How long does a rewire take, and can you stay in the house?

A full rewire of an empty three bed house usually takes five to seven working days. The same house with people living in it takes longer, often seven to ten days, because the work goes room by room and the house has to be left safe with power at the end of every day.

A flat or a two bed terrace is at the shorter end. A four or five bed house, or anything with solid stone walls, is at the longer end. You will get a number of days with your price, not after it.

The two stages

A rewire is done in two visits, with a gap in between for plastering if you want it.

First fix

This is the messy part. The old cable comes out, floorboards come up, new cable is run through the floors and ceilings and down the walls to every light, socket and switch. Where it is being chased in, channels are cut into the plaster to bury the cable.

First fix is most of the time on the job, and most of the dust.

Second fix

Once any plastering is done and dry, the new sockets, switches and lights go on, the new consumer unit is connected, and every circuit is tested. You get the certificate at the end, and building control is notified.

Second fix is quick by comparison, usually a day or two.

Can you live in the house during a rewire?

Yes, and most people in South Wales do. It is perfectly workable if you know what to expect:

• Power goes off in parts of the house, not all of it all day. A circuit is kept live for the fridge and a socket or two wherever possible.
• Rooms get done one or two at a time. Furniture needs moving away from the walls and carpets lifting at the edges in the rooms being worked on.
• Dust gets everywhere it can. Doors are sheeted and floors are covered, but plan on a proper clean at the end.
• Everything is safe and switched back on at the end of each day. You are never left with live cable ends or no lights at night.

It costs more than doing the same house empty, because working around people and furniture takes longer. The rewire cost guide shows the difference for each size of house.

Rewiring without replastering

This is one of the most asked questions, and the honest answer is: sometimes, partly.

Surface trunking avoids chasing altogether. The cable runs in white plastic trunking on the wall. Nothing to plaster, much quicker, and cheaper, but you can see it.

Using existing routes can save some chasing. In some houses the old cable runs in conduit or down hollow walls and the new cable can be pulled through the same route. You only find out on the survey.

Plasterboard walls in newer houses and extensions can often have cable dropped down inside them with only a small hole at each socket.

In most older South Wales houses with solid walls, some chasing is unavoidable in the rooms you want neat. A common middle ground is chasing in the main rooms and running surface trunking in the loft, garage and cupboards. The estimator has that as its own option.

How to make it go quicker

• Clear the rooms. The less there is to move, the more time goes on the actual work.
• Decide on extras before first fix. Extra sockets, a shower circuit, an outside supply or a cable ready for an EV charger are far cheaper added now. Changing your mind after the walls are closed up means opening them again.
• Book the plasterer early. The gap between first and second fix is usually waiting on plastering.
• Empty is fastest. If you are between houses or can stay elsewhere for a week, the job is quicker and cheaper.

Questions people ask

Will I need to redecorate?

In any room that is chased, yes. Channels are filled and made good ready for the plasterer, but the room will need painting at least. Many people time a rewire just before redecorating for that reason.

Do the floorboards have to come up?

Some of them. Upstairs cable runs through the floor void, so boards are lifted along the routes and put back down. Carpets are lifted at the edges and relaid.

Is a partial rewire quicker?

Much. A kitchen on its own is typically one to two days, a garage a day. A partial rewire is priced as its own job rather than as a slice of a whole-house figure, because a kitchen and a garage are nothing like each other in what they need.