How Messy is a House Rewire?

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One of the questions I get asked more than any other is, How messy will it be to rewire my home? I always give the same answer, a house rewire will create dust because we have to chase walls to install new cables. There is no point pretending otherwise. What matters is how we manage it.

A recent rewire really sticks in my mind. The customer had a child in the household who has asthma and was understandably worried about how much dust would be created and how long the work would take. We talked everything through before starting. I explained that a full house rewire could take around one to three weeks depending on the size of the property, and that there would be a fair amount of dust although we use M class dust extraction which eliminates 95% of dust while we were chasing walls but it unfortunately does not eliminate 100% . After discussing the options with the family they decided to stay elsewhere while we completed the work. That meant we could move around the property much more freely, finish the rewire in good time, and make sure the house was throughly dust free before they returned.

This family asked exactly the right questions before work started.

They wanted to know:

• How much dust would there be?
• How long would the work take?
• Would it effect their child's Asthma?
• Are we a registered with a governing body?

Because we discussed everything thoroughly before the job began, they could make an informed decision. They chose to move out temporarily while we completed the work. It made the house safer and more comfortable for their child, and it also allowed us to work room by room without interrupting the family.

What actually creates the mess during a house rewire?

The biggest source of dust is chasing walls. This is where we cut channels into the plaster so new cables can be installed safely inside the walls. Every room being rewired will normally involve some chasing work, so there will always be some dust during the process.

We do everything we reasonably can do to reduce the mess. Before we start, we lay dust sheets throughout the working areas, to protect carpets and flooring where possible and use M class dust extraction to minimise the dust. We also take care around furniture and belongings.

Many customers also help by moving furniture away from the walls before we arrive and covering larger items themselves. That gives us better access and reduces the chance of accidental knocks or damage while we're working.

Planning your house rewire makes a huge difference.

One of the biggest mistakes I see isn't about the electrical work at all.

Many homeowners don't spend enough time planning where they want sockets, switches and lighting before the work starts. As the rewire progresses, they begin changing their minds or adding extra points.

Those additions are often perfectly possible, but they usually involve extra work and additional cost.

Before any house rewire, I alway recommend sitting down and thinking about how you'll actually use each room. Consider where furniture will go, where you'll charge devices, where you need lighting, and whether you might want extra sockets for future use. Good planning saves time, avoids unnecessary changes, and helps everything run much more smoothly.

To enquire about a rewire in Bristol get in touch today!