Re-wiring - DIY sort of

[monkeysmith]

Hi, first post...

Recently moved into my own house, the house needs a number of things doing to it, including re-wiring. I've been told this will cost a couple of grand, which I cannot afford up front.

I'd like to know if it was possible to do alot of the work myself. My idea...

Room by room, channel the walls, insert some condiut and sockets with no wires. Have the walls plastered / skimmed. Once I have redecorated the entire house, get an electrician round to insert the wires and connect it all up, and sort the fuse box out.

Is this possible and would an electrician be happy with this?

Basically I want this done as cheap as possible, as have to splash out for a new boiler too, and possibly damp proofing.

Thanks

Richard

 

[ban-all-sheds]

It's not unworkable, but please find your electrician first, make sure he is happy, discuss with him where you will run the conduit, place the sockets etc, and be guided by him.

 

[ColJack]

sounds do-able but make sure that the conduits are vertical or horizontal from the box, no going up the wall and curving it to miss joists etc.. ( see "safe zones" in the wiki for info... )

it's only the same as doing a re-wire with the conduit and sockets cast into the structure like some are.. just re-using "existing" conduit runs when you get the quote in..

he'll probably love you for it.. no need for him to sink the extra boxes..

although it's tight to get 2 twin and earths down a 20mm conduit so go for 25mm or use 2 per socket and for light drops ( never know if you want to add wall lights or outside lights.. need the extra room for cable.. )


you'll need a double in every corner of most rooms, and every 2 meters or so on long walls..

obviously you will need 2-4 doubles in the corner of the lounge where the TV will be going as well as a double with 4 conduits for an aerial / satelite outlet plate ( no harm in future proofing.... )

points for computers in bedrooms / office with network points and distributed TV... ( basically 2 double and 2 single backboxes in every corner of the kids / spare rooms, you can then put the computer / tv in whichever corner you need.. )

the only problem i can see is that before the re-wire you will have lots of blank plates ( or papered over holes ) everywhere, and after you will have the old cables still in the wall with backboxes to fill unless he can re-use those as well..

strictly speaking tough, there's nothing to stop you from digging out the existing cables ( carefully ) and backboxes and putting them into conduits at the time of decorating and installing the extra empty runs.. ( it comes under schedule 2B paragraph 1, shown below. )

1. Work consisting of -


(a) replacing any socket-outlet, control switch or ceiling rose;

(b) replacing a damaged cable for a single circuit only;

(c) re-fixing or replacing enclosures of existing installation components, where the circuit protective measures are unaffected;

(d) providing mechanical protection to an existing fixed installation, where the circuit protective measures and current carrying capacity of conductors are unaffected by the increased thermal insulation.

 

[bengasman]

Personally, I am quite happy if someone does the hard graft himself.
Bear in mind that you need to know HOW and WHERE things can go, otherwise your sparky will loose lots of time correcting your mistakes.
If you have a fair idea about electrical rules, it is worth it, if you are not pretty good at it yourself, forget it.
For this very reason, finish the electricity before you do anything else.
And if you decide you do want to do part of the wiring yourself, find your sparky first, ask him how he wants things done, and do it exactly that way. He will be the one signing for it.

 

[Pensdown]

Is this possible and would an electrician be happy with this?

Basically I want this done as cheap as possible, as have to splash out for a new boiler too, and possibly damp proofing.

Thanks

Richard

I've done quite a few and the cost may not be as low as you're hoping. Expect to pay around 25-30% of the full re-wire quote.

 

[ColJack]

pay 25-30% of the quote for doing the donkey work myself, sign me up..

I think you meant SAVE 25-30% of the quote..... ?

note to the OP.. might be worth putting access holes and draw wires into the first floor space to make his life even easier..

 

[Softus]

have to splash out for a new boiler too, and possibly damp proofing.

Don't waste your money on damp-proofing without first completely understanding your damp problem and what the easy fixes are.

 

[consumer done over]

the only problem i can see is that before the re-wire you will have lots of blank plates ( or papered over holes ) everywhere, and after you will have the old cables still in the wall with backboxes to fill unless he can re-use those as well..

strictly speaking tough, there's nothing to stop you from digging out the existing cables ( carefully ) and backboxes and putting them into conduits at the time of decorating and installing the extra empty runs.. ( it comes under schedule 2B paragraph 1, shown below. )

we are having our rewire done and the elec is leaving the old cables in.
he is running the new ones parallel in new chases / conduits. He says this is cause we are still living in the house. Also he said that the old wiring will be dead anyway as it will all be disconnected.

He is patching up the existing holes where he has had to put in new sockets nearby.

Is this standard practice?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Sounds OK, as long as he doesn't end up weakening walls or joists etc with all the new chases and holes.

It might annoy people in the future though if they are using a detector to find buried cables, or give them a fright if they drill or cut into them, or give them extra work (see previous topics here about finding old cables, and having to establish where they go and if they are live).

 

[consumer done over]

Sounds OK, as long as he doesn't end up weakening walls or joists etc with all the new chases and holes.

It might annoy people in the future though if they are using a detector to find buried cables, or give them a fright if they drill or cut into them, or give them extra work (see previous topics here about finding old cables, and having to establish where they go and if they are live).

Thanks for the response.

I am hoping that for the next 30 years I will not need any electrical work whatsoever

 

[ban-all-sheds]

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Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.
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[consumer done over]

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Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.
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not only that, I've also got the mother in law having a go for not getting a PIR done before purchasing the property.


Shame she does not understand that i havwe VIR connected to newer wire and from what i understand a PIR may not have picked this.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Ah - the good old "cut'n'shut" rewire....

If the VIR checks out OK for continuity and IR then it would probably not have been picked up - people don't lift floors etc when doing PIRs.

It might be worth looking to see if there are any date codes on new cables, accessories, CU etc. If you can determine when the work was done then you might be able to take action against the seller, if he denied having any notifiable work done (assuming your solicitor asked him).

 

[Pensdown]

pay 25-30% of the quote for doing the donkey work myself, sign me up..

I think you meant SAVE 25-30% of the quote..... ?

In my experience, the cost for design, material take off, project management, intermediate and final testing normally works out to around 30% of the full cost.

So from the customers point of view, if the re-wire quote was say 3k, they would need to budget 1k for the above services and around the same (maybe a bit more) for the materials.

It's a bit less for a new build because generally, fewer site visits are required to solve problems and carry out intermediate testing.

So the savings are not as much as some customers expect.

 

[ColJack]

i don't get what you are saying. maybe it's because i'm still running with only 3 hours of sleep since 06:00 wednesday...

if I did domestic, and quoteed 3K for a rewire, then the customer asked if he could do the chasing himself to save money then I'd still charge around 2700.. all he's saved is the cost of a mate for 2 days.. ( unless he does it in such a way that would save me time when when doing the rewire, then he'd get a discount based on how long it took me compared to what I'd budgeted for .. saves me a day he gets a days money knocked off... )

if he provides his own materials for the drops ( as the OP intends to do.. ) then he also saves himself the cost of a few dozen lengths of capping and backboxes.. ( which would be cheaper from me because of wholesaler discounts / bulk discounts.. )