When Does A House Need A Rewire

If you have moved into a new property or are thinking about buying one, you may ask this question: – When does a house need a rewire? There are lots of old properties in Edinburgh, and many are in need of a rewire. Since most of us don’t have an electrical background, it would be wise to get a local electrician out to take a look over the property to advise.

What are the signs that your house may need a rewire? Speaking as an electrician, we see some examples where the property owner should have thought about a rewire a long time ago. Here are some signs that you may notice which might indicate a rewire is in order:

1)    Your lights start to flicker or dim even after replacing the light bulbs.

2)    The consumer unit is over 10 years old. It may not have an RCD (A Residual Current Device – This is a safety mechanism which monitors the electricity flowing through the circuits.)

3)    The consumer unit has asbestos flash guards which are never on newer models due to the harmful effect of asbestos fibres if breathed in.

4)    The sockets are found in skirting boards rather than the wall and perhaps have rounded pins.

5)    Sockets are unresponsive.

6)    Old cables which are not earthed.

7)    Circuit breakers which trip regularly.

The answer is yes. Since there may be no RCD in the consumer unit then there is a real threat of a fire from the wiring and even an injury. In 2015-16, electricity caused more than 3,800 house fires in Scotland. Furthermore, asbestos flash guards are dangerous to humans if the fibres are disturbed.

Most homes have many appliances (phones, laptops, games consoles) requiring a charge compared to 20 or 30 years ago and in order to take the capacity, the electrical rewiring needs to be updated.

The answer is that electrical rewiring is not for amateurs. We train for many years to become electricians through apprenticeships and we are regulated by the NICEIC so our work is fully certified and safe. We would provide an EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) following the rewire to confirm that it has been done to an industry standard. Furthermore, as NICEIC electricians, consumers are covered by the Platinum Promise from NICEIC. The Platinum Promise will protect you should installation work undertaken by a NICEIC registered contractor not meet the required building regulations or installation standards.

A rewire may take between 1- 3 weeks depending on the size of the property. In Edinburgh, it can cost between £3000 – £5000. If you have any other requirements such as data cabling or LED lighting, these can get done alongside the rewiring so disruption is kept to a minimum.

If you are in Edinburgh and think that your house may need a rewire, then get in touch with us. We’re NICEIC electrical contractors with many years of experience and lots of 5 star reviews. We’ve an established business in Edinburgh and have rewired many properties from tenements to double storey properties.

Get in touch today.