Full house rewire cost?

nft_99

as per title

couple of minor problems with house lights means had to call out electrician he sais couldnt fix it and recommended a full rewire he quoted "about £2500" :eek:

The house is 3bed semi, full furnished and occuppied in Manchester area.

Does that sound high or is that the price we have to pay

baldelectrician

It sounds reasonable

I usually avoid occupied rewires- this adds to the cost.

You should use a competent person for the work, links below
In Scotland:
Individuals registered;
http://www.sbsa.gov.uk/register/ListAC.asp
Companies
http://www.sbsa.gov.uk/register/SearchCo.asp?T=Construction&ID=2
In England and Wales:
http://www.competentperson.co.uk

nicfatbelly

The quote is fine, but you need to be sure it needs doing.
A problem with the lights?
I would give a full list of defects prior to recomending re wire.
Ideally a complete Periodic Inspection and Test (PIR) should take most of a day to complete and will give a circuit by circuit analysis of the instlation with defects rated 1 - 4.
1 = Imediate attention required (dangerous)
2 = In need of improvement
3 = Furter investigation (speaks for itself)
4 = Does not comply with current specification (not necesary, but would offer an improvement in the level of protection offered in the case of afault)

See ECA
http://www.esc.org.uk/business-and-community/electrical-industry/best-practice-guides.html
for more guidance.
Get at least three quotes for the work and ensure that the electrician is registered with a "Part P" scheme. One of the five listed here
http://www.esc.org.uk/find-an-electrician/search/england-and-wales.html

nft_99

thanks for the quick replies :T

problem is the kitchen light stopped working, its a flourescent lamp changed the tube and the starter on it still didnt work. The electrician who came today said he was getting strange voltages readings had a look at the main box and then said rewire would be best option.

We have not had any major electrical work done on the house and we have been here over 10 years so i suppose it due some work

Barneysmom

Try buying a new fitting from B&Q - about £15 - £20 first. If you had no probs before the light fitting started acting up, your electrics are probably fine.

Strange voltage readings????????????????? He's having you at it.

nft_99

only problem we had is tube been replaced couple of times now and the starter been replaced once changing bulbs is about my limit upto now! How would it be fixed to the ceiling?

Barneysmom

The same way as the old one.

nicfatbelly

How old is this property?
Do you have fuses or circuit breakers?
What other problems have you had?

Nick

nft_99

the house is a 1930s semi

Its currently a fuse box

Not had any other problems.

nicfatbelly

Hmm,

Profesional advice would be to get a full PIR (periodic inspection) done.
This will take most of a day and should be done by a qualified electrician.
The qualification for Inspection and Test is City and Guilds-2391
Only use someone who holds this qualification, ask to see the cert.
The person who does the PIR will ideally not be the person who eventually quotes for the work that is identified by the PIR.
The PIR will take most of a day and will cost around £250.00, give or take but not much more.
The power will be off for most of the day and acess will be needed to all points.
You will recieve;
A report
A shedule of tests
A shedule of test results
Observations will be rated 1-4
(1= dangerous 2 = need improvement 3 = further investigation (usually due to lack of access - make sure access is available! 4 = not to current regs (not as god as current installations but not dangerous at all)
Do not ever consider a re wire unless a full PIR has been done to outline exactly what is wrong with your existing instalation, the only exception to this advice might be during a complete renovation when re wiring makes more sense.

Good luck.

housemite

nicfatbelly wrote: »

Hmm,

Profesional advice would be to get a full PIR (periodic inspection) done.
This will take most of a day and should be done by a qualified electrician.
The qualification for Inspection and Test is City and Guilds-2391
Only use someone who holds this qualification, ask to see the cert.
The person who does the PIR will ideally not be the person who eventually quotes for the work that is identified by the PIR.
The PIR will take most of a day and will cost around £250.00, give or take but not much more.
The power will be off for most of the day and acess will be needed to all points.
You will recieve;
A report
A shedule of tests
A shedule of test results
Observations will be rated 1-4
(1= dangerous 2 = need improvement 3 = further investigation (usually due to lack of access - make sure access is available! 4 = not to current regs (not as god as current installations but not dangerous at all)
Do not ever consider a re wire unless a full PIR has been done to outline exactly what is wrong with your existing instalation, the only exception to this advice might be during a complete renovation when re wiring makes more sense.

Good luck.

cant see how a pir on a 1930's semi will take most of a day.more like half that done throughly,if it has an old fuseboard chances are there will be few circuits,look to pay around £150,
get someone else to look at lights and ask them for their opinion on the whole installation.
If the electrics have been left alone since installation ,the fixed wiring may be fine and an upgrade to earthing and a new consumer unit are all that are needed.a lot depends on when it was last rewired,if it is 1930's chances are it will have been redone at some point in the past.
get someone experienced to check it over,lots of sparks are useless at fault finding and testing