How much does it cost to rewire a house?

Electrical inspection costs

If your home is more than 25 years old or so and has not had any major rewiring done in that time, then it may require a rewire to make sure it conforms with Part P of Building Regulations. Signs that your wiring may be old is if the cabling is covered in fabric or rubber rather than uPVC, and if the consumer unit (often called the fuse box) has large ceramic switches. If you suspect your wiring is old, you can ask an electrician to do a full inspection of your wiring to recommend any work that might need doing. An inspection with a written report can cost around £150 to £300 depending on the size of the property being checked over.

Electrical rewiring costs

The cost to rewire a house will depend mainly on the size of the property - for example, the cost to rewire a 3 bedroom house will be more than the cost of rewiring a flat.

Rewiring happens in two parts, a “first fix” which involves installing the wiring itself, and a “second fix” where the switches and sockets are installed and the system is connected and made live.

Installing the wiring can be an intensive and messy job - if possible, you should remove as much furniture as possible and take up carpets, as it is usually necessary to lift floorboards. Electricians may also need to remove skirting boards or cut into plaster, especially if they are installing new switches or sockets as they modernise the wiring. If your home is undergoing a full rewire, you might want to move out for the time it takes, as you will be without power and the process can be very disruptive.

A full rewire of a detached house can take a week or so, and will typically cost between £3,000 and £5,000 for the materials and labour. Smaller properties will be cheaper - a small flat will cost more like £2,500. If the work is very extensive and the plaster has been repeatedly cut into in either the walls or ceilings, you may want to consider a plaster re-skim to improve the appearance of the walls. Check out the full costs for plastering in our dedicated guide. 

Kitchen rewire costs

Because kitchens are typically the room in the home with the most sockets and wiring, to cope with the high volume of appliances we tend to use there, kitchen rewiring projects are particularly common. The average kitchen rewire cost is between £1,000 and £1,500.