Electrical — Switches and sockets
A broken switch, one that has yellowed or crackles, or simply a set of fittings you would like to match throughout the apartment. It is quick work — provided what lies behind is sound.
Time
15 to 30 minutes per switch
Area
Paris 6th, 7th, 14th, 15th, 16th
Brands
Legrand, Schneider, Hager, Jung
Four cases, from the simplest to the most involved.
Same position, same back box: the old switch comes out, the conductors are reconnected to the new mechanism, and the plate goes back on. If the back box is sound, it takes a quarter of an hour.
Controlling the same light from two places requires an extra conductor between the two boxes. It can be done without chasing the wall when a conduit already exists; otherwise the circuit is reworked, or the cable runs on the surface, neatly and deliberately.
Not every light can be dimmed: LEDs need a compatible dimmer, or they flicker and hum. I check the load before fitting, not afterwards.
A switch that moves when you press it almost always means the back box has come away from the plaster. It is replaced and properly set back into the wall, so the screws hold again.
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
Old fittings sometimes conceal cloth-covered conductors, no earth, or wires too short to be reconnected properly. I tell you at that moment, along with what it means: no one rewires an apartment because a switch has broken, but you will know exactly where you stand.
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.