Summary

Full house rewires are the largest single-trade domestic electrical job and one of the most poorly priced in the industry. The customer thinks of a rewire as "new cables and sockets" — a simple replacement. The trade reality is a multi-week disruption involving cable runs (typically 250-600m of cable), 12-25 socket positions per typical house, lighting points and switches in every room, kitchen and bathroom special-location work, consumer unit replacement, smoke and CO alarm wiring, and Part P certification — plus extensive plaster make-good and decoration.

Pricing accuracy depends on a thorough survey. Cable run distances, accessibility (ceiling voids, suspended floors, solid masonry), wall construction (lath and plaster vs plasterboard), and property age all drive the labour time. A pre-1965 house with lath-and-plaster walls and a cellar takes 2-3x the labour of a 2000s plasterboard semi with a loft and suspended floors. Quoting both at the same per-room rate is the most common pricing error.

This guide covers labour estimation, cable quantities, consumer unit choices, certification, and the trade-by-trade make-good. For consumer unit replacement standalone see consumer unit replacement pricing guide; for EICRs see eicr pricing guide; for extra sockets and lights only see extra sockets and lights pricing guide.

Key Facts

Cable and core component costs (supplied)

Labour costs

Certification

Quick Reference Table

Spending too long on quotes? squote turns a 2-minute voice recording into a professional quote.

Try squote free →
Property Type Beds Cable (m) Socket Positions Labour Days Total Range (Regional) Total Range (London)
Flat / studio 1 180-280 8-12 4-6 £2,800-£4,500 £3,800-£5,800
Mid-terrace 2 250-380 12-18 5-7 £3,800-£6,200 £5,000-£8,000
End-terrace / semi 3 350-500 18-25 7-10 £5,500-£9,500 £7,000-£12,000
Detached 4 450-650 22-32 9-12 £7,500-£13,500 £9,500-£17,000
Period (4-5 bed, pre-1925) 4-5 550-850 28-40 12-18 £11,000-£18,500 £14,000-£24,000
Large period (Victorian/Edwardian) 5+ 700-1100 35-50 15-25 £15,000-£28,000 £20,000-£38,000

Make-good and decoration add £1,200-£4,500 typically, on top of these figures.

Detailed Guidance

Survey and pricing — getting it right before quoting

A rewire quote without a thorough survey is a financial gamble. The required survey assessments:

  1. Existing installation condition — visual EICR-style inspection to record current cable types (PVC, MICC, rubber-and-fabric), socket positions, consumer unit, earthing and bonding, special location compliance
  2. Cable route planning — accessible ceilings, suspended floor voids, party-wall channels, loft routes
  3. Wall construction — lath-and-plaster (significant make-good), plasterboard (easier chase), solid masonry (chasing with dust extraction), stone (harder chasing)
  4. Customer scope decisions — number and position of sockets per room, lighting points, downlights vs pendants, smart wiring (Hive, KNX), EV charger provision, photovoltaic provision, integrated kitchen circuits
  5. Make-good responsibility — sparks make-good only, or plasterer and decorator coordinated by sparks?
  6. Occupied vs vacant — vacant property is 25-40% faster (no furniture protection); occupied property requires day-by-day room scheduling

A proper survey is 2-3 hours and underwrites a confident quote. Underpricing a rewire is the most damaging mistake an electrician can make — 25-40% labour overrun on a £8k quote is the difference between profit and loss.

Cable quantity estimation

Cable is the single largest material line. Estimation rules of thumb:

For a 3-bed semi typical estimate:

Always add 10-15% waste contingency to the calculated lengths.

Consumer unit specification

Modern domestic consumer units must comply with BS EN 61439-3 and Amendment 3 to BS 7671:2008 — metal-clad with high-integrity earthing. RCD protection has evolved:

The cost difference: dual-RCD board £180-£280, RCBO board £280-£480, AFDD-protected £450-£850. Always quote RCBO as standard for full rewires — the slight premium is worth it for the trip-granularity and future-proofing.

Type A RCDs are now the standard requirement (BS 7671:2018+A2:2022, Reg 531.3.3) — they detect both AC and DC residual currents. Older Type AC RCDs are no longer compliant for new installations.

