If the answer is yes, there’s a strong chance your home needs rewiring.
Electrical rewiring requires careful planning and is best carried out by registered, qualified professionals like our team at Daintons Electrical Ltd.
We adhere to the latest house electrical wiring regulations, while our vast experience means we can deal with any rewiring system, no matter how old or complex.
When To Carry Out A House Rewiring
There are many reasons to rewire a house. If you are experiencing one or more of these issues, get in touch today.
Flickering lights
A single light flickering is nothing to worry about, and indicates the bulb will need changing sooner rather than later.
However, if the bulbs in more than one room flicker or dim, chances are you have electrical issues. Get our professional team in to take a look and install new wiring.
A persistent smell of burning
If there’s a lingering smell of burning in one or more rooms, it could be down to faulty wiring. Turn off the electricity at the mains and call us.
Burn marks around sockets and switches
Scorch or burn marks around existing switches and sockets, or plugs becoming very hot are caused by electric sparks or small fires prompted by loose connections.
If they are not made safe, these faulty connections could pose a fire hazard to your home. Our experienced electricians will eliminate that risk.
Mixed sockets and switches
If you are thinking about buying an older property or already have one, you may have a blend of sockets and switches.
Some may be made of cast iron or even have older two-pin plug entries and need upgrading to 21st-century technology.
It suggests that, at some stage, the property underwent a partial rewiring, either during renovation work or as part of the selling process.
As house rewire specialists, we can carry out a full analysis of your home’s existing wiring and advise on upgrading all the electrical systems.
Fuses repeatedly trip
Your home’s electrical wiring could be the reason your fuse box or consumer unit trips out all the time.
Either a replacement consumer unit or home rewiring may be needed. We will quickly identify the issue and fix it.
Sparks from a socket
If you see sparks from a socket when you plug in an electrical appliance, or if you receive small electric shocks, it’s likely you need a house rewire. Don’t delay, call us today.
Crackling and buzzing noise
Old wiring and electrical circuits often make crackling or buzzing noises. If you have experienced this, our house rewire specialists can quickly solve the problem.
Your consumer unit has a wooden back
Owners of older properties could have issues with their consumer units.
If they are unlabelled, have a wooden back and cast iron switches, they are considered unsafe by modern electrical standards and must be replaced. Our rewiring experts can help.
Broken sockets and switches
It is never safe to use broken switches and sockets in a house, especially if the internal connections or wiring are exposed.
Damaged plugs pose the risk of fire or electrocution. Call our experts and they will fix them quickly and efficiently.
Few sockets per room
As well as being a bit inconvenient in our gadget-heavy age, rooms with fewer than two sockets suggest that the house wiring is very old.
Even if these sockets were installed correctly all those years ago, they could still be potential fire hazards.
Call our house rewire specialists and we will make your electrical systems fit for the 21st century.
The Stages Of A Full House Rewire
Removing old wiring and installing a new electrical system is a big and, particularly for older homes, a sometimes complex task, requiring a competent person.
We strongly recommended homeowners call in a qualified electrician like us for any and all rewiring or electrical installation in a house.
Carried out over two stages known as ‘fixes’, a full house rewire includes:
- Replacing all electrical cables
- Installing a new consumer unit
- Fitting new cabling into walls and under floors
- Replacing the back boxes on all switches and sockets
- Rewiring power and lighting circuits
- Rewiring telephone and TV aerial sockets
- Moving or adding new switches, sockets and light fixtures
Installing cabling for digital technology, such as CCTV cameras or smart lighting
The first fix phase
During the first fix stage of a house rewire, a qualified electrician will ‘cut chases’, creating a groove or channel into a solid wall or floor, enabling cables, back boxes and wiring to sit securely inside.
It is worth noting that there are many rules for cutting chases into walls. They aim to ensure the electrical system complies with the latest regulations and the property’s stability is not compromised. They include:
- ensuring a vertical chase cuts no deeper than one-third of the total wall thickness
- chases must always be made in a straight line, vertically or horizontally, never diagonally
- no chases, whether horizontal or vertical, should be made back-to-back
If you are in any doubt about the state or cost of your rewire, call us. Our electricians are experts at domestic electrical rewiring.
The second fix phase
After the wiring has been fitted in the chases and the walls replastered and made good, the home rewiring project moves to the second fix stage.
