Does My House Need Rewiring? Warning Signs, EICR Reports and What a Rewire Involves

Most houses in Waltham Abbey, Cheshunt, Enfield, Chingford, Loughton, Epping and North and East London were built long before anyone owned a dishwasher, a tumble dryer, an electric shower and a dozen phone chargers. The wiring behind the walls was sized for a different life, and in many Victorian, 1930s and post-war homes it has not been touched for decades. This guide explains the warning signs that wiring needs attention, what an electrical inspection report actually tells you, the difference between a full rewire, a partial rewire and a consumer unit upgrade, and what happens on site.

Warning signs that your wiring needs attention

• A fuse box with rewireable fuses, a wooden back board or no RCD protection (the test buttons on a modern board). Old boards are the most common sign that the rest of the installation is old too.
• Old cable types. Black rubber, lead-sheathed or fabric-covered cables are well past their working life. Grey or white PVC cable is modern, but early PVC installations from the 1960s and 1970s can still be worn.
• Round-pin sockets, sockets mounted on skirting boards, or very few sockets per room with extension leads doing the rest.
• Lights that flicker or dim when an appliance starts, fuses that blow or breakers that trip regularly, or sockets and switches that feel warm.
• Scorch marks, a fishy or burning smell near sockets or the fuse box, or buzzing from switches.
• No earth at lighting points or on metal fittings, which an electrician will find on inspection.
• A house that has not been rewired in 25 to 30 years, or where nobody knows when it was last done.

One sign on its own does not mean you need a rewire. An inspection does, and it is inexpensive compared with the work it might save you.

What an EICR tells you

An Electrical Installation Condition Report is a formal inspection and test of the whole installation: the consumer unit, every circuit, earthing and bonding, and a sample of sockets, switches and fittings. It takes a few hours for an average house and the power is off in stages while it is done. The report grades anything it finds:

• C1: danger present, made safe on the day.
• C2: potentially dangerous, needs urgent remedial work.
• C3: improvement recommended, not dangerous.
• FI: further investigation needed before the installation can be judged.

Any C1 or C2 makes the report unsatisfactory. In England, landlords of privately rented homes must have a satisfactory EICR at least every five years and give it to tenants. For an owner-occupied house the usual recommendation is every ten years, when you buy a property, and before any major renovation. The report tells you whether you need a handful of repairs, a new consumer unit, or a rewire.

Full rewire, partial rewire or a new consumer unit?

Consumer unit upgrade

If the cables are sound but the board is old, a new consumer unit with RCD protection on every circuit is often all that is needed. It brings the installation up to current safety standards for tripping and shock protection. It is usually a day’s work and includes testing every circuit, so it doubles as a health check.

Partial rewire

Common when one part of the house has been modernised and another has not, or when a kitchen, bathroom or loft conversion needs new circuits. The old sections are replaced and the rest is tested and kept. This is also how we handle rewiring when a house is occupied and a full rewire would be too disruptive at once.

Full rewire

Every cable, socket, switch, light point and the consumer unit is replaced. It is the right answer for old rubber or fabric cable, an unsatisfactory report with faults throughout, or a house being renovated from top to bottom where the walls are being replastered anyway.

What a full rewire involves

1. Design. We agree where every socket, switch, light, spur and outdoor point goes, plus circuits for the cooker, shower, extension or future EV charger. Adding sockets at this stage costs very little.
2. First fix. Floorboards are lifted, walls are chased for cables and back boxes, and new cables are run to every point and back to the consumer unit position. This is the messy week.
3. Consumer unit. The new board is fitted with RCD protection and, where needed, surge protection. The earthing and bonding to gas and water pipes are brought up to standard.
4. Second fix. Sockets, switches, light fittings and accessories are fitted once the plastering is done.
5. Testing and certification. Every circuit is tested and you receive an Electrical Installation Certificate, and Building Control is notified as the Building Regulations require.
6. Making good. Chases are filled, walls are skimmed, floors are relaid and rooms are decorated.

A full rewire of a three-bedroom house typically takes 5 to 10 working days for the electrical work, followed by plastering and decorating. Because our own plasterers and decorators do the making good, the whole job is one programme rather than three trades to book. Our guide to skimming and replastering explains what happens to the walls afterwards.

Timing a rewire with other work

The cheapest time to rewire is when the walls are already open. If a kitchen, bathroom, loft conversion or extension is planned, have the wiring assessed first so the new circuits and any rewiring happen before plastering, not after the new tiles are on. In an occupied house we work room by room, keeping the rest of the home live, or do the whole job while the house is empty between exchange and moving in.

Certificates and the Building Regulations

New circuits, consumer unit changes and most work in bathrooms are notifiable under Part P of the Building Regulations in England. The work has to be certified by an electrician registered with a competent person scheme, or notified to Building Control and inspected. You should receive an Electrical Installation Certificate for a rewire or new circuits, or a Minor Works Certificate for smaller jobs, and keep them with the house papers. Buyers’ solicitors, insurers and mortgage lenders ask for them.

How to prepare

• Clear furniture from the walls being chased, and empty the loft if cables run through it.
• Roll up rugs and lift carpets where floorboards need to come up, or ask us to allow for it.
• Expect the power to be off for periods during first fix and on changeover day.
• Decide on light fittings, dimmers, USB sockets and outdoor points before the first fix so the cabling matches.

See the full range of work on our electrical services page and completed projects in the gallery.

Not sure what your wiring needs?

We inspect, test and rewire homes across Waltham Abbey, Cheshunt, Enfield, Chingford, Loughton, Epping and North and East London, and our own plasterers and decorators make good afterwards. Call +44 20 3150 0510, email contact@adiorconstruction.co.uk or send us a message for a free visit and a fixed written quote.

Frequently asked questions