Deciding whether or not you should rewire your house renovation can be a tough call. According to Housebuilding and Renovation Magazine, if the house your renovating is over 25 years old it might be safer to get a professional in to make fully comprehensive checks, even if there are no obvious signs of poor wiring.
What are the signs that a house needs rewiring?
There are some signs that might be obvious, but not always…
- Burning or ‘hot metal’ smell
- Discoloured, misshapen or scorched light switches or sockets
- Repeatedly blowing fuses
- Flickering or dimming of lights at random times
- Electric shocks from switches or sockets
- Loose electrical fixtures and light casings
- A house older than 25 years
If you see any of these signs in your house, call a NICEIC accredited electrician right away! It may be an isolated problem, but it could be a sign that the house needs rewiring.
At what point in the refurbishment should I rewire?
Rewiring can be a messy and disruptive process. If you’ve ascertained it needs to be done, it’s best to prepare a plan. You can involve your project manager or principal contractor who will already have a plan of when other services such as carpentry, roofing and glazing will be on site.
The first fix stage of rewiring is feeding wires through all the rooms’ walls and ceilings. This is best done before first fix carpentry, when the studwork is still exposed. Ideally also before carpets are laid when floorboards can be more easily lifted.
The second fix of rewiring is when the wires and switches/sockets are joined together. You’ll need the finished walls and ceilings in place, but preferably after the plasterers and before the decorators arrive.
Managing the rewiring project step by step with Refurb
So you know what to expect, here’s an idea of how the ideal rewiring project should run.
- Preparation
You’d need to be present for the first visit, so we can finalise the positions and confirm access to the property. This is the day we’ll also move and/or wrap your furniture, mark up the walls and ceilings and gain access to the wall and floor voids. It does get dusty and does get noisy!
- First fix wiring
During this stage we feed the wires to their final positions. Our engineers may need access to the loft and basement/cellar.
- Chopping out
Another dusty and noisy stage of the rewire… Backboxes need to be installed and so brickwork is often chopped out to allow for this. We try our best to minimise the mess by using vacuum attachments as we chop-out and clearing up as we go.
- Second fix wiring
Now it starts to come together as we position the switches and sockets, and light fixtures. Behind the scenes, fuse boxes and isolation switches are installed.
- Certification
The final stage is to test the electrics and sign them off as safe according to BS7671. As NICEIC accredited electricians we follow the highest safety standards.
Whether you’re rewiring a refurbished home, outdoor education centre or warehouse, always choose an electrician with nationally recognised qualifications and accreditation.
We’re happy to have a conversation about your project, just give us a call on 01993 685998 or email admin@refurbelectrical.co.uk.
