure you know what all the wires do.

And isolate the circuit at the fuse box before you work on it.

I'd be so nervous of doing this. For my own peace of mind I'd pay for it. I could prob do it myself but elec makes me so nervous

FurierTransform · 13/01/2023 22:17

It's a very basic change. Think of it like you are just doing a direct swap of a light bulb screwed sideways to the ceiling, to a light bulb hanging on a wire.

Watch YouTube, maybe read an online guide, turn the power off & give it a go. The only reason to be terrified of electricity is if you don't understand it.

ChopTheMushrooms · 13/01/2023 22:52

Where I live an electrician is £240 per day. With this being a new house to you I would be cautious as you have no idea what has been done by the previous people. We have encountered some weird and wonderful cable runs over the years.

Watch YouTube, and I agree with Maybe's recommendations with the addition of GSH Electrical who put out training videos too.

Buy a tester so that you know if there is a live wire. Safety first, don't rely on the bulb or the fact that you have isolated the lighting circuit at the consumer unit. Artisan Electrics (YouTube) showed that a boiler fitter had wired from both the upstairs and downstairs circuits so when there should have been no power to the boiler the plug, the actual plug had 230v going through it. Someone could have been killed.

Isolate the supply, remove the cover and carefully pull it down. If what you see scares you, call an electrician.

MaybeSmaller · 14/01/2023 00:35

@tanstaafl Maybe I've misunderstood you, but... you would call an electrician out to fix a big hole in a ceiling?

MaybeSmaller · 14/01/2023 00:41

That may have come across as unduly snarky, sorry. I can see how a smaller job can turn into a much bigger one if you didn't know the hole was there.

tanstaafl · 14/01/2023 07:55

MaybeSmaller · 14/01/2023 00:35

@tanstaafl Maybe I've misunderstood you, but... you would call an electrician out to fix a big hole in a ceiling?

no offence taken.
on YT some electricians will repair small ceiling holes as part of lighting work.
so if the OP / OP’s DH are reluctant to tackle “just” a lantern fitment then I’m assuming if there’s ceiling repair as well, is time to call in an electrician.

Original poster

Richtea67 · 14/01/2023 09:13

Thanks for advice all...interesting some differing opinions but will have a look at YT first then decide how confident we feel. Good idea to buy a tester.

OP posts:

Diyextension · 14/01/2023 09:21

You don’t really need a tester, if in any doubt which circuit you need to turn off, then just turn the whole house off.

probably best to turn the mains off anyway if your not confident in electrical work, it will just remove any doubt in your mind.

Take pictures on your phone before you start , that way if you can’t get it right then at least you can put the old one back in and get someone else in 👍

JimDixon · 14/01/2023 10:14

You should be able to find an electrician who’ll work to an hourly rate or per task. Eg £50 an hour, or £25 to change over a ceiling socket. Or maybe that’s just how it is in London where they can fit a lot of jobs in to one day.

GasPanic · 14/01/2023 15:21

I would apply my usual rule in this case - which is that the person who thinks the job is easy, doable and that they are qualified for it gets to do the work.

Simples.

Albertcharrison3 · 19/01/2023 09:43

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kweeble · 19/01/2023 09:59

The power isn’t live if you turn it off - I would tackle it as a diy job if I knew my circuit breakers / consumer unit was correctly set up and labelled.
With it being a new house I would want the circuit checked out and I’d ask for minor jobs to be done at the same time.

Oakbeam · 19/01/2023 11:47

The power isn’t live if you turn it off

To clarify, the light fitting could still be live if you just turn the lamp off at the wall switch. You need to isolate the whole lighting circuit at the fuse box or, as somebody else suggested, turn the power off completely.

comeundone · 19/01/2023 12:28

Do you have any local 'handyman'-type people? FB local groups are good for this. This isn't a hard job but if you're not competent to do it after watching YT it doesn't need a spark, and they probably won't be that bothered to write or come for a tiny job based on our experiences with busy trades.

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