The Process Of Rewiring Your Home.
Initial Enquiry.
It starts with an enquiry.
If you are in anyway interested in rewiring your house or checking the safety of your electrics, HomeRewire can help.
Simply call us on 01412126216, email us on info@homerewire.com or use one of the handy contact forms on our website like this ….. www.homerewire.com/free-quote/
Or you can use our handy fusebox finder tool to get a details replied about the age of your installation.
www.homerewire.com/home-electrics-fusebox-finder/
We also have a strong presence on all the known social media platforms like facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Our office will take your details and briefly discuss your project. We can offer install guide costs, and detail similar rewiring projects we have completed in the area or even on your street.
Our head electrician Jamie will arrange a visit to your property at a time that suits you. The survey wont take long, Our electricians have rewired so many homes in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Paisley that we only need some brief notes and a discussion about your electrical requirements.
We aim to send a quote for full rewiring within a few hours and fingers crossed we are selected to undertake the rewire of your home…
Install Day.
Our guys arrive bright and early.
You should have made prior arrangements and organised the property
We will take a short time to discuss the positioning and layout off your new electrical system. Some clients have this planned out before we arrive while others are happy for our experienced electricians to advise on the best electrical layout for their home.
You can find more information in specifying your new electrical system here;
HomeRewire YouTube – How To Spec Your Rewire
Heres a brief summary of items to consider when planning your all new electrical system….
- Consumer Unit – Position and do you require RCBOs, RCDs and Surge protection.
- Socket Outlets, Positioning of your new socket outlets in the property and type.
- Lighting – Where do you need lights, what type and how you wish to switch them.
- External lighting – We recommend a light at the front and rear of the property.
- External Sockets – Many clients opt for an external socket which can be handy .
- Electric Shower – Do you need an electrical supply for a shower or does this run from the boiler.
- Electric Cooker – Do you cook with gas or will you need an electrical supply.
- Smoke Alarms – As a minimum we suggest a smoke alarm upstairs, downstairs and kitchen
- Outbuildings – Do you havre a garage or shed that requires power. If so how do we reach it.
- Extractor Fans – Do you require ventilation in the property to satisfy building control.
- Kitchen – Are you installing as new kitchen and will that require specific electrical layouts.
Let’s Get To Work!
At this stage you should have had prior information explaining how to prepare for us coming.
In occupied homes we start by dust sheeting your belongings and organising any remaining furniture, then lifting any floor coverings such as carpets.
Our electricians are so experienced in rewiring we only need a short spell to plan and discuss the best way to rewire each property. A quick site meeting occurs between our team to delegate each task, negotiate any challenges, and agree on the best way forward.
Isolate the supply – Its important we isolate your original electrical supply so all the old electrics are dead and safe to work on. Theres a safe isolation procedure that ensures our electricians are safe at all times. A temporary electrical supply is then installed so we can power our tools, chargers and temporary lighting.
Floorboards – Most properties have floorboards and under these boards is where we run our main electrical cables. In the first few hours of your full electrical rewire we will lift the necessary boards and make suitable routes to install your new 240v cables.
Chase and Cut – Now the the routes are complete under the floors we get to work on the messy part. Most clients prefer the cables buried within the walls. To do this we need to use a chasing machine that cuts through the brick with ease. We then chip out the remaining brickwork to reveal a neat channel which the 240v electrical cables can be placed within.
Cleaning Break – Now that we have made the routes and got the messy stuff out of the way we regroup, remove the heavy tools, clean the place out and make sure the working area is free and ready for wiring.
Electrical Wiring – This is when our electricians must use the technical knowledge leaned to wire the property inline with 18th edition wiring regulations. We use a section of cable rated foe each circuit to ensure no overheating, and that each circuit can carry enough current to power your devices and appliances.
Electrical Circuits In A Typical Home
On a standard property we expect to see the following circuits….
- Ring mains for socket outlets
- Ring mains for kitchen sockets
- Upstairs Lighting Circuit
- Downstairs Lighting Circuit
- Smoke Alarm Circuit
- Central Heating Circuit
- Shower Circuit
- Cooker Circuit
We allow a few spare circuits within your new 18th Edition Duel RCD or RCBO consumer unit.
Examples of additional circuits may be
- Garage Circuit
- Shed Circuit
- Car Charging Circuit
- Water Heater Circuit
- Hot Tub Circuit
- External Lighting Circuit
- Shower Pump Circuits
- Alarm Circuits
- CCTV Circuits
Wiring Completion
When all the required electrical cables are installed its time to start putting your home back together, firstly we double check nothing has been missed, and all new new cabling is in good condition with no accident damage or potential risk.
Box Out
At this stage we start to install the electrical back boxes. Galvanised boxes come in 1 gang or 2 gang versions and we select the suitable box for each accessory. The boxes have threaded lugs which allows us to screw your sockets and switches too. They also have space to make any connections required at the rear of the switch. The boxes are screwed securely to the wall and a rubber grommet is used to create an entry point for your new electrical wiring to go through.
