Electrical — Repairs
A power cut, a breaker that trips the moment something is plugged in, a dead socket: the cause is seldom where the symptom appears. I investigate first and repair second — it is quicker, and it spares you paying twice.
Response
Often the same day
Area
Paris 6th, 7th, 14th, 15th, 16th
Method
Diagnosis before replacement
The six situations I come across most often. If yours is not among them, describe it to me on the telephone: it usually comes down to one of these.
It never trips without reason: an overloaded circuit, a faulty appliance, or a damaged cable somewhere between the consumer unit and the socket. I isolate the circuits one by one until the culprit shows itself.
Most often a loose connection in a junction box, sometimes several metres from the socket in question. I trace the circuit back rather than changing the socket blindly.
Before calling, check the main breaker and the meter. If everything is switched on and nothing comes back, the problem lies upstream or in the consumer unit — and that is where I come in.
An insulation fault somewhere is letting current leak to earth. It is often an appliance, sometimes a damp cable. I disconnect in groups to identify the cause.
This is not something to diagnose over the telephone: switch off the circuit and call. A terminal that is heating up is the beginning of a fire, and it is dealt with the same day.
The hardest to track down, because it never happens while I am there. I identify the circuit, measure under load, and check the connections one by one.
Other services
Consumer units · Ceramic kiln installation · Fault-finding and electrical repairs · Switch replacement · Socket replacement · New sockets · Bringing wiring up to standard · Recessed spotlight installation · Recessed spotlight replacement · Appliance installation · Appliance connection · Lamps and light fittings · Doorbells · Radiator and towel rail installation · Radiator and towel rail replacement
From the workshop's other trades
Replacing a socket when the fault lies in the supply means charging for a part and leaving with nothing solved. The search sometimes takes longer than the repair itself, but it lasts: once the cause is dealt with, the fault does not return the following week. I tell you what I am looking for, what I find, and why.
Five arrondissements — the Left Bank, and the 16th just across the river — covered neighbourhood by neighbourhood. Each arrondissement has its own page, as does each neighbourhood.
Paris 6th Luxembourg · Rue de Rennes · Saint Sulpice · Mabillon · Raspail · Notre Dame des Champs · Odéon · Montparnasse · Saint-Germain-des-Prés
Paris 7th Champ-de-Mars · La Tour-Maubourg · Saint-François-Xavier · Rue du Bac · Saint-Germain · Solférino · Saint-Thomas-d'Aquin · Invalides · Ecole Militaire · Gros Caillou
Paris 14th Brune · Didot · Montsouris · Denfert Rochereau · Mouton Duvernet · Plaisance · Pernety · Montparnasse · Alésia
Paris 15th Necker · Saint Lambert · Vaugirard · Croix Nivert · Lecourbe · Convention · Commerce · Javel · Beaugrenelle · Grenelle
Paris 16th Trocadéro · Passy · Auteuil · La Muette · Victor Hugo · Porte Dauphine · Chaillot · Ranelagh · Exelmans · Porte de Saint-Cloud
Beyond these five arrondissements: elsewhere in Paris and the Île-de-France, depending on the project.
Tell me about the situation, with a photo if you have one. I reply the same day.