Special location work — kitchen and bathroom

Kitchen circuits include the ring or radial for sockets, dedicated circuits for cooker (32A or 45A), oven (separate from hob common), dishwasher and washing machine (often on a kitchen ring), and extractor. Modern best practice is dedicated radials for high-current appliances rather than loading the ring final.

Bathroom and shower room work is governed by BS 7671:2018 Section 701. Zones and IP ratings:

Shaver sockets (BS EN 61558-2-5) are permitted outside Zone 2 with a transformer. Lighting in Zones 1-2 must be IP-rated downlights or sealed pendants. Bathroom extract must be on its own circuit (not the lighting circuit) per BS 7671 Reg 528 if rated above 60W.

Make-good and decoration

The trade decision on make-good shapes the entire job pricing. Three options:

  1. Sparks make-good plaster only — sparks does the chase, fills with bonding plaster, leaves customer to skim and decorate. Cheapest, looks unfinished.
  2. Plasterer follows sparks for skim — sparks does the chase, plasterer skims, customer decorates. Mid-cost, looks finished but unpainted.
  3. Full multi-trade — sparks chase, plasterer skim, decorator paint. Premium cost, looks complete.

For full rewires, option 3 is the standard customer expectation. Plasterer cost is typically 3-5 days; decorator 2-4 days. Combined make-good and decoration adds £1,200-£4,500 to the rewire quote.

The pricing trap is under-scoping the make-good. A "rewire" quote that excludes make-good and decoration is a £4,000 quote that becomes £7,500 by the time the customer pays for plaster and paint themselves. Always quote inclusive of make-good as the headline figure, with optional removal of paint/plaster as a cost-down option.

Hidden costs and risk premium

The five most-missed cost lines in rewire quotes are: (1) asbestos in pre-2000 textured ceiling coatings (artex) — specialist survey £150-£280, removal £80-£280/m² if needed; (2) heritage / period property complications (parquet floors, ornate cornice protection, sash window architrave); (3) earthing and bonding upgrades — older houses often need new main earth bonding (12mm²) to gas and water services; (4) supply upgrade — older 60A supply heads need DNO upgrade to 100A for modern loads (£200-£550 DNO fee); (5) carpet lift and relay (£8-£25/m² for fitted carpets).

Risk premium of 15-25% is standard on pre-1965 properties: lath-and-plaster walls, lead piping, redundant sub-mains, undocumented modifications.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to notify Building Control for a full rewire?

Yes — a full rewire is a notifiable activity under Building Regulations Part P. The work must be: (1) self-certified by a Part P-registered competent person scheme member (NICEIC, NAPIT, ELECSA, BSI, NICEIC Domestic, etc.), OR (2) inspected and certified by Local Authority Building Control (£180-£450 inspection fee). Self-certification is faster and cheaper; LABC inspection is the route for non-registered electricians or DIY projects.

Can the customer live in the house during a rewire?

Yes, but it is disruptive. A typical rewire is 7-12 working days; during this time, sockets are dead in the room being worked on, dust is generated, and the consumer unit may be off for 4-8 hours during the changeover. Best practice is staged delivery: ground floor first, upstairs second, allowing the customer to live partially. Vacant property is 25-40% faster and dust-cleaner.

How long does a 3-bed rewire take?

7-10 working days for the electrical work, plus 3-5 days for plaster make-good and 2-3 days for decoration. Calendar time 3-4 weeks including drying and snagging. Vacant property can compress to 5-7 days for the rewire + make-good. Multi-trade coordination (sparks, plasterer, decorator) typically extends calendar time by 5-10 days versus working-day estimates.

Should I include the consumer unit in the rewire quote?

Yes — almost always. A full rewire on an old consumer unit is illogical (new circuits feeding into an old, possibly non-compliant board). Standard practice is to include a new RCBO consumer unit in the rewire quote. The exception is where the existing CU is already a modern RCBO board less than 5 years old and complies with current BS 7671.

Can I quote a flat rate per socket or do I price each property?

Per-socket flat rates only work for properties of similar age, construction, and complexity. The reality is that no two rewires are identical and a "per socket" flat rate undercharges for complex properties and overcharges for simple ones. Always price after survey. For very rough budget estimates pre-survey, £200-£350 per socket position (inclusive of cable, fitting, certification) is a reasonable benchmark for typical UK housing.

Regulations & Standards