Capping
Protection over the electric cables is not required and each Electrical Contractor has different methods, however HomeRewire prefer to use a galvanised metal capping. This is a thin protective capping that goes over the cables and ensures a nice tidy professional finish. It also supports the route of the cable and offers some protection against other trades such as plasterers.
Flooring Re-Instatement
We start to then piece the property together, usually firstly putting any floorboards back down and buttoning up any spaces we breached into. The property is starting to look normal again almost, and now is a rest tine for another sweep, regroup and discussion over the next moves.
Plaster and Making Good
Its time for our trusted plasterers to do their thing…
You can read about the plastering aspect of rewiring in detail, or we have created this useful video on the subject….
HomeRewire YouTube – Lets Talk About Plastering
If you haven’t guessed by now rewiring can get messy. It involves cutting into the brick work of your home and this means the walls need repaired. The plasterers arrive at this stage of rewiring and get to work with the initial bonding coat. During this time we aim to give the plasterers some space, so you will find our electricians working on second fix items such as your new consumer unit, external lighting, or other areas that don’t require major plaster repairs.
Once plastering is complete, this leaves a nice surface in which our rewiring electricians can screw the new faceplates against.
Fit Out and Termination
We are fast approaching the end of the project. The hard work is complete and its time to terminate all the new electrical accessories and products throughout your home.
We use electrical side pliers to strip back the PVC Twin and earth cable to reveal the inner core. The inner core is stripped at the very end to reveal a small copper section. The copper section carries the electrical current and this is the important part that must connect to the terminals of the electrical accessories. The copper section is connected at the circuit breaker and then at each individual electrical accessory, carrying the electrical current where ever it needs so go. The PVC insulation is in place to protect anyone touching the copper part and getting electrical shock.
Examples of Electrical Switchgear Accessories.
The “A” indicates how many amps that accessory can safety handle.
- 32A Socket Outlets Double
- 32A Socket Outlet Single
- 6A Light Switches 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G and more….
- 6A Pendant Lamp Holders
- 6A Baton Lamp Holders
- 32A Switched Fuse Spurs
- 6A Fan Isolators
- 45A Cooker Switches and Outlets
- 45A Shower Switches
- 20A Double pole switches
Other Electrical Products Often Installed…
- Smoke Alarms
- Heat Alarms
- C02 Alarms
- External Security LED security Lights
- Alarm Systems
- Door bells
- Extractor Fans
- Wall Lights
- Decorative External Lights
- Electric Heaters
Consumer Unit
All the electrical accessories and products are connected onto the preinstalled wiring which feeds back to the consumer unit, or how its better described a distribution unit.
Heres a great video explaining how a new modern consumer unit works …..
In short, it takes the main power and fuses it down to smaller cables which we have installed to power your accessories. It provides safety features and switching options so you can safely isolate each individual circuit. The trip switches turn off if a fault is detected on the system.
If not completed already by now one of our trained electricians connects all the cables together at the consumer unit in preparation for the power going on.
Initial Tests
Using electrical test equipment we carry out some initial electrical testing to ensure the cables are safe to energise. We have further tests to do when the power goes on but we have to firstly ensure it will work properly and avoid any nasty faults.
Power Up
The Fun Part!
Its now we get to see all that initial handwork come to light, quite literally.
We start with the main switch the one by one energise your new electrical circuits. It’s good to see the property light up and give a great sense of achievement. Our electricians quickly perform some functional tests such as switching the light switches and trying some load on the sockets.
Clean Up
When all electrical works are complete we move onto the big tidy up. Electrical rewiring can get very dusty so it’s important that the prior preparations are done properly to reduce mess.
We use dust extraction equipment when possible to reduce the scale of mess but being such a disruptive building works its inevitable there will be some dust around.
We clean at each stage of the job and then get to work on the final clean.
The carpets are down and we start hoovering each room, starting with the big hoover then using the small hoover to catch all the fine dust particles. It’s important to clean into all the corners, on top of skirtings, doors and anywhere else the dust might have found its way too.
Finally each surface is wiped down with a damp cloth which helps with any surface dust still around. The property will likely need another clean when we leave but the initial clean by our team is generally pretty good.
We offer a further professional builders clean while this if often not required, some clients choose this option to go one step further and avoid any cleaning of their own.
Final Tests and Sign Off
When we are complete and happy with the job it’s time to sign off. Our electricians will call you around one hour before its time to showcase your new electrical system.
During this time we start our final tests and log this information onto our NICEIC online certification software. The certificates are processed in a few days and delivered to your email. This also forms your 6 year platinum promise guarantee so keep them safe.
Our electricians will take you around the site to explain the electrical works carried out, and demonstrate how it functions.
We welcome feedback on all projects and really appreciate reviews on our Google profile!
We Are HomeRewire 🏴
We Rewire Scotland’s Homes ⚡️⚡️
HomeRewire.com