This involves our electricians wiring in switch and socket faceplates, light fittings and connecting all electrical appliances to the consumer unit.
Everything will then be thoroughly tested to ensure all the electrical work is live and safe.
Securing an electrical installation condition report
Whether you are a private homeowner or you are a landlord and rent out your property, it must have an up-to-date electrical installation condition report (EICR).
As the name suggests, it is a written report detailing the condition of the electric systems inside the home.
Carried out by electricians, it will list any damage or wear and tear that could pose a health and safety risk to tenants.
Regulatory compliance
It will also identify any electrical wiring that doesn’t meet Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) current regulations.
EICR official certification is an important record of a home’s wiring condition and can be referred to in future inspections. There are two types of EICR:
Visual condition report
Available to properties which have been recently fully tested, this visual inspection confirms all electrical work is safe to use until the next inspection.
A visual condition EICR ensures electrical sockets are not overloaded and pose no fire risks. It will also check that all appliances can be made safe using residual current device (RCD) protection in the event of a fault.
Periodic inspection report
This EICR involves comprehensive inspection and testing of all electrics in a property, including circuitry behind walls.
It is recommended that landlords secure a periodic inspection report every five years, and private homeowners every 10 years.
Any faulty or outdated wiring work listed in the report must be replaced or fixed by qualified electricians like us, to ensure it is safe and compliant with the latest UK regulations.
What To Consider For Your House Rewire
There are lots of things to bear in mind when it comes to electrical rewiring for a home or rental property.
Our team of expert electricians will keep you informed at every stage of the process so you have a clear understanding of what is happening and why.
If you have an older property
Many people ask if it is worth calling in an electrician to replace the lights, sockets or the existing wiring in an older house. If they are not faulty, why bother?
We would recommend that for properties over 30 years old, it’s worth upgrading the whole electrical system to ensure it complies with current building regulations.
Calling us to carry out a rewiring job will bring the circuit breakers in your house, as well as the fuse box, up to modern standards, minimising any fire or safety risk.
Planning your plug sockets
We will work with you to ensure all the installation of all plug sockets, light switches and smoke detectors are precisely where you need them to be.
Our expert electricians will go from room to room, confirming each position before the rewiring work and installation is carried out.
Seamless scheduling
The rewiring process can be a disruptive one, especially when it comes to major electrical installations.
While it’s better to rewire a house while renovation work is taking place, our team strives to make each rewiring job as stress-free for homeowners as possible.
Future proofing your home
We may be living in a digital age but not every home is ready for the next waves of electrical technology.
Upgrading your electrical system means your property is ready and able to meet this demand ahead of time.
From stripping out old wiring and switching from aluminium to copper wires, to installing additional sockets or a charging port for an electric vehicle, you can have complete peace of mind that your home is ready for whatever the future holds.
Smart home technology
The rise of smart products has extended to our home’s wiring, with CCTV cameras, doorbells, heating and lighting all controlled by smart technology.
We are experts in smart lighting installation, and can advise on other smart systems for your house as part of a rewire job.
Official certification for your electrical wiring
It goes without saying that, as a reputable company, we always supply homeowners with an official certificate after every electrical rewiring project.
This important document ensures that our installation work on your house rewire meets current UK building regulations.
It also serves as proof that each qualified electrician on our team is registered with a government-approved Part P scheme.
How much does a house rewire cost?
Rewiring costs will depend very much on the size and scope of the work needed.
Dealing with any electrical issues in a newer house, such as the installation of additional sockets, will have a lower total cost than upgrading an older home’s wiring.
Whatever your needs, from identifying faulty wiring to a full rewiring job, our team of qualified electricians can help.
Are your services for electrical rewiring near me?
Our team of professional electricians is based in Chipping Ongar, Essex, but we help people across the county and beyond with house rewiring and electrical installations.
We aim to provide an outstanding customer experience with our electrical services, all at a competitive cost.
Whether you need smart lights for your home and garden, or you’re looking for expert electricians to carry out a complex rewiring job, we can help.
Contact us
If you have any questions about rewiring your home, or want to talk to a qualified electrician about smart lighting, get in touch! We would love to hear from you.
Email info@daintons-electrical.co.uk or matt@daintons-electrical.co.uk, or call us on
01277 592 183 or 07897 472 305