Planning a re-wire

Cash-Cows

I've currently got 2 doubles around the TV and it's not enough as I've got: TV, Sat box, poweramp, subwoofer, PS4, Wii, mood lighting and Apple TV. I actually need 4 doubles leaving none spare.

Sockets quickly get used up. The marginal cost is negligible so get more than you need.

Katgrit

I had a complete rewire done and I had to have everything at "new build" heights, and my house is 140 years old! The electrician was a stickler for it. I argued and cajoled and there was no budging him. I went round the house the nigjt before and marked with masking tape where I wanted everything going, and he STILL noticed the few I'd tried to sneak a few cm too low. Hope your electrician is more flexible than mine!

As well as additional sockets consider 2 or 3 way lighting circuits. Is there anywhere that you'd like to be able to switch a light off from, for example, a long hallway with a switch at either end, or lounge with 2 ways out? My downstairs is fairly open plan, just archways between the 3 rooms, so I had a 5 gang switch at the bottom of the stairs so I can easily switch everything off at night as I go upstairs to bed.

Erm...what else? I had the switches for the outside light and porch brought into the living room, rather than on the porch ceiling where they initially where.

I had an aerial booster fitted and extra tv points put in, including the "planning ahead" one in the middle of the chimney breast in the dining room, along with a double socket just incase I ever splash out on another telly.(for the moment these are covered over by a mirror).

If I'd have thought of it sooner Id have put hdmi sockets from the living room to the bedroom, rather than use video senders or co-ax cables to run signals to other tellies.

Phone extensions, as proper wall plates rather than cheapy extension cables.

Cable from airing cupboard to downstairs so the plumber could wire me in a thermostat (didn't have one at all initially).

I also planned to have a sort of pipe thing running from upstairs to behind the tv in the lounge for running cables down in future, with a brush plate wall outlet on either end to keep it all looking tidy. My house being so old doesn't have plasterboarded dot and dab walls I can easily drop cables behind so a pipe fixed that. Brush plates are a neat way of finishing off the outlet, like the brushes inside s letterbox, so you can shove cables through and it doesn't let all dust and crap through. My electrician (80 if he was a day!) had never seen them before, but thought they were a great idea. As it was this never came to fruition, I left it too late and there were problems with the pipe!

I had the old cheapy ikea kitchen link lights taken out from under the kitchen cabinets and transformers wired in ready to install LED lights (once I can afford them!)

Wall lights?

You may want to consider smart plug sockets, that can be controlled via a timer or phone app. I know there are some plug in one's you can buy, but its less cumbersome if the wall socket is smart, rather than use piggyback method. Had some remote receiver type relay things wired into the ceilings for smart lighting, so the outside light is on a timer as well as being striggered by the PIR, and so the porch light comes on when I open the front door. (electrician did as he was told but didn't have a clue what they were for, tried explaining but he flapped his hands and waved me away like it was witchcraft or the work of the devil!)

The only thing I wish I'd done differently was I should have got a socket put in a discrete corner of the inglenook fireplace. Knew I wouldn't want an electric fire in there, but fairy lights on an old wrought iron fire bed might have been nice! And yes, I'd have got more sockets behind the telly!! Broadband router, bluetooth speaker, dvd, tv, freeview recorder, nowtv box, they just all get used up!! If I'm being REALLY picky there's a couple of sockets I'd have put a foot further along the wall from where I chose. But that's really minor so not an issue.

Think about how you use your house now, and how you might use it if you had free reign. My rewire ended up costing double the basic rewire quote because I had him doing so much extra stuff. There were plenty of times I nearly drove him to tears!!

note3

Thanks kat girl you've given some great info. Our electrician has put a tv point and socket on chimney breast where we intend the tv to go but we thought this will cause problems as will stop tv being flush and I'm not sure having a tv which gets hot leaning against a live plug would be a good idea? You're making me doubt myself as this is what you've got?

Suspect our electrician has cursed us and increased our bill too!

Bob_Dean

I would not get USB sockets unless they are USB3 instead of USB2. There are already some phones and tablets that charge more quickly using USB3 so it will not be too long before USB3 becomes the new standard and USB2 is obsolete.

note3

Thanks Bob...we decided not to get usb afterall

Katgrit

You've got a point about the sockets not being flush! As it is the mirror covering them isn't flush......I keep intending to replace the standard white with flat plate outlets but haven't got round to it yet. My long term thinking was that any tv would likely go on a tilt or possibly swivel bracket which would stick out from the wall anyway, so it wouldn't be an issue. The sockets would be in the middle of the bracket fittings as most look like they fix on in like a square shape. Even if I never use it someone else might think it's a selling point in years to come!

Ooh, fire alarms....again my electrician was really strict so they had to be wired in and he wouldn't let me just stick battery ones up. Also needed a heat sensor in the kitchen, as a traditional smoke alarm in there would be useless.

I'll keep adding things I think of!