To DIY or not to DIY

 Today I want to look at a problem faced by any home-owner on when to do a task or project yourself, and when to call in a specialist. One of my neighbours started to strip down their window frames down to the original steel, but more than a year ago ran out of steam, with only a couple of windows done. These frames are now quite vulnerable, as they have not yet treated or painted them. So the question is what is reasonably "do-able" and even more importantly, what is legal.

The three types of work where one needs to be careful, even if you are very competent and courageous, are structural, plumbing and electrical. Some aspects of these need to be done by a registered person or company, otherwise you would be falling foul of building regulations and potentially putting your insurance policy at risk. On the other hand, it becomes very expensive and annoying if you have to call in an electrician every time you need to change a light globe or replace a plug.

Two common types of light globe

Both of these tasks are very simple, with just a few things you need to be aware of. If a light "pops", the first thing you need to do is find out what type of connection it has - screw-in or bayonet. Before you begin, be sure that the light switch is off. As an additional precaution, I switch off the entire electrical system at the distribution board by moving the large green switch to the "down" position.

The mains switch is the green one on the left

Check that you do not have anything else running when you do this, as the electricity for the whole home will be switched off - if the washing machine is half-way through a cycle, or someone is doing a download or update on their computer, best to wait until this is complete.

If the light is a ceiling fitting, most will be reachable by standing on a secure chair, but occasionally the ceiling will be too high, requiring a ladder. You will need to take out the dead globe to see what kind to buy as replacement. Twist the globe gently anti-clockwise - if it is a bayonet fitting, you will need to push it in a bit and then twist. A screw-in may need a bit of pressure, but be careful not to twist the glass away from the metal connection.

Most globes have a standard 25mm diameter, but more specialised light fittings, such as chandeliers, may have a much smaller connection. At the same time, look at the space for the globe - I have fittings that have a limited space for the length of globe. Also, down-lights look really ugly if the new light globe projects below the ceiling line.

Before you go out to the shops, have a look at the other light fittings in the room - are they "warm" (more yellow) or "cool" (more blue tint, sometimes called daylight globes). Mixing warm and cool globes makes a space look very unco-ordinated. You will also be confronted by choice of lighting intensity - think about what you usually are doing in the space. If you are mainly entertaining and watching TV, you may want to go for a low-intensity that gives a gentle ambience, but craftwork and reading may need higher intensity.

After you have replaced the globe, remember to switch on the mains switch. You can switch it back on with the globe removed, but it is a good idea to switch off again when you are doing the replacement. Then check that the new light works by switching on at the wall.

Another task that you are legally able to do without a registered electrician, is replacing a plug for an appliance. These are often sealed, so you will need to cut through the cable where it joins the plug. The ideal tool is a side-cutter, but kitchen scissors can usually do the job.

A plug sealed by the manufacturer

The next is to carefully strip off the outer plastic casing exposing about 50mm of the casings of the wires. There will always be at least two, one encased in brown and the other in blue - a third with green and yellow casing is the earth wire, which some appliances don't have. Strip about 5mm off the end of each casing to expose the copper wire (you can use a sharp kitchen knife or a craft knife if you don't have side cutters, but be very careful not to cut through any of the copper strands). 

Your new plug will either be screwed together, or will snap apart. Inside, you should see that each of the metal rods has a small screw to hold the exposed copper wire. Loosen this screw and thread the wires in - the yellow and green (if you have one) will go to the rod in the centre, and the blue and brown will go to the two side ones, brown to the left.

Then tighten the small screws to hold the wires securely and  clip or screw the plug outer casing back together.

These two relatively simple electrical tasks are really the only things you can do yourself - anything else would need a registered electrician. The only other thing to know is what to do when a circuit trips - on the distribution board, you will see that there are several white switches, each with a label (plugs, lights, geyser, stove). If just one of these switches is in the down position, you have a very locallised problem and if the green switch is down, this is an earth leakage problem, usually from a faulty plug. Often the electrics cut out when you have just switched something on - switch this light or appliance off, then gently try to raise the switch on the distribution to the "up" position. If the switch refuses to stay up, try the "reset" switch next to the mains switch. If this still does not work, then resign yourself to calling in your electrician.

In future blogs, I will look at some of the other things you can safely and successfully DIY, such as wallpapering and painting. For plumbing and structural work, though, I will always call someone in, as even if it is a realatively simple job, it is best to proceed with caution!