Electrician in Northwood

Electricians in Northwood: what is different here

Wiring in houses that have been extended three times

Many of the big Frithwood and Dene Road houses have grown over a century: a garage turned into a study, a loft room, a garden room, a new kitchen. Each addition tends to bring its own circuit, sometimes from a separate board, and old and new cable types often meet in a junction box under the floor.

That is where intermittent faults hide. We test circuit by circuit rather than guessing, and we draw up which board feeds which room so the next electrician does not start from scratch. On large houses an EICR can take most of a day, and we tell you that when we quote.

EICRs for Hillingdon HMOs and family lets

The Electrical Safety Standards Regulations 2020 require an EICR at least every five years for a private let in England, and remedial work within 28 days of the report or any shorter period it sets. Since 24 August 2026, a Northwood shared house let to three or more people from two or more households also needs a Hillingdon licence, and the licence application asks for current safety paperwork.

We issue the report within 48 hours of the inspection, explain each code in plain words, and quote any remedial work as a fixed price. Where the report says further investigation is required, we can do that on the same booking.

• Five-yearly EICR, or sooner if the report says so
• Remedial work quoted against each code
• Written confirmation once remedials are done
• PAT records for supplied appliances, useful for licence declarations

Consumer units and RCD protection in Northwood Hills semis

Houses built after Northwood Hills station opened in 1933 were wired for a few lights and sockets per room. Most have been rewired since, but it is still common to find an older fuse board or a board with no RCD protection on some circuits.

Replacing the consumer unit and bringing earthing and bonding up to date is often what an EICR asks for, rather than a full rewire. Consumer unit replacement is notifiable work under Part P, so we notify Building Control and you get an Electrical Installation Certificate.

Outside lights, garden rooms and EV supplies

Northwood's large plots mean more outdoor electrics than most of north-west London: gate motors, garden lighting, workshops and summer houses at the end of long gardens. Buried supplies to an outbuilding need the right cable, depth and protection, and a garden room usually needs its own circuit.

We also install EV charge point supplies where the board and the main fuse allow it. In the Frithwood and Green Lane conservation areas, a charger or light on the front elevation can affect the street scene, so we suggest a side or rear position where possible.

Access, parking and the Moor Park gate

Where a house has a drive, a long day of testing is easier for everyone. Near the stations, Hillingdon's zone N and zone NWH bays are for permit holders in the controlled hours, so tell us if we will need a visitor permit. On the Moor Park estate the roads are private and the area is under Three Rivers, so any work outside the house is also subject to the estate covenants.

Smoke and CO alarms across three storeys

A rented house needs a working smoke alarm on every storey used as living accommodation, and a carbon monoxide alarm in every room with a fixed combustion appliance except a gas cooker. In a three-storey Northwood house with a loft bedroom, a cellar playroom and a wood burner in the sitting room, that adds up quickly.

The regulations do not require mains-wired alarms in an ordinary let, but many landlords of larger houses choose interlinked mains alarms so that a fire on the top floor is heard in the kitchen. We fit and test those as a defined job and note them on the paperwork.

Lighting in tall rooms and stairwells

Arts and Crafts houses often have double-height halls, open stairwells and high ceilings in the main rooms. Replacing a pendant or a failed downlight two storeys up needs the right access equipment and a plan to protect old floors and banisters, not a stepladder balanced on a landing. Where a stairwell is dark, we can add a two-way switch at the top of the stairs or swap old fittings for LED, keeping the original ceiling roses where they are worth saving.

Blocks of flats: the landlord's supply and the communal alarm

In the purpose-built blocks around Northwood town centre, your EICR covers the installation from your own meter and consumer unit onwards. Lighting in shared halls, the door entry system and any communal fire alarm usually belong to the freeholder and are tested under their own arrangements. If a fault trips something shared, we find where the problem starts and tell the managing agent in writing, so you are not charged for the building's electrics.

Official sources

• legislation.gov.uk: Electrical Safety Standards Regulations 2020, regulation 3
• Hillingdon Council: public notice, additional licensing of HMOs (designated 19 February 2026)
• legislation.gov.uk: Housing Act 2004, Schedule 4 (mandatory licence conditions)
• GOV.UK: Approved Document P, electrical safety in dwellings
• Public notice: Hillingdon parking orders for the Northwood (N) and Northwood Hills (NWH) zones, May 2026

Last reviewed October 2026 by EliteShires Property Services.