Home Rewire – A Guide To House Rewiring.

Local Rewiring in Glasgow, Paisley, Edinburgh and Ayrshire.

Electrical Rewiring Fusebox Image

When should an electrician carry out a rewire?

All electrical installations, over time, will deteriorate naturally as they age and problems start to arise. Poor Wiring can lead to electrical faults and dangerous situations. Many period and victorian style homes in Glasgow have the original wiring over 100 years old and many new towns such as East Kilbride have wiring from the 6os.

For wiring systems more than 25 years old HomeRewire would always recommend having the electrical system checked out at regular intervals, a full electrical rewiring may be required or a simple upgrade. Thorough testing and visual inspections should give you an idea of any work that might be required and potential cost if you are considering upgrading the electrical installation.  A full rewire usually takes place when major building work such as an extension is being carried out or prior to any plastering or decoration. Other occasions when a rewire might be necessary include;

  • After flood or fire damage
  • When moving home
  • When redesign of the electrics takes place
  • Structural alterations
  • Tenancy Changes

Old and faulty wiring can cause electrical fires.

Often people may want to undertake a full rewire or upgrade the current system, particularly those moving into a new property which might be 25 years or older. Undertaking a full or partial rewire in a property is a big job and one that should only be carried out by a registered local electrician. When rewiring you can totally redesign the electrical system and it is a good opportunity to add extras to the project – HomeRewire has a list of extra you can view.

Using a registered contractor with NICEIC accreditation offers a guarantee. There are NICEIC approved electricians in Paisley, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Ayrshire.

 

What does Rewiring Houses Involve?

Carrying out a rewire can cause damage to the fabric of a property. All switches, fittings, sockets and the consumer unit will be replaced and require new wiring. A total rewire may involve two stages of working; first fix and second fix. All first fix work will take place before plastering work. HomeRewire offer first and second fix combined, or separate depending on the suitability of the project.

 

Rewiring Electrician

To ensure all cabling is hidden the installation will involve lifting the floors and floorboards and chasing out channels in the walls and possibly in some ceilings. As well as new cabling, first fix stage may involve fitting new back boxes for all sockets and switches. In addition to rewiring for all power and lighting circuits, it is a good opportunity to rewire for modern central heating controls, alarms, smoke detectors and doorbells, to add outdoor lighting and sockets, and to rewire the telephones and television aerial sockets. Think about  two-way or even intermediate switching for hallways and landings and  rooms with more than one main access. It may also be worth considering adding feature lighting, home network cabling, speaker cabling and other modern technology. Second fix Once the first fix stage has been completed, the property can be re-plastered or the walls and ceilings filled and made good, and the flooring replaced. The second fix work can then proceed fitting sockets and switch plates, light fittings, the consumer unit and wiring any electric fans, cookers, extractor hoods, electric showers etc. 

 

Partial Rewiring

A full rewire can be avoided, providing the existing cabling tests ok  and is able to carry any additional loads. It also may be possible to upgrade it by adding a modern consumer unit and upgrading the earthing and bonding.

Why would you want to rewire?

Having a full rewire will bring the electrical installation in your property up-to-date with the latest wiring regulations. It will also give you the opportunity to modernise your home with a new consumer unit containing residual current devices (RCDs) or RCBOS. It can also be expensive and we recommend that you get at least three quotes before arranging for an electrician to carry out a full rewire – as the prices quoted could be markedly different. However, be aware that the lowest cost does not always mean the best job. We recommend choosing a firm who specialises in doing full house rewires.

 

Do I Need A Rewire?

To Determine if a full rewire is required, it might be worth having a full inspection and test of the electrics beforehand. You should contact your local NICEIC registered contractor and ask them to carry out an electrical inspection of the property. This inspection is similar to an MOT. It will give a summary of the electrics in their current condition but they may also have limitations.

On completion of the inspection, you will receive an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) detailing any damage, deterioration, defects, dangerous conditions and anything that does not comply with modern regulations.

I am considering a full rewire, whats next?

Simply click on the link below,  one of our surveyors will arrange to visit your home and carry out an electrical rewiring survey.

How long will a full rewire take?

A full rewire can take, on average up to between 5-10 days, depending on the size of the property with most standard electricians. Using HomeRewire can massively reduce the timescale and we can rewire most averaged sized homes in just 1-2 days. 

What if something goes wrong?

Electricians registered with NICEIC  are assessed on a regular basis to ensure high standards and their work is checked against the IET Wiring Regulations as well as other standards. All NICEIC businesses are covered by the Platinum Promise – a promise that protects you against all noncompliant installation work. Should any work carried out by an NICEIC  contractor be found not to comply with the Building Regulations or relevant installation standards, the NICEIC can instruct the contractor to go back and carry out the work to the required standard. If the contractor is no longer in business or disputes the matter the NICEIC will have the work rectified by another registered contractor at no extra cost. The Platinum promise is valid for up to six years from the date of the completion of the original work and covers work up to a maximum of £25,000 for any one installation.

 

How much does rewiring cost?

Check out our HomeRewiring Costs page.

I am considering a full rewire, whats next?

Contact us and one of our trained electrical surveyors will arrange to visit your home and carry out an electrical rewiring survey.

HomeRewire.