Floors are up, ceilings are down and walls are coming back anyway. Rewiring at that point avoids most of the mess and making good that makes a standalone rewire expensive. The catch is sequencing, because electrical first fix has a narrow window between the structural work and the plasterer, and missing it holds up everyone.
The stages in order
A renovation rewire follows the same order every time, and knowing it helps you hold the programme together.
- Survey and circuit design against how you will actually use each room
- Strip out, with old cable removed rather than abandoned in the fabric
- First fix cabling, back boxes and containment before plastering
- Second fix accessories, fittings and consumer unit once decoration is under way
- Inspection, testing, certification and notification of the notifiable work
Decisions worth making early
These cost very little at first fix and a great deal afterwards.
- Socket counts and positions per room, planned around furniture
- Data cabling to the rooms where people will actually work
- A spare route to the driveway for a future EV charge point
- Garden and outbuilding supplies while trenches are open
Partial rewires are normal
If the previous owner rewired the ground floor, we test it, keep what is sound and rewire the rest. You get a single certified installation without paying to replace working cable.
Working with the other trades
We coordinate directly with the builder, the kitchen fitter and the plasterer so first fix is inspected before it is buried. That inspection point matters, because once the walls are closed the only way back is a chase.
Decide before first fix
Walk each room with a pencil and mark the walls. It feels premature. It is not.
- Furniture layout, which dictates socket positions
- TV and media positions, including cable routes behind them
- Lighting scheme: general, task and accent, plus switching
- Where switches should be as you enter and leave each room
- Data, doorbell, alarm and any outside supplies
Sequencing with other trades
Electrics interleave with plumbing, plastering, joinery and flooring. We ask for the programme up front and confirm exactly when we need access, because the cost of a return visit for two accessories is out of proportion to the work.
Future-proofing sensibly
Spare capacity in the consumer unit, a couple of spare conduit routes, and slightly more sockets than you think you need cost very little at first fix and a lot afterwards. We will suggest where that is worth doing and where it is not.
Common questions
- How long does a renovation rewire take?
- First fix and second fix are usually a few days each for a typical house, spread across the wider programme.
- Do you remove the old cable?
- Where it is accessible, yes. Leaving dead cable in the fabric confuses everyone who follows.
- Can we phase it over two years?
- Yes, and we design the circuits so each phase is certified and complete in its own right.
- Do you work to a builder's programme?
- Routinely. Give us the dates and we will fit around the other trades.
- How early should I involve an electrician?
- As soon as the layout is settled — before plaster, ideally before plumbing first fix.
- Can changes be made after first fix?
- Yes, but they mean reopening chases and additional making-good.
- Do you work alongside builders?
- Regularly. We will coordinate directly with your main contractor if that is easier.
- Do you provide a lighting plan?
- We will mark up positions with you on site and confirm them before cutting anything.
Talk to us early in the programme and we will slot first fix into the build without holding anyone up.