My daughters bedroom is in the loft and last night all the sockets stopped working, the main fuse board didn't trip, any ideas?

Chrissy, November 2009

Do you know which breaker controls the sockets for the power in your daughter's room? If so what else goes off when you turn it off, eg upstairs sockets?
What are the numbers on the breaker, eg B20, B32 etc?

Was there always a room in your loft or have you had a conversion since the house was wired?

Adam, November 2009

Call in an electrician for a quick fix...

Power sockets are usually organised on a Ring-Main where the socket outlets sit on a circle of cables with each end going back to the fuse board / consumer unit - current can come from both directions - it saves the cost of big fat cables.

If the sockets in your daughter's bedroom have failed it suggests - assuming they're on a ring of their own - that there are two open circuit type faults (else power would be available from the other side of the ring) and one of the faults may have been on the circuit for some time. The faults may be on the Live conductor or on the Neutral. Begin by examining the back of the sockets if you have the confidence to do this but take care - otherwise reach for Yellow Pages.

Good luck...

Peccavi, November 2009