Of everything that happens after the roof is clear and closed, the electrical check is the one most often left undone, and it is the one with the most serious consequence if it is.
Why it is needed even when nothing obvious happened
The cable visible from a loft hatch is a small fraction of what is up there. Runs disappear under insulation, behind boxing, over the top of a chimney breast and away into the far corners of the roof space. Damage in any of those places is invisible from below and produces no symptom at all until it does.
So ‘the lights are working’ is not evidence. Partially stripped sheathing carries current perfectly well right up to the moment it does not.
When it is genuinely urgent rather than sensible
- Any smell of burning or hot plastic
- Scorch marks or discoloration at a fitting, switch or socket
- A circuit that trips, particularly one that trips again after resetting
- Flickering or dimming lights
- Sockets or lights that have stopped working
- Buzzing or crackling from a fitting or the consumer unit
- A switch plate or fitting that is warm
Any of those does not wait for the pest work. Isolate the circuit at the consumer unit and call a qualified electrician.
When it is sensible rather than urgent
- Gnawing was heard, anywhere in the roof
- Gnaw marks were found on timber near cable runs
- The activity went on for weeks rather than days
- There was more than one animal
- The loft has a lot of cable in it — a rewire, downlighters, alarm or network runs, solar or boiler controls
- You are about to lay new insulation over everything, which is the last moment anybody will see those cables for years
The timing point. The right moment for the electrical check is after the roof is clear and closed and before new insulation goes down. Once the wool is back, the cable is buried again and nobody will look at it until something goes wrong.
What the electrician does
Inspects accessible cable runs in the roof space for damage, tests the affected circuits, and repairs or replaces damaged sections. Gnawed cable is not a taping job — the affected section normally needs replacing. Where damage is extensive, they will say what that means for the installation as a whole.
Insurance
Worth checking the policy wording rather than assuming. Damage caused by vermin is commonly excluded, and where anything is covered an insurer will generally want to see that the cause was addressed promptly — which is an argument for keeping the dates and the photographs.
Questions
Everything works. Do I still need it?
If there was gnawing, yes. Partially damaged cable works normally until it does not, and most of it is not visible.
Can the pest company check the wiring?
No. It is a separate trade and needs a qualified electrician.
When exactly should I book it?
After the roof is closed and before new insulation goes down. That is the last time anyone will see those cables.
Squirrel Control Haverhill
Squirrel control in Haverhill is £280 fixed cost. Proofing work, where it is needed afterwards, is £180. Call 01502 630 122 and tell us what you have heard or seen.
For squirrel control in Haverhill, call 01502 630 122, or read the Haverhill squirrel control page.