I wont go into detail but this involved screwing floorboards down hitting the 30 amp ring main, and effectively destroying the 30amp fuse holder and
contacts in the existing fuse wire based consumer unit.
So I don't get ripped off, I am turning to the wealth on knowledge here to get an idea of what I should be paying for a replacement unit, it is
only 6 circuits, but I'd like a couple of spare ports, what would be a reasonable price for an electrician to charge me for the supply &
fit.
Cheers.
Pete.
Unless the wiring in your house is perfect it may not just be a case of installing a consumer unit.
The CU has to be tested once complete and as its attached to the rest of the wiring in the house that also gets tested. I know of some cases where my
electrician mate has refused to replace a CU without re-wiring the entire house first.....
Assuming all the wires are in good condition and are long enough etc its probably a couple of hours to physically fit the thing then several days to
fault find if it won't pass the tests! 
The best way would be to fit something like a 5+5 split load board which comes with a main switch which isolates the whole board and 2 x double pole
RCD's each controlling 5 circuits.
They aren't very expensive but if the fuse board is changed all circuits should also be tested and a set of test sheets should be provided!
Also when swapping to an RCD board there's a chance you may have some existing faults which a standard re wireable fuse didn't detect!
If I were to price it I'd allow a day to swap the board and test/certify it and possibly upto half a day to rectify any issues!
If it were day work there's a cance it could be done in a day!
If you were to get is done on the cheap by an electrician for cash with no testing then half a day may be enough to get it done + the cost of the
board
Hi Pete
Most are 10 way now days. Check this : BG 10-Way High Integrity Populated Insulated Consumer Unit Dual 63A RCDProduct Code: 72088 £50. @ Screwfix.
half a day depending on access should be enough, must have mates or mates friends who want beer tokens.
Good luck Mike.
Like tegwin says, in order to sign off a new CU 'properly' the rest of the house has to be up to a standard - e.g. you may not have the required earth bonding at the right diameter on the water/gas supplies.
Many hundreds of pounds, depending on the length of the string.
Not very relevant cost wise, but I had the workshop CU replaced (Hager 10 way), which involved replacing the tails and related sundries, then further
work to correct the various earth leakages. All done professionally, certified and then certified (again) when Western updated the house feed. Total
bill came to over £1200.
What the work did highlight though, and you'll perhaps have a 'leaky' cooker or a 'leaky' immersion heater, the 17th Edition
installations are intolerant of old crap.
Done properly, there is certification involved and your council planning dept. needs to know if it's a DIY/unprofessional installation so that
they can inspect it. How close to the wire you go (pun intended), depends a lot on your circumstances. If you're going to sell the house, the
purchaser's solicitors should demand to see the paperwork relating to a fresh installation, if you're going to let it out, then again,
I'd get the paperwork watertight. If you're actually living the house as a home (quite rare it seems these days), then I guess you might
have other standards...
We paid around £400, chap came in replaced wired board with split box with around 12 RCD's as I wanted garage and shed seperate tested wiring and
signed off on-line
Was here 9.30 - 6pm
4 bed 70's house
My best mate is a spark and did mine, fully tested and certified for £150 including all the bits (1980s house). Normally he said he'd charge about £300 depending on what else is required and any additional time fault finding. He was there most of the day.
If he's supplied 12 RCD's a fuse board and fit it all and tested for £400 he must have stolen all the RCD's for sure!
quote:
Originally posted by daniel mason
If he's supplied 12 RCD's a fuse board and fit it all and tested for £400 he must have stolen all the RCD's for sure!
I don't see why. Split load populated boards are usually available for £50-75, the rest of the stuff wouldn't be much.
Now, if talking RCBO's that is a different matter (I have 14....drove the sparky nuts as the wylex board got a bit tight)
Rcbo's are RCD's
And If 12 were supplied along with the board £400 is impossible. But the. Again some think they can knock a full car up for £250! Which makes the £400
fuse board a rip off.
I'm assuming 12 mcb's were supplied with 2 double pole RCD's controlling each half. Like a Normal split load board. 2x 30ma RCD's
shouldn't be in line anyway with no descrimination
And the Wylex boards are rediculously tight. The way the breakers tighten to the bus bar is also poor in my opinion.
The Schneider boards are good to work on! They look tidier.but are more money
[Edited on 21/7/15 by daniel mason]
Apols, of course...
I meant MCBs, as used on 99% of installs.
I went for RCBO's as I acquired most of what I needed for not a lot more than std MCB's. plus makes fault finding quicker (had one faulty
RCBO that started tripping out randomly 23rd december, our new kitchen, 16 guests for christmas, me in panic) Took me 2-3 hrs to suss it, as it only
tripped from 5-30mins. When I finally diconnected the ring main from it and it still tripped did the penny drop, and a quick swap of RCBO and pinched
my garage one, a small price to pay for a happy missus!
Rcbo's are imho the best way to go like you say! It means that a fault only trips that individual circuit and not a bank of 5-6 mcbs!
I've just built a garage, I've done all the first fix, I'm paying a guy to come round, test/inspect/commission, connect the CU in the garage, in the house he's moving a consumer unit, putting in a wylex NH(17 way with loads of space all RCBO), I've supplied all the kit, he'll be testing and certifying that too. I'm paying 22.50 an hour, just under two days, should be just over one. So about £315 tops.