Rewiring a house ensures that your home remains safe, future-proof, and in line with the current legal requirements.
It’s not something we all think about but maintaining the condition of a home’s electrics is an incredibly important responsibility, whether you’re a home owner or a landlord with tenants. Unsafe electrics pose a serious fire hazard for your family or tenants.
What does rewiring a house involve?
Do you live in a 25 years old property? If yes, then you should find out whether or not it has been rewired within the last 25 years. If not, it’s very possible that the buildings electrical wiring will need to be upgraded to bring it up to the current standards and demands of modern electrical devices. What’s more, If you’re extending your property or converting your loft, you’ll have to ensure that your new wiring conforms to the regulations laid down in the UK government’s Part P: Electrical Safety document. In other words, this implies that all current wiring will also have to be upgraded to ensure it carries the extra demands safely. In this post, we’re going to give you a good insight into the house rewiring process. Let’s take a look!
An entire house rewire is usually carried out by an electrician and involves removing all the existing electrical wiring in all the rooms of the home. Features such as sockets, lights and switches are also detached and updated to modern ones. The removal process can be quite destructive because the wall will have to be chased or channeled out for the wiring to be concealed inside them and floorboards will also have to be removed to enable the installation of the cables. As a result, the best time for a rewiring project is when redecoration has also been planned. Rewiring also means that you can move and install more power outlets, switches and light fixtures. This also gives you the option to install modern smart plugs as well as switches.
Signs your home may need rewiring
According to the stats, wiring problems are the cause of more than half of home electrical fires. So, if you’re still putting off checking that your house’s wiring is still in good shape then you probably want to have a rethink, the working condition of a home’s electrics is really very important. While you’ll be shocked by the staggering numbers of deaths and injuries as well as property losses, there are actually steps that can be taken to make sure your home doesn’t end up being part of the statistics. It’s very possible to have the electrical system in your home or property repaired or updated. And while a full rewiring of your house may be a big expense you’d rather avoid, this pales in comparison to the importance of ensuring the safety of both your loved ones and your home.
An electrical system won’t just lead to a fire outbreak out of the blue, there are usually signs to indicate potential problems. If you observe any of these electrical hazard warning signs, then you may want to have an electrician inspect your wiring:
- Frequent blown fuses or tripped breakers
- Dimming or flickering lights which shows that the circuit has a loose connection or is overloaded
- Discoloured switch panels, cords or plugs
- Sparks or arcs from an outlet when you plug or unplug a cord
- Broken or cracked insulation
- An over amped or over fused electrical panel
- Frequent burn out of light bulbs in a socket which indicates that the fixture can’t handle the bulb wattage
- Electrical shock when you plug in or touch a cord
- Loose outlets
- A burning smell!!
Benefits of rewiring?
Long before the emergence of advanced technology in the form of TVs, computers as well as security systems, older homes were already built and in existence. As a result, it often happens that these powerful amenities are used in homes that still have old electrical wiring installed. Although, your home may have a traditional or classic look, to enjoy the best amenities you’ll likely need to change its wiring. In other words, even if you’re living in an older home, it’s still very possible to make use of modern appliances and electronic technology by investing in a total home rewire. We’ve listed below some of the benefits associated with rewiring projects in order to help you make the best decisions.
- Improved electrical capacity. If you happen to live in an older home or property, then chances are your property’s wiring won’t be able to handle your modern electrical needs. It’s simply impossible to compare a home built in the 1960s which is likely to have a maximum electrical capacity of 60 amps to today’s houses built with 100 amps electrical capacity. Therefore, rewiring your home gives you a greater electrical capacity to incorporate the modern technology.
- Improved safety. This is one of the greatest advantages of rewiring your home. As you would expect, older rewiring and electrical systems are more prone to a variety of faults which is likely to be a danger to you and your home. Rewiring lets you add and update your home’s other safety measures like special wiring and more.
- Safer remodelling as well as extensions
- Potentially cheaper home insurance
How often should the wiring in your home be checked?
Are you planning to rewire your home or property? House rewiring comes with a lot of benefits – it lowers the risk of an electrical fire, boosts your home’s value, ascertains that your electrics are compliant with the set regulations, improves your home’s electrical capacity and lots more. However, one of the commons questions home and property owners ask when it comes to house rewiring is – how often should the wiring in my house be checked?
When it comes to checking a homes wiring and undertaking rewiring work, there’s no specific time frame. However, if your property is more than 25 years it may need a full rewiring to bring it up to the most recent or modern safety standards. What’s more, If you happen to own a home, electrical inspections should be carried out every 10 years. Landlords should perform electrical checks every 5 years so as to make sure that the property’s electrical wiring is still safe and working as it’s supposed to.
How to future-proof your home’s wiring
The way in which homes are built and wired has changed a lot over the years. In the past, the only way to enter and leave your home was via a physical lock and key, however in more modern times, the emergence of digital locks and virtual keys have changed the whole game. Those who have never thought of such possibilities might struggle with implementing changes like these in their homes. As a result, when you go all out for your home’s electrical system, it would be wise to make sure you wire your house for the future.
To get started, it should be noted that future-proofing your home’s wiring should only be done by an expert electrician. It’s quite costly so you might just want to ensure you get it right the first time. When wiring your home with the future in mind, there are certain systems which will control various functions across your property. These systems include audio and video, security, heating and cooling, computing and internet, telephone, smoke detection as well as irrigation. They must all be wired to a central location in the home. This control areas must be chosen wisely with the help of an electrician and must feature the following:
- A moderate room temperature
- Easy access and dust free location
- Sufficient physical space to accommodate a wall panel and equipment rack
- Near the area where service feeds like the internet enters the home
- Numerous outlets
What affects the cost of rewiring a house?
The costs for electrical rewiring will vary depending on some factors. These include:
- The size of the property – understandably a three-bedroom house costs more than a one-bedroom flat.
- Your requirements for fittings and fixtures, some fixtures take longer to install than others.
- The number of power outlets and other fixtures you want included (such as garden lighting or outside power points)
- Where your home is located – there are regional differences in what electrician’s charge across the country.
To see the price differences for electrical rewiring visit our electrical house rewire page and enter your location, you will see the price range for this work in your area of the country.
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