Castle Cary is built of local Cary stone: period cottages, Georgian townhouses near the Market House, Victorian villas, and a ring of restored farmhouses and converted barns beyond. Electrical work in houses like these is less about the wiring itself and more about getting it in neatly without spoiling the building. That is the part we take most care over.
In a modern block-built house you can chase a wall almost anywhere. In a stone cottage you cannot, or should not. Walls are thick and irregular, often with rubble cores and lime plaster finishes that crack if they are hammered. So before quoting anything more than a simple swap, we look at where cable can travel without cutting stone:
Accessories matter in these rooms too. Some owners prefer metal or period-style switches rather than white plastic, and we fit whichever suits the room. For larger work in old houses, see heritage rewiring in Castle Cary.
Barn conversions bring tall open spaces, exposed roof trusses and very few solid walls to hide cable in. Lighting needs planning before the finishes go on: pendants hung between trusses, wall lights on stone gable ends, switching from more than one door. Plan it late and you end up with visible cable or compromises.
Farmhouses usually come with outbuildings, and those need their own supplies. We run them in armoured cable, buried or clipped, with protection at each end and weatherproof sockets and lights. An old, tired supply to a barn is a common source of nuisance tripping in the house.
No two properties are the same, so we don't publish a price list. Board changes, charge points, rewires and landlord work are each priced on what the property needs, and inspections of listed and heritage homes after a walk-round. You get a fixed written quote for yours.
A new kitchen in an old house tends to need more than a few extra sockets. Ovens and hobs need correctly sized dedicated circuits, the cooker switch should be accessible (we fit 2-gang cooker switches), and an extractor works well on a timer. We did kitchen electrical works this year at Keinton Mandeville, near the town.
Range cookers bring their own demands. At West Lydford we wired a new dedicated 32A circuit for an AGA being converted to electric. The existing board only had RCD protection on half its circuits, so we rearranged them to make sure the new cooker circuit was protected, and changed over the smoke and heat alarms during the same visit. That kind of problem, a board that cannot take the new load safely as it stands, is worth knowing about before the kitchen fitter books in.
We give a fixed price for the job: after a survey for anything substantial, or from photos and a phone conversation for small work such as a light fitting or an extra socket. You are not charged for time on a planned job.
The exception is fault-finding where nobody yet knows the cause. Then we come out in hours, Monday to Friday from 08:00 to 18:00, to find it, and any parts are at cost plus 10%. Once the cause is found, the repair is priced before we go ahead.
The closest of this year's jobs to the town.
For the town and its neighbouring villages, see our Castle Cary area page, or our Evercreech page if you are a little further north.
Leave your details and a line about the job. We will ring you back to talk it through and arrange a survey or a written price.
As little as possible. We look for routes under floors, above ceilings, behind joinery and in later stud walls first. Where none exist, we discuss neat surface conduit or a short, carefully cut chase with you before doing anything. Nothing is cut into stone without your agreement.
Yes, and that is the right time. We first-fix while the structure is open, agree switch and light positions with you on site, then return to second-fix and test once the finishes are done. Early involvement avoids surface cable in places you would rather not see it.
Usually. Old outbuilding supplies often run in unsuitable cable or have water in a joint. We test the run, find where the insulation is failing and either repair it or replace the supply in armoured cable with its own protection.
Yes. Ansford adjoins the town to the north, Alhampton is a little under two miles north-west, and Lovington about three miles west. Ditcheat, the racing-stables village, is about two and a half miles north-west of the town. We also work across towards Evercreech. All of these are covered from our Mid Somerset base.
Yes. Every job is tested. You get a Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate for additions to an existing circuit or an Electrical Installation Certificate for new circuits, and notifiable work is registered under Part P through NAPIT, which we are approved by.
Priced by the job, not by the hour. A written, fixed price after a survey, NAPIT certification on every notifiable job.
07889 334849