Home DIY

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Colm89
Got keys to house today, had a poke around and started noting things that hurt my head and (I feel) need fixing sooner rather than later (which of course don't align with the missus expectations i.e. new tiles in the bathroom). My dad is a builder, so I have grown up doing a lot of diy, but there are some things I am aware are far beyond my abilities.

Few questions;
1. There is an existing wired alarm that doesn't seem to have power going to the keypad (that looks like it's straight out of a 1980's arcade). Googled the company name on the exterior siren box and they don't seem to exist anymore. Can an electrician remove an alarm? I plan to fit a wireless alarm myself. Any recommendations for an electrician in SE London? Would be a good opportunity to get some of the messy wiring tidied up at the same time.
2. Our front door has a cat flap. While our greyhound would love to be able to poke her head out for a look around throughout the day, I would not like a cat to make it's way into my flat and get ripped apart by said greyhound. Only fix is a new door. Any recommendations for someone to fit new door? Would be a good opportunity to upgrade to a 5 point locking system at the same time.
I anticipate lots of questions incoming...

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Stonehedge in reply to @Colm89

As a heads up, just in case you decide to take the alarm out yourself.

Even if the keypad appears to be unpowered, the main alarm box may well still be active. Years ago, in a new flat, I tried to disconnect the alarm which set it off because they have tamper proof mechanisms. Unfortunately, well fitted alarms tend to be wired to power before the consumer unit in a way that the cabling is hidden so that a burglar cannot simply snip cables or kill power to the whole house to turn the alarm off.

We ended up having our alarm going off for about four hours before we managed to find somebody who was able to help us kill it. Not good for a laugh, or for your ears.

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Airhead in reply to @Stonehedge

I'm not sure that an alarm could or should be wired before the consumer unit. It would need to have some kind of consumer unit/breaker itself to protect the circuit. Most of the alarms I've seen are connected via a fused spur from a separate breaker on the main consumer unit.

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