For routine electrical repairs, such as wiring a plug or a fuse, just a few tools are needed. Most important is a torch. Keep one in a handy place and periodically check that the batteries are charged up.
- You should also always have handy a selection of fuse wire or cartridge fuses (depending on the type of fuse carriers you have).
- At least two screwdrivers with insulated handles will be needed. One should have a small blade, the other a larger one. You can buy a special electrician's screwdriver that deals with the screw connections in plugs. Also useful for larger jobs is a neon-test screwdriver: when the tip of the screwdriver touches a live wire, neon gas in the handle lights up.
- There are several types of pliers suited to electrical work: radio pliers are useful for bending the ends of bared flex around terminals. Alternatively, a pair of half round pliers is good for making loops in bare wire. Diagonal cutters come in a range of sizes and are good for cutting wire of all kinds: a small pair can also be used for stripping insulation if you don't have a pair of wire strippers.
- If your ambitions for your electrical improvements go beyond changing a plug, and include replacing socket outlets or ceiling roses, then you'll need drills and the appropriate bits, chisels, hammers and mallets. Extensive electrical jobs that require running cables through walls, under floors or in roof spaces, will mean that you will need to cut channels into walls in order to bury the cable (and then conceal it with plaster); to lift and cut floorboards; and to drill through joists and behind skirting boards. To prise up floorboards, you'll need a bolster and to cut them you'll need a tenon saw and if necessary a padsaw or jigsaw.
- You'll also need tools to help you 'make good' any surrounding areas: a float for plaster, plus decorating tools.
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