Rewiring your house can be expensive business, and once started there isn’t really a way back so it’s advisable that you put a plan and budget in place for this.
Just because your house is old doesn’t necessarily mean that a complete rewire is needed, but in most cases, it is recommended that after 25 years your electric wiring and installations should be checked by a certified electrician to ensure that that it is fit for purpose and it ticks all the safety boxes.
- Get advice – The first thing on your checklist is to get a certified electrician around to your house to take a look at the existing wiring and declare whether it is still fit for purpose or if it all needs to be ripped out. Or if it partially needs to be replaced. I would suggest reaching out to a few qualified electricians to ensure that you are getting a good range of costs and feedback.
- Plan – It’s a really good idea to get up to speed with what are the latest types and styles of light fixtures. If you have chosen a good electrician they will provide you with some advice on what suits your property and what functionally works best for the type of home that you live in. It’s also your chance to add additional functionality, that wasn’t possible prior to a re-wire, that extra plug socket, or that dimmer switch to create the perfect mood lighting or that LED strip lighting in your kitchen. This is the time to think about what you want, bounce ideas off your electrician and see what is possible, the last thing you want after a complete re-wire is to have plug socket regret.
- Contingency – In most instances, a complete re-wire of a 4-bedroom house can take around a week to ten days to complete, also note that it may be more time if you are planning on adding additional fittings to the plan. It’s usually quite an uncomfortable experience or homeowners to stay in the house while the work is being carried out, due to the dusty conditions. However, if your certified electrician has confirmed that some spaces do not require any work, and if you are brave enough it is possible to camp out in untouched spaces, but if this isn’t feasible then you will need to plan for a place to stay whilst all this work is carried out? Maybe a good time for a holiday?
- Cost – The cost to rewire your home could sit between £2,000 – £15,000 depending on the size of your property. Typically speaking you can look to pay around £5,000 -£7,000 (plus VAT) for a 4-bed property that requires a full re-wire, you also need to take into consideration if your house is older and has building regulations, if your house is a listed house for example, the cost may be greater. You will most likely have to provide a deposit upfront and then pay the remaining balance after the work is completed, but this can be discussed with your electrician. And remember CHEAP doesn’t necessarily mean the BEST! Get at least 3 quotes, and look at the detail in the quotes provided, be cautious of one-liner quotes, as this is ambiguous and may not include everything that you have set out in your head.
- Guarantee – Most good electricians will provide a written guarantee, which is known as a full workmanship guarantee, this means that the electrical contractor will fix any potential problems free of charge if they arise after completion and final handover. So make sure at the point of signing the contract or verbal agreement that you have a written guarantee in case something should go wrong further down the line.
In short, a complete re-wire doesn’t have to mean a giant headache, if you have planned and budgeted well, and you have gone for quality of workmanship over price, you will be surprised at how smoothly it can all go, reaping the benefits of having peace of mind that your electrics are safe and potentially, more cost-effective if you have switched to a more energy-efficient solution.
