Arrived for second fix, walls still wet
First fix was done three weeks ago. The builder said plastering would be finished by Tuesday, so you booked second fix for Thursday. The electrician arrives to find the plaster drying, the kitchen units not fitted and the decorator starting Monday. He can hang a few fittings and leaves. The rest needs another trip.
Meanwhile another customer who was ready has been pushed back to fit this one in.
Across a busy month, the office might have a handful of jobs waiting for second fix, each depending on someone else's progress. Keeping track of which ones are genuinely ready means ringing builders and customers every week, and the answers are often optimistic.
Why second fix is hard to time
Second fix depends on other people's work: plasterers, kitchen fitters, joiners, decorators. Their progress is reported loosely, often by the builder saying 'should be ready next week'. Your diary treats the booking as fixed, and nobody checks again before the van sets off.
Electricians often have several jobs in this gap at once, each waiting on someone else, with no single view of which ones are actually ready.
| Waiting on | What second fix needs |
|---|---|
| Plasterer | Walls finished and dry enough |
| Kitchen fitter | Units in, so sockets and spurs land in the right place |
| Joiner | Doors, skirting and boxing done |
| Decorator | Agreed order: before or after painting |
| Customer | Fittings and accessories chosen and on site |
Kitchen jobs are the classic case. The electrician needs the units in and the worktop templated to put sockets and under-cabinet lighting in the right place. If the kitchen company's fitters are delayed by a missing unit, the electrician's slot becomes a guess. On extensions, the builder's programme depends on weather as well, which pushes everyone downstream.
Every wasted trip is a day lost twice
A second fix visit that can't be finished costs the trip, the part-day and the rebooking. The customer who was ready and got pushed back is unhappy. And the job that finally gets finished holds up the certificate and the final invoice.
There is also the certificate. The final certificate can't be issued until second fix is complete and tested, so a job stuck between visits holds up the paperwork the customer or builder needs, and with it your final invoice.
The readiness check we build
- Waiting list: jobs between first and second fix sit in a list with their dependencies noted, such as plaster, kitchen, or fittings on site.
- Readiness request: ahead of the planned visit, the builder or customer gets a message asking them to confirm each dependency and send a photo of the room.
- Status: confirmed jobs go green in your diary. Unconfirmed ones are flagged to the office before the day, not on it.
- Reshuffle: if a site isn't ready, the office sees which other waiting jobs are, and can offer the slot to them.
- Fittings check: the customer confirms their chosen fittings are on site, with a photo, so the electrician isn't waiting for a delivery.
- History: repeated slips by a builder are visible, which helps when planning future jobs with them.
The readiness check is deliberately light. A builder standing in a half-plastered kitchen can answer three questions and take a photo in less time than it takes to return a phone call, which is why they actually do it.
Fewer half-finished days
Electricians arrive at sites that are ready. The office rebooks before the van leaves, not after. Customers and builders get used to confirming, which makes them more careful about the dates they give you.
Builders you work with regularly also start to adjust. When they know the electrician's visit depends on their confirmation, they give more honest dates and tell you earlier when things slip.
Recognise these?
- Second fix visits are cut short because the site isn't ready.
- Builders' dates for plaster or kitchens regularly slip.
- Customers haven't bought fittings when the electrician arrives.
- You can't easily see which waiting jobs are actually ready.
- Certificates and final invoices wait on unfinished second fix.