Can we re-wire the downstairs but leave the upstairs and lighting until later?

Hi sir, yes you certainly can rewire just the downstairs and leave the upstairs but there are few things to consider: How safe is wiring upstairs for a continued use. Are there any defects to the upstairs wiring or accessories that present a danger to you or your family Are there any defects to the upstairs wiring or accessories that could present fault conditions to your updated consumer unit. Will defects to the upstairs wiring prevent you from obtaining any certification. Will you be renting the property and are therefore obligated by law that the whole of the installation is in a safe condition. I would suggest getting an EICR carried out to iron out all of the above. Hope this was helpful David

Hi, A house wiring would normally get split up in to circuits for different areas, like upstairs lights, downstairs lights, upstairs sockets, downstairs sockets, then cooker, shower, outbuildings, sometimes a circuit for just the kitchen. To do the downstairs lights you need to take the floors up above as it would make it easier than making loads of holes in the ceiling below. The upstairs lighting would be done mostly form the loft, if you don’t want to chase the wires out then put them in trunking until you are ready to chase the walls out. Sometimes the easiest routes for even the sockets and cooker circuits would still be from under the upstairs floor. It might be possible to install a new consumer unit with RCBO's & SPD alongside your old fusebox then rewire each area as and when you can, then remove the old fusebox once complete. I hope this answers your question.

Yes this is possible and would be best suited for an electrician to come and assess to work out the best way to achieve this

I have read your question carefully and I think you have misunderstood about wiring downstairs. You do have to lift carpets and floorboards because all the wires are marshalled through the floor void even the upstairs sockets. The only wiring in the loft is for upstairs lights. If you are going to the trouble of doing this then I would do the whole lot.

yes