How long does a house rewire take, and how disruptive is it?

Why there is no standard timescale

Two houses of the same size can take very different lengths of time to rewire. The biggest factors are whether anyone is living there, how easily cables can be run through the floors and walls, and how many sockets, switches, lights and circuits the new installation will have. A reliable timescale comes from looking at the property and agreeing the scope, not from counting bedrooms. House rewiring explains what the work covers.

What makes a rewire quicker or slower

Occupied or empty

An empty house is the quickest to rewire. Several rooms can be opened up at once, there is no furniture to move, and there is no need to leave a working kitchen and lights at the end of each day. In an occupied house the work moves room by room, and restoring power every evening adds time every day.

Floors and walls

Suspended timber floors with boards that lift cleanly make cable routes straightforward. Solid concrete floors, tiles or engineered flooring that cannot come up without damage, and hard masonry walls mean more chasing and more careful routing. Loft conversions without access to the eaves, and ceilings with no void above them, slow things down further.

Furniture and fitted units

Fitted wardrobes, kitchens, built-in shelving and heavy furniture against walls all have to be worked around or moved. The more of the house is cleared before work starts, the faster it goes.

How much is being installed

Every socket, light position, data point, outdoor fitting and dedicated circuit adds time at both stages of the job. Additions such as extra sockets in every room or a circuit ready for a car charger are best decided before work starts rather than during it.

Access to the property

Flats with shared entrances, streets with little parking and houses where materials have to be carried some distance take longer to work in than a house with a drive.

Other building work

If the house is already being renovated, with floors up and walls being replastered, the rewire can fit into that programme and move much faster. It does mean the order of trades has to be agreed early, because the electrics have to go in after stripping out and before anything is closed up.

First fix and second fix

A rewire happens in two main stages.

First fix is the disruptive part. Floorboards are lifted, channels are cut into walls, back boxes are set in for sockets and switches, and new cables are run to every position and back to where the consumer unit will go. Where possible, the old wiring stays in use alongside so the house keeps some power.

Walls are then made good, and plastered if needed. New plaster needs time to dry before it can be decorated.

Second fix comes once the walls are ready. Sockets, switches and fittings are connected, the new consumer unit is installed, the old wiring is disconnected, and the whole installation is tested and certificated.

How disruptive is a rewire?

Short of structural building work, a rewire is one of the most disruptive jobs a house can have. It is possible to live at home through it, but it helps to know what to expect.

• Dust. Cutting chases in walls creates a lot of it, and it travels. Rooms being worked on need clearing or covering.
• Noise. Chasing and lifting boards is loud, which matters for anyone working from home, young children’s sleep and pets.
• Floors. Carpets and flooring have to come up wherever boards are lifted. New carpets and flooring are best laid after the rewire, not before.
• Power. Circuits are off while they are being worked on. In an occupied house the aim is to leave lighting, the fridge and a way to boil a kettle working at the end of each day, but parts of the house will be without power at times.
• Rooms out of use. Bedrooms and living spaces become unusable in turn while they are being worked on.
• Redecorating. Chases are filled, but walls will need decorating afterwards, so plan the decorating for after the rewire.

Ways to reduce the disruption

• Rewire before moving in, or while the property is empty between tenancies, if you can.
• Clear rooms, move furniture, and arrange for carpets or good flooring to be lifted before work starts.
• Decide every socket, switch and light position before first fix.
• Say which rooms cannot be out of use on particular days, so the order of work can allow for them.
• Plan kitchen, bathroom and plastering work alongside the rewire rather than after it.
• If anyone in the household has breathing problems, consider staying elsewhere for the dustiest days.

Doing it in stages

A rewire does not always have to happen in one go. Working a floor at a time, or replacing only the circuits that need it, spreads both the disruption and the cost, provided each stage ends at a sensible point. Whether a rewire is needed at all is covered in Signs your house may need rewiring, and the price side in What affects house rewiring cost?

Getting a realistic programme

A rewiring quote should come with an expected duration based on a visit, and a plan for which rooms are done when. When I visit, I look at the floors, the loft, the board and how the house is lived in before giving you a timescale for your house. There is more on rewiring in the city on the Southampton rewiring page, and on doing it before moving in on the Eastleigh rewiring page.