House Rewire - have I been taken for a ride?

AndreaKay

Hi
I was quoted £3600 for a house rewire - 3 bedroom terraced house in London. 
My lights haven't been working in a long time - I've been using lamps. All the sockets work, although a couple of them were not very secure in the walls and they were old and ugly. Some of the light switches were also hanging out. 
My understanding was that a house rewire is a big job that means ripping out old wiring and replacing it and putting in new sockets, new light fittings etc.
So far, I have paid £2750 but all that has happened is that a new fuse board has been put in, all the lights and sockets have been replaced. But it seems that the actual cabling hasn't been replaced. Maybe the cabling was ok, but shouldn't I get a discount for the cables not to be replaced? 
Plus, the electrician has worked a couple of days here, taken a week to do something else and now will finish the last of the sockets that are outstanding on Monday, so although no walls, floorboards and skirting boards have been ripped out (because no new cabling), it's still an inconvenience to have this going on over three weeks.
I don't know, I just feel that £3600 is a lot for what seems like not much. 
Thanks for any advice.

Hasbeen

AndreaKay said:

Hi
I was quoted £3600 for a house rewire - 3 bedroom terraced house in London. 
My lights haven't been working in a long time - I've been using lamps. All the sockets work, although a couple of them were not very secure in the walls and they were old and ugly. Some of the light switches were also hanging out. 
My understanding was that a house rewire is a big job that means ripping out old wiring and replacing it and putting in new sockets, new light fittings etc.
So far, I have paid £2750 but all that has happened is that a new fuse board has been put in, all the lights and sockets have been replaced. But it seems that the actual cabling hasn't been replaced. Maybe the cabling was ok, but shouldn't I get a discount for the cables not to be replaced? 
Plus, the electrician has worked a couple of days here, taken a week to do something else and now will finish the last of the sockets that are outstanding on Monday, so although no walls, floorboards and skirting boards have been ripped out (because no new cabling), it's still an inconvenience to have this going on over three weeks.
I don't know, I just feel that £3600 is a lot for what seems like not much. 
Thanks for any advice.

If TOTAL rewire? Are the new sockets at the correct height from the floor 450mm min and the minimum amount requirements per room? https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/media/1204/guidance-on-minimum-provision-socketsv2.pdf
If I was getting my property rewired. I would ensure that it was up to date with the current new build standards and ensure there were sufficient sockets in each room to cater for all of todays usages.

pramsay13

Talk to the electrician.
I would expect a lot of it to be done by pulling cables through rather than ripping up floorboards or walls.

AndreaKay

Hasbeen said:

AndreaKay said:

Hi
I was quoted £3600 for a house rewire - 3 bedroom terraced house in London. 
My lights haven't been working in a long time - I've been using lamps. All the sockets work, although a couple of them were not very secure in the walls and they were old and ugly. Some of the light switches were also hanging out. 
My understanding was that a house rewire is a big job that means ripping out old wiring and replacing it and putting in new sockets, new light fittings etc.
So far, I have paid £2750 but all that has happened is that a new fuse board has been put in, all the lights and sockets have been replaced. But it seems that the actual cabling hasn't been replaced. Maybe the cabling was ok, but shouldn't I get a discount for the cables not to be replaced? 
Plus, the electrician has worked a couple of days here, taken a week to do something else and now will finish the last of the sockets that are outstanding on Monday, so although no walls, floorboards and skirting boards have been ripped out (because no new cabling), it's still an inconvenience to have this going on over three weeks.
I don't know, I just feel that £3600 is a lot for what seems like not much. 
Thanks for any advice.

If TOTAL rewire? Are the new sockets at the correct height from the floor 450mm min and the minimum amount requirements per room?
If I was getting my property rewired. I would ensure that it was up to date with the current new build standards and ensure there were sufficient sockets in each room to cater for all of todays usages.

No. He has simply replaced the existing sockets which are at around 16cm from the ground. I didn't know there was a correct height requirement.

AndreaKay

pramsay13 said:

Talk to the electrician.
I would expect a lot of it to be done by pulling cables through rather than ripping up floorboards or walls.

I do intend to talk to him, but wanted to find out a bit more before I did. I didn't see any cabling on a roll, or anything like that. He had left tools and equipment here as I was at work during the times he came round, so it could be that he brought cabling in later.
I just don't feel right about things.

MoneySeeker1

What does the exact wording in the written quotation he gave you say?
Are you a single woman on your own? (I am rather cynically suspecting it's possibly a workman treating a single woman worse because she is a single woman).

AndreaKay

Yep, single woman - your cynicism points you in the right direction, it seems. Here is what the quote says:

3 bedrooms house rewire.

** to do a new electrical rewire in a 3 bedrooms house.

** to install 25 new double sockets.

** to install 10 ceiling lights.

** to Install a new ceiling light in the loft and a new light switch.

** to install a patio sensor light.

**to supply and fit a new consumer unit.

The about quote include materials and labour.

The discount is because of your sister.

If you agreed with this quote I will require a 50% deposit to cover materials

and the balance payable on completion.

MoneySeeker1

Well that much sounds quite clear then. He has used the word "rewire" in writing. He has stated "INSTALL NEW sockets". The word "install" is not the word "revamp" or "re-use existing". Your anger sounds perfectly justified.

Hope someone else can advise you better on how to proceed on this.

BTW does he belong to one of those associations some (the better) electricians belong to? ie the NICEIC (as I believe the initials are)?

Hasbeen

AndreaKay said: "No. He has simply replaced the existing sockets which are at around 16cm from the ground. I didn't know there was a correct height requirement."

Op if old house? additional sockets can be put in to match existing heights. But as I said if I was paying for a complete rewire. I  would be looking for all to be installed at latest regulations as per new builds. Heights, minimum amounts, etc. there's never enough sockets these days. Especially at £3600 !! £2750 is not 50%?
But that would be serious upheaval with possibly lifting floors. new socket openings in walls, running new cables, plastering, new decorations etc usually done at renovation time to upgrade property. If you are happy with all that has been done? then its the cost that has to be discussed and what you agreed to?

Risteard

The heights are only for new and substantially altered buildings. They are part of the Building Regulations (and not Wiring Regulations). However you cannot make them less compliant than existing positions.

This is very different from the situation in the south of Ireland whereby the Wiring Rules specify the heights and therefore it is prohibited to add an accessory other than at new heights, irrespective of the existing positions.

But on the face of it a rewire would include new cable. But I note that you suspect that the cable hasn't been replaced as opposed to being certain about this. It does seem like an incredibly cheap quote though - particularly in London.

AndreaKay

Risteard said:

The heights are only for new and substantially altered buildings. They are part of the Building Regulations (and not Wiring Regulations). However you cannot make them less compliant than existing positions.

This is very different from the situation in the south of Ireland whereby the Wiring Rules specify the heights and therefore it is prohibited to add an accessory other than at new heights, irrespective of the existing positions.

But on the face of it a rewire would include new cable. But I note that you suspect that the cable hasn't been replaced as opposed to being certain about this. It does seem like an incredibly cheap quote though - particularly in London.

Ah, ok, you reckon it's a cheap quote? He had quoted £4000 but because he had done work for my sister too, he reduced it down to £3600. I am almost 99% sure that no new cable has been put in - but I will ask him to make sure. If it has, it's been slid through whatever is already there, no floor boards etc have been lifted, I won't need to do any redecorating because of anything he has done (which is a bonus, I guess).