In some cases, domestic renovation work which requires the installation new sockets and lights may justify a rewire, as modifying the current installation can be impractical or more difficult than just starting from scratch. This gives the homeowner the peace of mind that the entire system is new and that any existing degraded (but not yet faulty) situations have been improved to ‘perfect’.

Signs A Rewire is Needed

The cables in our homes and offices are normally installed in places where they cannot be easily accessed or seen (i.e. in walls, floors, conduit or trunking), making it all too easy to forget that the electrical wiring does need checking periodically. Cables, sockets and switches all deteriorate with use over time, and require regular inspection. All houses should have their electrical wiring checked at least every ten years.

Cables coated in black rubber, which was phased out in the 1960s, need to be upgraded to modern PVC insulated cables. Black rubber cables dry out and crack over time, creating a shock and fire hazard.  Cables coated in lead or fabric are even older and may also required replacing, depending on their location and condition.

A fuse box with a wooden back, rewireable fuses, cast iron switches and/or a haphazard mixture of circuit boxes are all potentially hazardous conditions that indicate a rewire could be in order.

Older round-pin sockets and round light switches, braided flex hanging from ceiling roses to light fittings, black switches, and/or sockets mounted on or in skirting boards are also outdated and pose hazards to those that use them.

Part P imposes the requirement that “fixed electrical installations in dwellings shall be suitably designed, installed, inspected and tested so as to provide reasonable protection against their being the source of a fire or cause of injury to persons”. This means that electrical work in dwellings will need to be installed in accordance with BS 7671:2011 (The ‘Wiring Regulations’), including new circuits, extensions to existing circuits and all works in high risk areas such as kitchens and bathrooms.

Contact us to find out if your home or business could be made safer through upgrading.