The questions we get before anyone signs anything.
Split by who is asking, because a main contractor and a homeowner want to know very different things first.
Answers
Trade & specifiers
Will you price from our drawings?
Yes, and we will mark them up first. A price against a drawing nobody has read is a variation waiting to happen, so we tell you what we would change and what it saves before anyone signs.
Can you commit to a programme date?
Yes, because our engineers are directly employed rather than subcontracted. When something does move on a live site — and it does — you hear it from us early enough to resequence rather than after the fact.
Do we have to use you for all eight disciplines?
No. Most clients start with one and add others once they have seen how it goes. The advantage of the full package is that nobody is arguing about whose cable it was, but it is not a condition.
What paperwork do you issue before you arrive?
RAMS, insurance details and any site-specific documentation your principal contractor requires. [Public liability cover of £X to be confirmed.]
What is in the handover pack?
Test certificates, commissioning records, as-installed drawings — not design drawings — and O&M information written so the end user can follow it. Compiled as we go rather than assembled the week before practical completion.
How do you handle defects and retention?
We attend defects within [response period to be confirmed] and hold [warranty period to be confirmed] on workmanship. Retention terms are whatever the main contract sets.
Homeowners & small business
Do you charge for a quote?
No. We visit, listen, and send a written itemised quote with our assumptions spelled out, so there are no surprises later. There is no charge and no obligation.
When should I get you involved?
Earlier than most people do. Where sockets go, whether the lighting has any depth, whether the cooling can be heard from the sofa — all of that is decided at first fix, weeks before anything is visible.
How much mess is this going to make?
Some, honestly — chasing walls and lifting floors is messy. What we control is the tidying: dust sheets down, floors and finishes protected, and the site cleared at the end of each day rather than the end of the job.
Will I get certificates?
Yes. Full electrical test certification on completion, plus commissioning records for climate and control systems, and a walkthrough of how everything works before we leave.
Can you work on something another firm installed?
Usually. We will look at what is there first, because occasionally the honest answer is that replacing an undersized system costs less over its life than nursing it along.
What happens if something goes wrong afterwards?
You ring us and we come back. [Warranty period on workmanship to be confirmed.] The answering-the-phone-afterwards part is the bit clients tell us they notice most.