Full and partial
Rewires &
Part Rewires
Durham
Planned before anything gets cut, set out off a laser line so heights stay honest, and staged so you are not without power overnight.
Planning is most of the job
The difference between a rewire you are pleased with and one you resent is almost entirely decided before a single cable is pulled. How many sockets, and where. Which lights switch from which door. Whether the hall needs two-way at the top of the stairs. Where the TV is really going once the furniture is back. All of it is trivial to change while it is chalk on a wall and expensive to change once it is buried in plaster.
So we walk the property with you first and mark it up. You will see exactly where things are going before anything is cut, and you get the chance to move them while moving them is free. Heights are set off a laser rather than a tape measure and a guess, which is why runs of sockets and switches actually line up across a room when the plaster goes on.
Full or partial
Not everything needs a full rewire, and plenty of firms quote one because it is easier than thinking about it. If the lighting circuits are sound and it is only the sockets that are tired, or one extension has been done badly and the rest is fine, a partial rewire does the job for a fraction of the money.
What decides it is testing rather than opinion. Insulation resistance across the existing circuits tells you a great deal about whether cable is on its way out or has years left. We will give you the numbers and an honest recommendation, including when that recommendation is that you do not need us to do as much as you thought.
Living through it
A rewire is disruptive and pretending otherwise helps nobody. Walls get chased, floors come up, and there is dust regardless of how carefully it is done. What we can control is the sequencing: which rooms when, what stays live overnight, and making sure you are never left without a working kitchen and a working router for a whole day unless it is genuinely unavoidable.
You will get that sequence in advance rather than discovering it as it happens. We sheet up, we clear up daily, and the rubble leaves in our van.
What a rewire covers
- Walk-through and full mark-up before cutting
- Circuit design suited to how you actually live
- Socket and switch heights set off a laser line
- Chasing, drilling and joist notching done properly
- New consumer unit with a device per circuit
- Smoke, heat and CO alarms interlinked
- Staged so power returns in sections
- Full testing, certification and a circuit schedule
How it runs
What actually happens
Survey and test
We look at what is there and test it. That tells us whether you need a full rewire, a partial one, or something smaller entirely.
Mark it up
Walked room by room with you and marked on the wall. Sockets, switches, lights and heights all agreed while changing them costs nothing.
First fix
Chasing, cabling and back boxes, worked room by room to an agreed order so the property stays as usable as it can be.
Second fix and test
Accessories fitted, board changed over, everything tested and certified, and a schedule handed over that tells you what is on which way.
Recent projects
Work of this kind
Photographed on site as each one finished.
FAQs
Questions on this specifically
How long does a rewire take?
A typical three-bedroom house is usually a matter of days rather than weeks, assuming it is occupied and we are working around you. Empty properties go faster. Larger houses, four-storey lets and anything with solid walls throughout take longer. You get a timescale after the survey, along with which rooms are affected when.
Do I need to move out?
Most people do not. It is dusty and disruptive but we stage it so there is always a working kitchen and somewhere to charge a phone. If the property is empty anyway it is quicker and cheaper to do it that way, so tell us if you have that option.
Will the plaster need redoing?
Chases get filled but you will want a decorator afterwards, and anyone telling you a rewire leaves walls ready to paint is not being straight with you. We keep chasing to what is genuinely needed and use existing voids where they exist, which reduces the making good considerably.
Can you do just the sockets or just the lights?
Yes, and it is often the right answer. Partial rewires are common where one part of an installation is tired and the rest has life left. Testing establishes which, so you are not paying to replace cable that was fine.
What about a rewire on a student let?
Very doable, and the summer vacation is the obvious window. Book it early because June to August fills up fast across the city. We can work to a fixed handover date so the property is certified and ready before tenants arrive.
Also worth a look
Other things we do
Get in touch
Get a price for this
Phone if it is urgent. Otherwise fill this in with as much detail as you can and we will come back with a figure or a date.
Call the team0191 934 0118- CoveringDurham City and the county around it — Chester-le-Street, Consett, Stanley, Lanchester, Bowburn, Coxhoe, Peterlee, Easington, Seaham and the villages between.
- HomesCity terraces, colliery-village housing, inter-war semis and rural property. Nothing too small, nothing too big.
- Student letsEICRs, HMO certification and remedial work, scheduled around term dates and changeover weeks.
- UrgentUse the phone for anything that cannot wait. We can set off and talk you through isolating it at the same time.
Send the details
The more you put here, the tighter the figure we can come back with.
Electrician Done Right
Thinking about a rewire?
Start with a survey and some test results. Sometimes the answer is that you need less than you thought.