HomeRewire – Houses We Rewire
Homes come in shapes and sizes.
Over the years we have rewired almost every different type of house you can imagine let’s look at some examples.
Rewiring Flats.
Flats are on one level and usually smaller than average houses, normally with no more than 4 bedrooms.
- 1 bed flat Rewire
- 2 bed flat Rewire
- 3 bed flat Rewire
- 4 bed flat Rewire
In Glasgow and Paisley there are many tenement flats which need rewired. These are generally large buildings which have 1-4 levels and are made up of smaller 1-3 bedroom flats. The electrics in tenement flats may be original and over 50 years old. A suitably qualified NICEIC electrician should carry out a a test to determine the condition of the electrics.
How To Rewire Flats.
When it comes to rewiring Flats its the position of the flat that can determine how difficult full house rewiring may be.
Bottom Flat Rewire.
When rewiring bottom position flats, there may be some access underneath the property which is useful for a rewiring electrician. If the space is enough the electrician can crawl underneath the void space and feed the cables through the void pretty easily. If there is no space to crawl, then the rewiring electrician must lift the floorboards to route the cables through the fabric of the floors.
The most difficult part about rewiring bottom flats is the lighting circuits. HomeRewire must physically run a cable from your light switch to the lighting point on the ceiling. This route can be difficult because there is neighbours above and usually access is limited. Small cuts to the ceiling are often required when rewiring bottom flats, which can then be repaired with plaster.
HomeRewire can rewire most bottom flats in just one day. Costs start from £1995+vat for one bed flat rewires.
Top Flat Rewire.
If you are fortunate enough to stay on the top level this can make rewiring easier. Most top flat rewires often have access to a communal loft space. The rewiring electrician can use the loft space when rewiring to run most of the lighting circuits through, and then channel down to the light switches. This can reduce the time spent rewiring lighting circuits. On top flat rewires there is definitely no void space below for crawling so the rewiring electrician must lift floorboards throughout the property.
On certain top flat rewiring projects, it may be quicker to rewire the sockets outlets from the attic space also. This means more channeling from top to bottom and a little more dust and plaster, but it can reduce the timescale and avoid lifting flooring.
HomeRewire can rewire most top flats in just one day. Costs start from £1995+vat for one bed flat rewires.
Middle Flat Rewire.
Middle flats are the most difficult flat position to rewire. This is because there is neighbours both above and below, and means there will be no void to crawl under, or any attic space to wire through. Middle flat rewire may take a little more time due to the fact the floorboards need lifted to route cabling, and the ceilings need cut and repaired.
HomeRewire can rewire smaller middle flats such as 1-2 bedrooms in usually one day. Larger middle flats may require a little more time, and could take 1.5 days to rewire in full.
Costs to rewire middle flats start from £2495+vat.
Rewiring Conduit Flat.
Occasionally, some flats are wired in a conduit system at the build stage.
Conduit is steel tube that runs from each electrical outlet to the mains and in theory should allow the property to be rewired through the existing conduit system. Our experience is that the tubes can not always be reliable, and can become blocked or corroded internally.
If the conduits are in good condition and can be re-used this could make rewiring much easier and also minimise any mess created to the fabric of the walls.
Conduit installations are often found on pre-fab type buildings and high rise flats, but are also found on various other house types.
The Challenges of rewiring flats;
- Noise – It’s important to let your neighbours know if a getting a flat rewired, as the noise can vibrate through the building.
- Risk of damage to neighbours – Extra care must be taken not to create damage through to the neighbours above or below.
- Logistics – It can be difficult to gain access to flats and move around heavy plant on the stairwells.
- Parking – Often busy areas have limited parking
- Decorative Features – Particularly in areas such as the West End of Glasgow, there are many beautiful original features such as cornice that can be very difficult to work around, especially in middle flats.
- Communal wiring – Occasionally some properties may be interconnected for things like telecomms, heating door entry and more.
- Heating – flats over a certain height are unlikely to have gas installed, so may have electric heating which could add to rewiring costs.
HomeRewire are proud to have worked on some of Glasgow, Edinburgh and Paisleys most prestige flat with values in excess of £500k. We are trusted to rewire these flats because of our experience in working around these challenges.
Do You Need To Rewire A Flat?
Contact us to arrange a free quotation.