Hastings is full of houses that were wired for a different life. Two lights and one socket per room, a fuse box under the stairs, and everything since added on top. A house rewire puts in new cable from the board out, so the whole installation is one age and one standard again. We do full rewires and partial rewires on the terraces, on the three storey Victorian houses up the hill roads, and in the flats carved out of them. We are based in St Leonards, two and a half miles away, so we are on site early and we are not driving back to another county at four o'clock. Ring us and we will come and look at the house first.
Signs a Hastings house needs rewiring
Some of it you can see. Round pin sockets, brown bakelite switches, black rubber or fabric covered cable in the loft, a fuse board with wire in it. Some of it you can feel. Sockets that run warm, a smell of hot plastic, lights that dim when the kettle goes on, breakers that trip for no obvious reason. Some of it only shows on test, which is why an inspection comes before any quote. A lot of the rewires we do in Hastings start with a survey on a house purchase, or with an EICR on a rental that came back with a long list rather than one or two items.
Full rewire or partial rewire
A full rewire means every cable in the house is new, from the board to the last socket. A partial means we replace part of it, usually because part of it has already been done. In converted flats around the town it is common to find new wiring in the kitchen and 1960s cable everywhere else. A partial is only worth doing if what is left tests clean, and we will tell you straight if it does not. What we will not do is bolt new circuits onto an installation that is going to need pulling out anyway. You would be paying twice for the same job.
What the disruption is really like
It is a messy job and anyone who tells you different has not done one. Floorboards come up, walls get chased for new cable, and ceilings sometimes have to be opened to get at lighting points. In older Hastings houses with lath and plaster there is usually more making good than in a modern build, and the walls are solid rather than stud, so chasing makes dust. We sheet up, we lift boards carefully and put them back, and we agree before we start who is filling chases and who is decorating. Most people have the plastering and painting done after us, so book those trades in the right order.
How we stage it around people living in the house
Most people cannot move out, and they do not need to. We work in sections, usually floor by floor, so you go to bed with lights on and go to work with a kettle. There is normally one day when the board is changed and the whole house is off, and we tell you which day that is well in advance. Kitchens and bathrooms get planned around your routine rather than ours. If the house is empty, say a landlord turning a property round between tenancies, we can run it straight through, whether that is a terrace in the town centre or a semi up in Ore.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do we have to move out while the house is rewired?
A: Most people stay. We work in sections so there are lights and sockets on somewhere in the house at the end of each day. There is normally one day when the board goes in and everything is off, and you will know which day that is in advance. If you have young children, pets or you work from home, tell us at the survey and we will build the order of work around it rather than the other way round.
Q: How do I know if I need a full house rewire or just a new fuseboard?
A: Testing tells you, guessing does not. The number that matters most is insulation resistance. If the cable is breaking down, a new board will trip on it and you have spent money on the wrong thing. If the cable tests well and the board is simply old, a board change is the sensible job. We test first and give you the readings, then you decide with real numbers in front of you.
Q: Do you make good the plaster and decorating after a rewire?
A: We fill the chases we cut and we put floorboards back. Full plastering and decorating is a separate trade and we do not pretend otherwise, because a rewire in an old Hastings house usually needs a plasterer behind it. We will tell you honestly what state the walls and ceilings will be left in before you commit, and we are happy to work alongside your plasterer so the timing lines up.
Q: Can you rewire a flat in a converted house?
A: Yes, and we do a lot of them here. The extra things to sort are the freeholder's written permission, access to the meters and any shared riser, and who owns the wiring in the communal hallway. Neighbours matter too, because drilling and lifting boards travels through a converted house. We are qualified and fully insured, and we will put the scope in writing so there is no argument later about where your flat stops.