REWIRING A PROPERTY TO PREVENT UNWANTED RISKS AND STAY SECURED
Rewiring a house can be a major expense due to the safety hazards of damaged or deteriorated wiring. How will you know when rewiring is necessary? Actually, there aren’t any hard and fast rules and just because you have old wiring, does not mean it is risky. Wear and tear may differ based on the kind of materials and previous usage.
It is suggested to hire an electrical contractor who will conduct periodic inspection of the property every 10 years for your own property and five years for a rented property during tenancy change. Your London based electrician can suggest if your property requires rewiring and what can be done within a limited budget.
SOME WARNING SIGNS
If your house is old and it has not been inspected for several years, then this might be due to rewiring. Signs you need to rewire house are circuit breakers that may trip regularly, slight shocks from outlets and switches, frequently dimming or flickering lights, damaged or exposed cables and wires. When you detect any of these warning signs, it is time to call an electrician who will find out exactly what work is needed and provide you with an estimation of the price.
Other signs when you need to take action immediately
- Your property is more than 40 years old
- You depend on the extension cords for power
- You detect cracks or damage
- You have two prong sockets
OTHER ISSUES TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION
Rewiring may be the reason for major disruption and hence, it is necessary to keep the rooms empty when the work is done. Floor boards and coverings need to be pulled up and channels routed out in the walls when the new cabling cannot be mounted on the surface. In case rewiring is required, it must be done before any decoration and plastering work in the same time when central heating and plumbing installation will be carried out. Other than rewiring for lighting and power, there should be sufficient number of sockets and switches that will fulfill the needs of buyers.
ELECTRICITY PROBLEMS IN THE WET AREAS
Kitchens, bathrooms and other wet areas like swimming pool generally have the extreme risk of electrocution. There are special restrictions on electrics in the wet areas. For example, shaver sockets need to be positioned away from splash area of a shower and there should not be other sockets in the bathrooms. Hence, pull-cord switches must be allowed only. According to contractors at Electric Works London, the electrical appliances installed in damp areas such as light fittings and ventilation fans must have proper moisture and mechanical protection called Ingress Protection or IP.
COSTS INVOLVED FOR REWIRING A HOUSE
The entire cost for rewiring a house may cost you around several thousand pounds for a small house y and more for big properties. However, a complete rewire may be avoided in some cases when the present cable can carry other additional loads. Besides, you may update old installations with the addition of a modern consumer unit. New consumer units can be tested, certified and fitted for nearly £1300. If you need to replace old fuse box with a modern consumer unit, then it is often necessary to upgrade installation’s earth bonding.
Electricians usually work at a fixed price depending on the number of hours needed to complete the work. It is quite possible to agree upon the rates for each additional power point, light or switch fitting.
WHAT TO EXPECT YOUR PROPERTY NEEDS TO BE REWIRED
Rewiring work may differ from changing light switches to installing new sockets. You might even require a partial or complete rewiring where all the cable is replaced and removed. Make sure you remove all the items from the walls of each room and the installers should provide dust sheets for the furniture and also help with moving any items.
The amount of time needed depends on the complexity of the work to be done but a complete rewiring is usually done in 4 days, on an average. Sometime re-plastering is needed but this need to be discussed at the planning stage of the job.
It is advised not to start with any kind of electrical work on your own. Starting from a simple repair to a full house rewire, you need to talk to an installer who can suggest customized solutions and offer you with an affordable quote. In case there is some kind of old wiring in your house, make sure you get it changed as soon as possible. This can be of great help in changing as well as rewiring your house for safety purpose. Search strings like “rewire my house” will enable you to find a good electrical contractor who can carry out the entire rewiring work in the most efficient way.
