FAQS
ELECTRICAL
Group GA has been recommended to me to work on our new project. How do I progress this, and when do you need to be involved?
What happens if I need a specific type of electrcial work carried out?
Apart from airside at an airport or underwater, we’re capable of handling any electrical installation or upgrade you may need.
How often should I have a tenanted property tested?
As a landlord, you should be carrying out an EICR every 5 years and also in between tenancies. It is also recommended that you have an EICR carried out when you purchase a property to let.
Where do you work?
We are based in Oxfordshire, we travel West to Bristol, South to the Sea, East to Central London and North as far as Birmingham.
My fuseboard has tripped, after I changed a light. What can I do?
You got the switch wire and neutral mixed up! We would be much happier sending an engineer out to recify this that talking you through it. To get the best value, we will also carry out a visual inspection and test your property while we’re there.
MECHANICAL
Can you come and look at our mechanical project? It never quite worked properly!
We hear this a lot. Provide us with all the info you have, and we will sort it. Once we’ve verified the design and scope, our commissioning experts can then advise on what needs to be done.
Do you have your own mechanical team or do you sub-contract it out?
Our mechanical management team – plumbers, MVHR engineers and apprentices – are all employed by us as our in-house resource. We usually sub-contract large scale Fabricated Ventilation and AC work, but coordinate very closley with our preferreed supply chain members on this.
Where do you work?
We are based in Oxfordshire, we travel West to Bristol, South to the Sea, East to Central London and North as far as Birmingham
Can you connect a gas cooker?
Yes, our small works team will be happy to handle this for you.
My water pressure is low. Can you help?
We can measure the flow for you and check your stopcock is working correctly. If you have a large building you may want to consider a different solution, such as a break tank and pump.
Can you install underfloor heating for me?
Absolutely. Underfloor heating works best installed into concrete, but can be fitted underneath floorboards too, where required. We will also need to find a place to install the manifold system somewhere in your premises.
RENEWABLE
Do I need to change my gas boiler to something like a heat pump?
You dont have to change it. If your house is well insulated and has underfloor heating, it may make more sense to have a heat pump fitted. But we won’t sell you something that’s not right for your requirements. Older properties with radiators can take a lot of work to make the costs viable to switch. If you’re determined to go for renewables and want to make it work, we can certainly guide you.
Since my airsource heat pump was installed, my electriciy bills are horrendous! Please help.
Did you use an MCS accredited company? It sounds like the wrong unit has been specified or it has simply not be commissioned or installed properly. We can investigate and assist with this.
What are the benefits and drawbacks of an air source heat pump compared to a gas boiler
If your house is well insulated and the new heating system is designed correctly, the heat pump will run at around 35 degrees and so the running costs will be less that a gas boiler. The renewable energy system design at the outset needs plenty of consideration and some TLC to get the heat pump system running at its best, while gas boilers are more forgiving. Ultimately it depends on your current property and how you run your heating. Call our team and we’ll be happy to advise.
What are the benefits and drawbacks of a MVHR system
You will have a more controlled environment, plenty of fresh air, no stale smells, no need for trickle vents in windows and you will save some money as MVHR don’t dump all the hot air out. Installation and ductwork take careful planning, but we have the experts to handle this. MVHR makes some noise when running too, so if you’re very sensitive to nightime sounds, we’ll design a quieter, insulated system.
Since my airsource heat pump was installed, my house is not getting warm enough and I don't have much hot water. Any ideas?
Did you use an MCS accredited company? It sounds like the wrong unit has been specified or it has simply not be commissioned or install properly. Call our team, as we can definifely assist with this.
Where do you work?
We are based in Oxfordshire, we travel West to Bristol, South to the Sea, East to Central London and North as far as Birmingham
Can I get a goverment grant to switch from my oil or gas fired heating?
Yes, we are an MCS registered company and assist with grants. At the time of writing, the government grant is either £5k or £7.5k towards the price.
Should I go for an air source or ground source heat pump?
Ground source has a higher upfront capital cost due to the boreholes, but will save you in the longterm if you have the land, they are about 15% more efficient.
Can you heat my pool for me?
Yes, We recommend a dedicated air source heat pump for pools.
SMALL WORKS
Do you do repair jobs, fault finding and call outs?
