Electrical rewire

Soldato
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I was talking to my Mum today. She has had an electrician inspect the electrics and they said the house isn't grounded. The house is around 70 years old and they are saying it needs a full rewire. She has agreed for them to do it for £5k while she goes on holiday in two weeks time.



I've told her she should have received a few quotes but because this guy is a friend of her cousin's son she seems very trusting of him. I'm a bit concerned that this is overpriced. It's a one bedroom bungalow, so to me that would mean prices similar to a flat. A quick google says £1.5-2.5k would be more like average for a full rewire. I don't think she even has a proper quote, so there would be zero accountability for the work done. I'm tempted to recommend she uses her 14 day cooling off period and cancel.



Wondering if anyone has any electrical experience and can advise?
 
Soldato
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Can't comment on the specifics too much, but I seem to recall a few years back when we were looking at buying a house to renovate and the typical cost for a rewire for a 3 bed house was around 5k, so for a 1 bedroom bungalow that does seem on the expensive side.

I know price can be location dependent, and costs may have gone up recently. But may well be worth your mum pausing and getting some extra quotes.
 
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Always get at least 3 quotes. Don’t always pick the cheapest. Ask lots of stupid questions and by the end you will be a pro.

Lots of YouTube leky channels they will give you an idea of what to ask / look for.

An online price guide will give no indication of special issue that might be involved.

If the house isn’t earthed you will probably need you main incoming supply upgraded.
 
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Start of the year, 4 bed house with a wired alarm and a few cat cables in the important room came to just over £4k. Location will pay a part, but I think it's expensive imo.
 
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I've told her she should have received a few quotes but because this guy is a friend of her cousin's son she seems very trusting of him. I'm a bit concerned that this is overpriced. It's a one bedroom bungalow, so to me that would mean prices similar to a flat. A quick google says £1.5-2.5k would be more like average for a full rewire. I don't think she even has a proper quote, so there would be zero accountability for the work done. I'm tempted to recommend she uses her 14 day cooling off period and cancel.
id be checking that shes going to get the correct certification and guarantees, have seen a few where the wiring is surface mounted in plastic conduit and frankly doesnt look very good.
always get 3 quotes as said, (it is hard in todays market but well worth it ) and as said she should have paperwork stating exactly what is being done otherwise she will not have any comeback.

as a offshoot i have been trying to get some tiles and guttering sorted out on my house for nearly 2 years , loads of builders/roofers promising to quote but never turning up, (2 story ridge tiles etc and being wrong side of 60 makes me not want to risk it ) so when i found a local guy who was working on a house over the road and he quoted 500 pounds i had to think before ripping his arm off. he replaced about 14 ridge and 5 ordinary tiles and did some pointing etc, was he expensive, did i want to risk doing it ...hell no get the money and thank you.
 
Soldato
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I paid a lot less for a full rewire, new sockets, light fittings, 20 network cables, a few tv coax cables, new RCD etc on a 3 bed semi. All above board, certificated etc... so it sounds expensive to me. But i'm in the grim north, so depending where you live, it may be about right for where you live.
 
Soldato
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Thanks everyone I'm going to mention all this and hopefully get her to pull out and look at other options. She is in the North East so I would expect it to be priced at the lower end of the market.

Unfortunately my Mum is just too trusting and recently I've been trying to keep an eye on her spending.

Even if it was a good price I've always been wary of getting trade work through friends as it just makes things awkward when things go wrong.
 
Soldato
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My thoughts

You need to get a 2nd opinion on both the condition of the installation and the cost of remedial work. What do it's not grounded even mean? Is there no earth connection at supply source, do the circuits not have an earth? It may be the wiring is in metal conduit which is being used as an earth connection. Is it just the lighting circuits that lack earthing? This may actually be ok if the fittings and switches are all plastic.

Before going ahead you also need to check the electrician is registered with a competent person scheme. Verify this via the schemes web site.You must also make it crystal clear that you expect to be issued with a certificate before making full payment.

You also need to prepare you mum for potential decorative works that may be needed if the walls have to be chased or the floors listed. The electrician may fill the chases but it will still need painting. If the rooms are papered this could be a bigger issue.
 
Soldato
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I'm North East based and can confirm that is high.

Tell her to stall and grab some more quotes. With a bungalow they will likely wire using the loft and will need to go up on cable sizes etc.

But I'd expect a cost closer to £2.5/3k

Where abouts in the North East? A few of my team do rewires outside of work.
 
Soldato
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100% way too expensive, search online her area for reputable electricians with good reviews. Ask her to get another 2-3 quotes from these well reviewed sparks in her area if you're not familiar or know anyone else. 1 bed bungalow asking for £5k is absolute day light robbery!

I would get the original spark cancelled asap, or wait for 1 further spark to give his opinion and quote if she can get someone in swiftly before the booked date - wouldn't even entertain the original spark at all.
 
Soldato
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Always get at least 3 quotes. Don’t always pick the cheapest. Ask lots of stupid questions and by the end you will be a pro.

Lots of YouTube leky channels they will give you an idea of what to ask / look for.

An online price guide will give no indication of special issue that might be involved.

If the house isn’t earthed you will probably need you main incoming supply upgraded.
Why would not being earthed mean the incoming supply needs upgrading? Houses are earthed to Rods driven into the ground not back to the grid. Adding an earth connection to a house is as simple as driving a rod into the ground and running some cable to the fuse box.
 
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Why would not being earthed mean the incoming supply needs upgrading? Houses are earthed to Rods driven into the ground not back to the grid. Adding an earth connection to a house is as simple as driving a rod into the ground and running some cable to the fuse box.

The op talked about the house not being earthed. Although a TT (Terra-Terra) is a possible solution the norm now is TN-C-S (Terrestrial Neutral Combined and Separated) as this provided a much better earth reference in relation to the DNO supply.
 
Soldato
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I would guess that circuit protective conductors are missing from the lighting circuits.
They are not earthed.
There will also be no equipotential bonding. That could also mean not grounded.
If the install is 70 years old pretty much guarantee it needs a rewire.
As for the price I’m really not sure, I didn’t deal with the money side of things but it doesn’t sound too outrageous to me. (Get a few more quotes)
Things to consider are how big is the house and what are you getting for your money? A rewire could be 1 socket and light in each room, make sure you get what you require.
Good luck finding an electrician that will plaster and decorate, never in my life have I known that, but @dLockers is the resident electrical expert, not me.
 
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Soldato
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Good luck finding an electrician that will plaster and decorate, never in my life have I known that, but @dLockers is the resident electrical expert, not me.
I've never known a sparky plaster either. Cowboys masquerading as one maybe. Cost of rewire and cost of making good can vary massively depending on the work involved. Even so the price seems massively excessive.
 
Soldato
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The op talked about the house not being earthed. Although a TT (Terra-Terra) is a possible solution the norm now is TN-C-S (Terrestrial Neutral Combined and Separated) as this provided a much better earth reference in relation to the DNO supply.
For a rewire though lets be honest the sparky is going to drive an earth rod into the ground he isn't going to waste the time and expense getting the in coming main upgraded just for this, every house I've ever lived in has a rod in the ground and the last two have been fully rewired within the last decade so what you suggested isn't necessary or required in regulations and certainly won't be included in the sparkies quote.
 
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