Rewiring your house is an important step to ensuring that your home electrics are safe, future proofing your property for new technology, and making sure everything is compliant with important regulations. It’s vital if you want to sell your home, or if your home is older.
A standard responsibility of maintaining your home is ensuring its electronics are kept in good condition. Faulty and unsafe electronics are liable to cause injury, but also cause serious damage to property – with the potential for a fire increasing significantly if a property has older wiring systems in place.
What is needed to rewire a house?
Electrical cables run through floors, walls, and the ceiling, and because of this it is very demanding, disruptive, and messy. Walls will need to be drilled into, flooring lifted, and carpets temporarily moved.
If a house is in the process of renovation, rewiring should be done early on and around the same time as plumbing and the heating system – well before any plastering work or decorative work begins. A full rewire will involve,
- The installation of new cabling
- New back boxes being fitted on sockets and switches
- Any telephone and aerial TV sockets will be rewired
- Any power and lighting circuits will be required
- Sockets, light fixtures, and switches will be added or moved if necessary
- The installation of modern electrical technology – such as automated lighting and the cabling for speakers
This is usually done across two stages; in the first stage, cabling, wiring, circuits, and back boxes are replaced with newer models. The second stage sees lighting fittings, socket and switch faceplates are installed. Wiring is then connected to the consumer unit – to ensure everything is live.
Benefits of Rewiring the Home
The main reason people rewire their homes is safety. Older wiring is not suited for the demands of new technology and does not meet the strict safety standards of modern construction. This makes it a serious potential source of fire risks. By rewiring your home, you can do a huge deal to bring yourself peace of mind – knowing your home is far safer and the risk of electrical fires and other dangers have been significantly reduced.
These are far from the only benefits of rewiring. Other benefits of a professional rewiring job include,
- Ensuring your homes electrics are properly in line with current regulations – something which is often important for ensuring selling your home is a smooth process
- It will increase the value of your property
- You have full control over new fixtures and fittings – allowing you to future proof your home and have more control over the use of technology
- Newer wiring is far more energy efficient – meaning you’ll save money in the future
Things to look out for
You should regularly inspect your home to ensure your wiring is in order. There are some key things to look out for,
- The physical condition of any cabling, sockets, and switches \
- A burning smell
- Flickering lights
- Wiring has older insulation – rubber, fabric, and lead cabling
- Older fuse boxes are in use – a common trait of older models are wooden backs with white ceramic fuses
- Buzzing and crackling noises
- Fuses blowing constantly
- Sockets with discolouration
If you find any of these signs, it’s vital you get in contact with a professional CFS Electrician Glasgow ASAP.
How often should a home be rewired?
There isn’t a definitive timespan or even guideline for when a home should be rewired or how long it should last.
There isn’t a definitive time frame for having a home rewired – but it is widely agreed that if a home’s wiring is over 25 years old, then it should be updated to bring it up to current standards. Otherwise, homes may be at risk from serious fires.
If you are a homeowner, then you should carry out an electrical inspection every ten years. If you are a landlord, it should be ever five years.
A house rewire is likely to last 20 years. Past rewire jobs however aren’t as long lasting; the materials they use (including lead cables and rubber sheathing) simply aren’t considered suitable by today’s standards.
Important Wire Regulations
Wire regulations exist to protect homes, properties, and their occupants from potential electrical hazards. It is the responsibility of either the homeowner or landlord to have proof all electrical work has been carried out to meet existing legislation; failure to prove this is potentially a serious criminal offence.
Electrical work must follow the Approved Document Part P of the Building Regulations. This states that electrical work must follow BS 7671 (often called IET wiring regulations) which lays out the UKs national standards for the safe installation of electrical infrastructure. The only way to ensure you adhere to these standards is by making use of a properly accredited electrician.