Domestic Electrician

The clues are usually at the fuse box and the sockets. Consider a rewire if you see:

• Old cables: Rubber-insulated, fabric-covered or lead-sheathed cable, often visible in the loft or at the fuse box. The insulation breaks down with age.
• An old fuse box: Rewireable fuses (fuse wire in ceramic holders), a wooden backing board, or a mix of old fuse holders.
• No RCD protection: No residual current device to cut the power if someone touches a live part, as modern regulations require for sockets and most circuits.
• Too few sockets: Extension leads and adaptors in every room.
• Other clues: Round-pin sockets, sockets in skirting boards, or ordinary light switches inside bathrooms.

An EICR tells you the condition of the installation, and whether parts can be kept or the whole house should be rewired.

A full rewire replaces every circuit, from the consumer unit to the last light fitting. A partial rewire replaces some circuits, for example the kitchen or the upstairs lighting, where the rest of the installation is in good condition.

A rewire is done in two stages:

• First fix: Cables are run under floors, through the loft and in channels cut into the walls (chasing), and back boxes are fitted for new sockets and switches. This is the disruptive stage, so it is the right time to add sockets, move switches and plan lighting.
• Second fix: After plastering, sockets, switches, light fittings and the consumer unit are connected, and every circuit is tested.

A rewire is also a good time to fit mains-powered, interlinked smoke and heat alarms through our fire alarm installation and maintenance service. Because we are builders as well as electricians, we make good afterwards through our plaster patch repair service.

It depends on the size of the home, the number of circuits and points, the type of floors, and whether the home is empty, which is quickest. In an occupied home we work room by room and keep a circuit live where we can, so you are not left without power overnight. We confirm the timing in writing when we quote.

The consumer unit (often still called the fuse box) is where every circuit starts. A modern consumer unit has a non-combustible enclosure and protects each circuit with circuit breakers and RCD protection. Most now use RCBOs (a combined circuit breaker and RCD on each circuit), so a fault on one circuit does not switch off the rest of the house. Surge protection (an SPD) is fitted where the wiring regulations call for it.

Before we fit a new consumer unit, we test the existing circuits. Adding RCD protection to old wiring can reveal faults that were hidden before, so they need to be found and fixed first. We also check the earthing and the main bonding to the gas and water pipes, and upgrade them where needed.

• Extra sockets: Added to an existing circuit, or on a new circuit where the existing one cannot take the load, including USB sockets.
• Lighting: New lighting circuits, downlights, pendant lights, dimmers suited to LED lamps, under-cabinet lighting and smart lighting controls.
• Outdoor power: Outside sockets, garden lighting, and power to a garden office or shed, with outdoor-rated fittings, suitable cable and RCD protection.
• Dedicated circuits: Electric showers, cookers and induction hobs, and car chargers through our EV charger installation service.

• Kitchens: Extra sockets at worktop level, circuits for the oven, hob and appliances, and isolation switches so appliances can be turned off safely. Through our kitchen renovation service the electrics are planned with the layout.
• Bathrooms: Fittings are chosen for the zone they sit in around the bath or shower, with the right IP rating and RCD protection. Most new work in a bathroom is notifiable.
• Extensions and lofts: New circuits for the new space, planned at first fix as part of a house extension or loft conversion.

For new circuits, consumer unit replacements and most new work in bathrooms, yes. That work is notifiable, and we have it certified through one of the routes the building regulations allow: self-certification by an electrician registered with a competent person scheme, or inspection by building control. Small jobs, such as adding a socket to an existing circuit outside a bathroom, are not notifiable but must still meet BS 7671.

You receive an Electrical Installation Certificate for new circuits, rewires and consumer units, or a Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate for small additions, plus the building regulations compliance certificate for notifiable work. Keep them safe: buyers' solicitors ask for them.