SERVICE · COMMERCIAL

Commercial distribution board upgrades.

Labelled, certified, signed off.

Board replacements, sub-mains and capacity upgrades for offices, retail, schools and commercial premises across East Lancashire. Tested, certified and labelled before we leave site.

A BRIEF INTRODUCTION

Why boards get replaced.

Distribution boards have a working life of around twenty-five to thirty years. Most commercial premises have boards installed in the late 1990s or early 2000s and are now well into the back end of that window. They’re not necessarily dangerous, but they’re failing inspections.

Modern Wiring Regulations require RCBO protection on most final circuits, surge protection on the incomer, and labelling and schedules that match the actual installation. Older boards rarely meet any of these standards. The result is a string of EICR observations and code C1/C2 fails that turn into insurance issues.

Labelled, certified, signed off. The distribution board upgrades done right is the distribution board upgrades that doesn’t come back as a problem in two years.

A proper board replacement isn’t just swapping the unit. It’s load-assessing the building, sizing the new board with capacity for future growth, installing the right protection devices on the right circuits, labelling everything, issuing fresh certificates, and updating the schedule. We do all of that as one job.

The bit nobody talks about is the disruption. A board change typically means an hour of downtime per board minimum. We schedule installs to fit your trading hours and have temporary supplies in our van for anything safety-critical. Most board replacements are completed inside a working day.

WHAT'S INCLUDED

Every distribution board upgrades job includes all of this, as standard.

01

Pre-install survey and load assessment.

Existing demand measured, future growth allowed for, board sized with proper headroom. We don’t fit a board that’ll be at 90% capacity from day one.
 

02

Manufacturer-warranted boards.

Hager, MK, Schneider or Wylex as standard. Five-year manufacturer warranty on equipment, twelve months on workmanship.
 
 

03

RCBO protection on all finals.

Compliance with the 18th Edition Amendment 2. Surge protection on the incomer. Type AC, Type A or Type B RCDs as required by the load.

04

Out-of-hours installation.

Most board changes can be done in normal hours, but where downtime can’t be tolerated we’ll schedule evenings or weekends at no extra cost.
 

05

Full labelling and updated schedule.

Every circuit labelled at the board and the schedule produced fresh – not transcribed from the old unit. Soft copy emailed for your records.
 
 

06

Certification and EICR re-issue.

Certificates issued before we leave site. If the work was triggered by a failed EICR we’ll re-issue the EICR to reflect the rectifications.

THE PROCESS

How a typical install actually works.

DAY 1 · SURVEY
Site visit and load assessment.

We walk the site, identify existing boards, measure existing demand, photograph specific concerns and assess existing circuit schedules. Survey takes one to three hours.

01
DAY 1 · SURVEY
DAYS 2-3 · QUOTE
Written quote with options.

Within forty-eight hours we send a written quote covering board, sub-main work if needed, protection specification, labelling, schedule and certification. Where there are options, both are priced.

02
DAYS 2-3 · QUOTE
PRE-INSTALL · SCHEDULING
Downtime window agreed.

We confirm the install window with you - usually fitting around opening hours or in planned downtime. Where temporary supplies are needed for critical loads, we plan and bring them.

03
PRE-INSTALL · SCHEDULING
INSTALL DAY · 1-4 BOARDS
Board replacement and testing.

Isolation, removal of old board, installation and labelling of new board, testing of every circuit, completion of schedule. Most single-board changes inside a working day.

04
INSTALL DAY · 1-4 BOARDS
SIGN-OFF · SAME DAY
Certification and handover.

Minor works certificate issued, updated schedule emailed and printed for the board, warranty documentation handed over, old board removed from site.

05
SIGN-OFF · SAME DAY

TYPICAL FIGURES

What an average commercial board change looks like.

Numbers vary by building age, circuit count and existing condition, but these are the figures we see most often.
 

INSTALL TIME

8 hr

Average install time for a single-board replacement

CIRCUITS TYPICAL

18 ckt

Average circuit count on a small commercial board

COMPLIANCE LIFT

100 %

Boards leave site compliant with 18th Edition Amendment 2

DOWNTIME PLANNED

1 hr

Typical downtime per board, scheduled around your hours

TYPICAL FIGURES

Questions we get a lot.

Most single-board replacements are completed inside a working day, including testing and certification. Larger sites with multiple boards are scheduled across consecutive days or weekend windows.

Only to the affected board, and only for the install window – usually one to two hours per board. Where you have critical loads we can provide temporary supplies.

Yes – all our board installs are 18th Edition Amendment 2 compliant from day one, with the appropriate RCBO protection and surge protection where required. We re-issue the EICR after install if needed.

We default to RCBOs on all final circuits – they’re now the BS 7671 default and give better discrimination if a single circuit faults. Where budget is tight we’ll price RCD plus MCB as an option.

If the load assessment shows the incoming supply is undersized for actual demand we’ll quote a separate uplift to the DNO and handle that liaison for you.

Yes – every board change comes with a fresh circuit schedule produced from first principles. Soft copy emailed, printed copy left at the board.

GET IN TOUCH

Got a distribution job to look at?

Free site survey. Quote and payback figures within forty-eight hours. No pressure, no follow-up calls if it’s not for you.