Yes! We have a dedicated, highly experienced team in our small works department to help you in your home or place of work.
How much is a call out?
Our call outs are competitively priced, to give you the peace of mind that you’re dealing with a professional company who won’t let you down.
I need smoke detectors, can you fit these?
Yes we can take a look and advise on smoke, heat and also Co2 detectors for you. We prefer mains powered ones with a battery back-up, and can even have them all interlinked.
How can I arrange a call out?
Phone our office number or send as an email.
Where do you work?
We are based in Oxfordshire, we travel West to Bristol, South to the Sea, East to Central London and North as far as Birmingham
I'm having a new kitchen installed. Can you sort the electrics and plumbing?
Yes of course, we have a team who specialise in this for local kitchen companies.
Do you do external garden lighting?
Yes, we have an experienced team who regularly team up with local landscaping companies.
FIRE
My fire alarm sounders are going off, but there is no fire and I dont know the code for the panel?
Have you double checked that you have no fire? Have you checked all the rooms and voids? If you can confirm all this, we can put you through to one of our fire engineers, who can assist with both short-term and long-term solutions for this.
We have failed a buiding offices inspection due to our fire alarm or signage. What can we do?
Our team specilase in working with the building office to ensure the systems we install are compliant to ensure peace of mind. We can arrange a survey to understand what’s required and produce an estimate for you.
Where do you work?
We are based in Oxfordshire, we travel West to Bristol, South to the Sea, East to Central London and North as far as Birmingham.
Our insurers are saying our fire alarm needs to be maintained. Can you help?
Our maintenance team can arrange this for you. There are weekly, monthly and year tests to carry out, so we will work with you to find the best plan.
SECURITY
We have had a break-in and would like to protect our building.
We can advise on physical locks and barriers and also security systems. We’d suggest a visit to carry out a survey to understand the risks and provide a solution that’s right for you.
Our intruder alarm keep going off. Any ideas?
This will require an engineer to investigate, so we’d recommend all alarms are covered under a 12 monthly maintenance visit to combat any issues before the alarm activates unnecessarily.
Where do you work?
We are based in Oxfordshire, we travel West to Bristol, South to the Sea, East to Central London and North as far as Birmingham.
I would like some CCTV cameras installed
We can install anything from a very basic ‘Ring; system to a fibre networked IP solution for multiple buildings. Let’s arrange a visit to discuss.
SMART BUILDING
I don't really know where to start with this kind of stuff, but it must be simple to operate.
We’ll need to get some answers about making the whole building as comfortable as possible – what does that look like to you? How important is good quality audio for music?Mood lighting in any areas? A comfortable temperature ready for when you need it? A house that knows when you’re in, when the kids wake and move about in the night? Would you like low level lighting to come on and guide them to the bathroom? Call our team today and we can guide you through every stage.
I would like to have my heating and hot water controlled on an app.
We are specialists in using Heatmiser products and can design and implement this system for you.
I have some Sonos Amps and would like music in more areas, including outside.
This is definitely achievable. We need to check how old your equipment is, and if it will work on the latest Sonos app.
What lighting control system would you recommend?
We work with three systems – the first and best is Lutron, we would then choose Rako for many buildings, and for smaller systems we like Loxone, which can be costs-effective if that is already installed for the mechanical systems control.
How much would a cinema room cost?
These can range upwards from £10k for a basic system – the average system we install is in the £20-30k range.
MAINTENANCE
How do I get a maintenance quote?
Please speak to our maintenance team about your requirements.
What type of properties can you maintain?
We currently maintain schools, offices, industiral units, high quality residental, small production and manufacturing lines and some hotels.
How often should my property be maintained?
We like to think that anything requiring maintenance as an asset. We log all of these assets and their maintenace requriements and frequencies into our database, to ensure everything is tested when it needs to be, and then send our online reports for you to access on the portal, and see who tested them and when.
What maintenance packages do you offer?
Everything from a yearly visit to service a boiler, to monthly visits to carry out all regulatory checks. We also maintain many building managment systems and mornitor for faults and alarms, and attend and repair issues before our clients are aware of them. Thats when we are at our best!
Can you service my boiler?
Yes we can. There are other items of equipment that require a little maintenance, like your hot water cylinder, the pumps, strainers, water treatment etc that we can include when we visit.