May need rewiring, any ideas on cost?

bararah

FTB's need to have electrics checked as conditon of mortgage, we are starting to think house may need rewire. Is small 3 bed semi with tiny kitchen and one living room. Anyone any idea of cost of this and how much disruption it will cause? Will they have to take down walls etc??

BASFORDLAD

How old is house?, proberly just covering thier backs

bararah

one survey says 1934 and other says approx 70 years old, but mouseprice.com says 1959! I had independant survey which said fusebox at least would need replacing as it is old and there are some suspect connections about, I think previous owner was bit of a Mr Fixit and tried his hand at a few things! I just think they will recommend rewire and wanted to be prepared for estimate. We will hopefully negotiate with vendor.

BASFORDLAD

i would allow 2.5-3k, full rewire involves channeling through plaster and lifting floorboards.

bararah

!!ok, at least I've got an idea, hopefully it won't need much. thank you!!

themanbearpig

What size house?

My parents paid £4k for a full rewire, for a pretty large 4 bedroom house. It creates a massive amount of disruption, and is very messy!

You only really need a full rewire if you still have rubber insulated cables, and even then, you can sometimes get away without. Try and get an honest electrician to do a survey, and take it from there.

paulsad

Don't go with a cheap quote on rewires - the mess that is left sometimes will make for lots more tidy-up money required. Modern sparks use the latest kit which helps them run wiring with the least amount of disruption but there is bound to be some damage to plaster/decorating etc. Try and ask around your mates for a good firm and make sure they are registered with the nec. bodies.
Like themanbearpig says above if you have newish type wiring/cabling you may get away with a new type consumer unit (fuse box) and a good checking over.

Bermuda_John

i got a 3 bed detached house rewired in July for £2k in the North East.

It wasnt a fancy rewire with all the mod cons, was fairly basic so take this into account when looking at the price.

Your location will also have an affect, NE is generally cheaper.

The house was 1960's and had never been rewired before, only took them 4 days. I think the colur of the wires coming out of the box is a giveaway, if its red and balck rubber then it probably dosent meet the current regualtions ......... although you dont have to rewire unless it is dangerous

docij

We're in a large Victorian 4 bed in the Midlands and have just been quoted £3500 + VAT for a complete rewire and a few extras. The electricians are on the 'competent person' list and were recommended. Not looking forward to the disruption but will be glad to feel safer than we do at the moment.

Bermuda_John

check out the freeindex.co.uk and see the ones with the recommendations

poppysarah

from 1500 - upwards
they reckon on 2 doubles in each room but three in lounge and kitchen.
extras are about 50 quid each.