Extension lead behind the sofa? Adaptor stack by the television? Socket installations in Romford for homeowners and landlords across RM1 to RM7 — additional outlets, new circuits, kitchen and outdoor supplies, all tested and certified.
Call 07502 396654.
How many sockets does a room actually need?
A 1930s Romford semi was built with about two outlets per room. A modern household runs around thirty devices. These are working numbers rather than a regulatory minimum — nobody has ever regretted going above it.
- Living room — 8 to 10. The television wall takes four or five once a soundbar, console and streaming box are counted, then a lamp at each end, something behind the sofa, and one where people actually sit with a laptop.
- Kitchen — 8+ above the worktop. Kettle, toaster, microwave, coffee machine, air fryer, blender. Fixed appliances need their own outlets behind the units with accessible isolation above the worktop.
- Main bedroom — 6. Two each side of the bed is the most requested addition in older houses, because 1930s bedrooms were given one socket by the door and nothing where the bed goes.
- Other bedrooms — 4 to 6. Assume at least one becomes a study, which means a desk position rather than a bedside pair.
- Home office — 6 to 8. Two monitors, a dock, a printer, a desk lamp, a phone and a network switch reach eight without anything unusual.
- Hall and landing — 1 to 2 each. Easily forgotten and genuinely useful.
- Bathroom — shaver supply only. Standard sockets are prohibited within the defined zones around baths and showers.
- Outdoors and garage — as required, weatherproof. IP-rated enclosures, RCD protection, and a proper submain for a garden office rather than a lead through a window.
Spur or new circuit?
This is the question that decides the price.
Adding a spur means a new outlet fed from an existing ring — quick, cheap and minimally disruptive, but constrained by a firm rule: one single or one double socket per spur, taken from a point on the ring that is not already a spur. Fine for one socket in the right place; not a strategy for a whole room.
A new circuit runs from the consumer unit, needs a spare way in the board and a cable route, and is notifiable under Part P. It is the right answer when you are adding several outlets, feeding a garage or garden room, or the existing circuit is already loaded. If there are no spare ways, that is a consumer unit conversation first.
The most common bad job we find
A spur taken off a spur, or several sockets daisy-chained from one point on a ring. It looks identical to correct work from the outside and it overloads a single connection that was never designed to carry it. This is what turns up on inspections as warm sockets and discoloured accessories, and it is one of the more frequent findings in Romford houses that have had a kitchen refit by a general builder.
If a socket in your house is warm to the touch, or your lights dim slightly when the kettle starts, have it looked at within days rather than months. Both are early symptoms of connections heating under load.
Details worth deciding in advance
Height and position. For new build and material alterations, outlets generally sit between 450 mm and 1200 mm above floor level. In an existing property you have latitude — but think about where furniture goes, because a socket behind a wardrobe is a socket you do not have.
USB outlets. Useful where they earn their place — bedsides, kitchen worktop, desk. The electronics age faster than the socket does, so keep a conventional outlet alongside rather than fitting them everywhere.
Kitchen isolation. Fixed appliances need to be switchable without pulling the machine out. Switched fused connection units above the worktop, clearly labelled — and the labelling matters more than it sounds when a washing machine floods on a Sunday.
Outdoor supplies. Weatherproof accessories and RCD protection, and a garden office or workshop needs a properly designed submain with its own protection, not a socket circuit extended through a wall.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is adding sockets notifiable work?
Adding a socket to an existing circuit generally is not, though work in a bathroom or a new circuit is. Where notification is needed we self-certify through our NICEIC registration and notify building control for you.
Will you need to chase the walls?
Usually yes for a new outlet position, and more so in the solid-walled Victorian terraces near the town centre than in later stud-walled properties. We will tell you what making good is included at the quoting stage.
Can you fit sockets in my garage or shed?
Yes. That normally means a properly designed submain with its own protection rather than an extension of a house circuit, and weatherproof accessories where they are exposed.
Do I get certification for socket work?
Yes — a Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate for additions to an existing circuit, or an Electrical Installation Certificate where a new circuit is installed, with test results in both cases.
Book socket installation in Romford
Before we quote, do the walk yourself: room by room, count the outlets you have and the ones you wish you had, and note where the furniture actually sits. Ten minutes with a notepad saves the extension lead you were about to buy.
Call 07502 396654 or email idealelectricians@gmail.com for a free, no-obligation estimate. We cover Romford from Dagenham, about four miles away, and also handle full and partial rewires and EICRs.
Ideal Electricians Ltd · 9 Woodward Road, Dagenham, Essex RM9 4SJ · NICEIC approved · Part P compliant · 15+ years