Additional Sockets & Lightingin Staffordshire &the Midlands.
Extra sockets, USB outlets, downlights, garden lighting, kitchen circuits, smart lighting — the small jobs done properly, without leaving a mess.
What additional sockets & lighting involves — and why it matters.
Additional 13A sockets, USB-C integrated outlets, LED downlights, pendant fittings, outdoor and garden lighting, smart lighting systems (dimmers, scenes, controllers), and dedicated appliance circuits. Neatly chased and cleanly finished.
Homeowners refreshing kitchens, home-office builders needing more sockets in the right places, families adding garden or outdoor lighting, and anyone frustrated by the six extension leads currently doing what one properly-fitted socket should.
Any time. Small jobs get the same care as big ones — often more, because there's less room to hide messy work.
The alternative is an extension lead round the skirting, a socket adaptor with three plugs in one gang, or a downlight cluster on an ancient dimmer that flickers all night. Doing small jobs properly, once, is cheaper over time than tolerating the workarounds.
What goes wrong when this isn't done properly.
Extension leads doing structural work
Extension leads are for temporary use. When they're permanent — behind the TV unit, behind the desk, on the kitchen worktop — they're a fire risk and a signal that a socket is missing.
LED downlights on old dimmers
LED downlights on legacy leading-edge dimmers flicker, buzz, and fail early. The dimmer needs to match the load — trailing-edge for LED — and it rarely does out of the box.
Outdoor lighting on non-IP-rated fittings
Indoor pendants and non-IP fittings used outdoors are unsafe and short-lived. Correct IP44+ rating on external fittings and proper cabling routes make it a permanent install, not a summer experiment.
Kitchen socket layouts from before dishwashers
1990s kitchens have 2–3 double sockets. Modern kitchens need 8–12 including the appliance circuits. Retrofitting piecemeal costs more than a small rewire of the kitchen.
Our process.
- 1
Site visit or photo brief
Small jobs often quote off a couple of photos and a phone call. Larger jobs get a proper site visit.
- 2
Written fixed quote
One-page, plain-English, itemised. No 'time and materials' surprises.
- 3
Installation
Neatly chased where required, chased vertically or horizontally per regulation, cables in oval conduit or clipped in floor voids.
- 4
Second-fix and finishing
Sockets, switches, dimmers, downlights fitted. Screws lined up. Levels checked. Neat is default.
- 5
Testing
Continuity, insulation resistance, polarity and RCD trip time on the affected circuit. Certification issued on any notifiable work.
- 6
Tidy up and handover
Dust cleaned. Rubble removed. Your house handed back the way it was.
The benefits, in concrete terms.
Neat chases and clean finishing
Vertical and horizontal chases only, correct depths, cables run in oval conduit where required. Not diagonal butcher-work across the wall.
Compliant circuits with proper protection
RCD-protected additions to circuits that need it. Correct cable size for the load. Certificate issued where required.
Smart lighting done properly
Trailing-edge dimmers for LEDs, correctly rated for the load. Smart controllers wired into a switched-live rather than jammed into a socket.
Small jobs treated as small jobs
Quoted honestly. Priced accordingly. Not padded out to a half-day when it's a half-hour job.
Same-day availability on many jobs
For genuine small work — a socket, a light, a dimmer swap — we can often turn it round in a single visit.
Advice you can trust
If the job doesn't need doing, we say so. If it needs a bigger scope than you thought, we say so honestly.
The detail behind the work.
Adding sockets to existing circuits
New sockets can be added to existing ring or radial circuits provided the additional load is within the circuit's capacity and the RCD protection is present. Where the existing circuit is already at capacity or lacks RCD protection, we recommend either upgrading the circuit or fitting an RCD spur — priced honestly at the quote stage.
LED downlights and dimmer compatibility
Modern LED downlights need trailing-edge dimmers (marked LED-compatible or C.FL). Old rotary or leading-edge dimmers will cause LEDs to flicker, buzz or fail early. When we fit downlights we spec the correct dimmer and confirm compatibility with the specific LED unit — no assumption that one dimmer fits all.
Outdoor and garden lighting
Outdoor fittings need IP44 minimum for wall-mounted, IP65+ for ground-level or exposed installations. Cabling in the ground uses SWA at correct burial depth, or armoured flex in accessible ducts. Timers and photocells are wired to permanent live via a fused spur. Where a garden circuit is on the same protection as indoor sockets we recommend a dedicated RCD-protected circuit.
Smart lighting systems
Smart dimmers (Lutron Caseta, Shelly, Aeotec, LightwaveRF) sit behind existing switches and offer app control, scene setting and integration with Google/Alexa/HomeKit. Wiring varies by product — some need a neutral at the switch (many older UK homes don't have one), some don't. We advise on the right system for your existing wiring.
Kitchen circuit upgrades
Modern kitchens want dedicated circuits for oven, hob (induction hobs draw 7kW+), dishwasher, washing machine, tumble dryer, and general worktop sockets separate from those. Adding these piecemeal to an old shared kitchen circuit invites RCD trips and voltage drop. A small kitchen circuit rewire is often the right answer.
Certification and Part P notification
Adding sockets and light fittings to existing circuits in most rooms is not Part P notifiable — a Minor Works Certificate is issued. Notifiable work (kitchen, bathroom, garden, new circuits) is registered through NAPIT and a compliance certificate follows.
Frequently asked questions.
How much does adding a socket cost?+
Single socket additions typically start from £80–£140 depending on cable run and chasing required. Multiple sockets on the same visit come down per-socket. We quote a fixed price up-front.
Can you install LED downlights?+
Yes — including specifying and fitting the correct trailing-edge dimmer to avoid flicker. Six-lamp lounge installs typically take half a day.
Do I need a new circuit for kitchen sockets?+
Sometimes. If the existing kitchen circuit is at capacity, adding more sockets to it invites RCD trips. In that case, a small kitchen rewire is more sensible than piecemeal spurs.
Can you install smart lighting?+
Yes — Lutron Caseta, Shelly, Aeotec, LightwaveRF and others. We advise on which system fits your existing wiring (some smart systems need a neutral at the switch, which many older UK homes don't have).
Will you patch and make good?+
We leave chases clean and back-filled with bonding. For plaster finish and decoration we advise honestly on what's realistic for our work vs. a decorator — many customers use their own decorator for the finish coat.
Are you insured for small jobs?+
Yes — full public liability cover regardless of job size. Certification issued for all notifiable work.
Can you install garden lighting?+
Yes — from single wall lights to full-garden scene lighting. IP-rated fittings, SWA cabling underground where needed, timer and photocell control on dedicated circuits.
Do you do same-day work?+
For genuine small jobs — a socket, a dimmer, a broken switch — often yes. Give us a ring and we'll tell you honestly whether we can slot it in.
Related services
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Methodical diagnosis — no guesswork.
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OZEV-approved, Tesla, myenergi, Hypervolt accredited.
See our full service overview, browse service areas we cover, or head to the contact page to book a survey.
Ready for a straight-talking quote on additional sockets & lighting?
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