Update 2022: The UK has experienced unprecedented price rises over the last 18 months and some home improvement projects are costing 20-60% more than they did pre-pandemic. On this page, you’ll find our updated 2022 rewiring price guide. If you would like a custom price, please fill in this form with details of your project.
Electrical rewiring is one of those tasks that many homeowners fear and dread. without a doubt, it is a major and disruptive undertaking and once done, shouldn’t need doing again for 50+years.
On this page, you’ll find example prices for:
- 2-bed property.
- 3-bed property.
- 4-bed property.
- Extras.
Before you read any further, do take into account that most electricians refuse to rewire a property unless the occupants first move out. Those that do the work with the occupants still in the home often charge more as the project will take longer.
We asked two electricians what they thought about rewiring a house with the occupants still living in the property:
Dave, an electrician from Crawley told us:
I have done full house rewires with the occupants remaining in the house, it’s not ideal and adds extra time and cost to the project. The work is very disruptive and it’s not an enjoyable experience for the family.
Mark from Farnham added:
I used to undertake rewires with the residents remaining in situ but stopped about 10 years ago, now I only do this work if they are prepared to move out, at least for the bulk of the work. I would consider it only if one person lives in the property but if it’s an entire family; then forget it – I always ask them to relocate.
Daniel from Guildford told us:
I had two customers leave negative reviews online after I did a rewire for them, the issues raised were the amount of dust, inconvenience and frustration that they experienced. I’m just not prepared to ruin my reputation and good scores on Checkatrade so now I will only take on a project if they move out for the duration of the project.
Why is House Rewiring So Disruptive?
The contents of the house should ideally be removed and placed into storage to protect them from the dust and make it easier for the electrician to complete the work. Large items can be left in the centre of the room and covered in sheets.
The floorboards upstairs will need to be lifted so there is a trip hazard and lots of dust. Also, walls will need to be cut and this will create more dust, even with modern tools equipped with dust extraction, plenty of dust will escape and it gets everywhere.
Power will need to be switched off and it’s not ideal to have extension leads running everywhere for the occupants to have temporary power.
While it is possible to stay in the house during the work, the project will take longer and cost more.
House Rewire Price List Updated For 2022
Below is our 2022 rewiring price list.
| Project: | Price: |
|---|---|
| 2-bed house | £4500 - £5000 |
| 3-bed house | £5500 - £6000 |
| 4 bed house | £6500 - £7000 |
| 2-bed bungalow | £3750 - £4250 |
| 3-bed bungalow | £4250 - £4750 |
| Cost to Replace a Fusebox/Consumer Unit (on its own, as a separate project) | £500 - £700 |
| Get a Custom Price: | Fill in This Form |
What a House Rewire Entails
Below is a list of everything you can expect from a house rewire.
Think of this as a works schedule, although your property may have slightly different requirements, we feel this is a good starting point:
- Removal of existing sockets, switches, cables, light fittings and consumer unit (fusebox).
- Install a new consumer unit
- Install new lighting rings to the ground and first floors.
- Two or three ring circuits for the power sockets.
- A dedicated circuit for the cooker.
- A dedicated circuit for a power shower.
- 2-way switching for lights in hallway/landing and also in the master bedroom.
- Outdoor lighting to the rear garden and movement sensor with two lights to front garden/porch.
- Outdoor socket in the garden.
- Power and lighting to a garage or outbuilding.
- High-speed data cable to the front room and possibly master bedroom or study room/office.
- Earthing and bonding.
- Circuit testing
- Building Control notification/certificate.
What’s Not Included in the House Rewiring Prices?
While every electrician is different, most don’t include:
- Plastering.
- Redecorating.
- Replacing damaged floor or wall tiles.
None of these is included in the prices shown on this page.
How Long Does it Take to Rewire a House?
You can expect the installation in a typical 3-bedroom home to take around 5-7 full days and extra time for replastering and redecorating after the wiring is completed.
We would suggest a timescale of 5-8 days, assuming the house is empty of course.
4 or 5-bed houses can take up to 2 weeks.
In general, house rewires take longer when the customer wants:
- Extra sockets.
- Switches and sockets moved to new locations.
- Extra circuits.
- Data cables.
How the Quality of the Finish Affects the Cost of a House Rewire
The house rewire prices we have suggested on this page are for white plastic finishes on all the fittings.
If you choose brushed steel or chrome then expect the cost to increase.
To give you an example; a high-quality premium brushed steel socket typically cost up to five times as much as a cheap basic white plastic socket. Even mid-range polished metal sockets cost two to three times the cost of plastic fittings.
See What Prices Other Visitors to This Website Have Been Given For a House Rewire
We first published our house rewiring price guide in 2017 and at the time we asked visitors to this page how much they’ve been quoted for house rewiring.
Some of the responses below are now out of date but you may find them insightful:
| Name: | Desc: | Price: |
|---|---|---|
| Paige S (Wilts) | Full rewire, 3-bed house (2022) | £4900 |
| Zoe W (Newcastle) | Our 1960s bungalow was rewired this month and it took two weeks and created alot of mess. (2022) | £4750 |
| Daniel Foley (Surrey) | 1 bed bungalow with a loft extension study. (2021) | £3500 |
| Davinia Faulkner (Essex) | The prices we've been given for a two-bed house rewire are (2021) | £2750, £3200, £3750, £4250 |
| Heather F (N Wales) | House rewire, 1930s property with 3 beds, garage and loft conversion study (2019) | £4000, £4250 and £4750 |
| Dee (Yorkshire) | Full rewire of a 2 bed bungalow and a small washroom. Inc outside plug and outside light (2018) | £2800 |
| JacqB (Middlesbrough) | 3 bed house, garage and kitchen extension. No plastering included. (2018) | £2,500 |
| Claire Wood (Crawley) | Some of the prices shown here seem a little on the cheap side. The best quote we could find was £4500, although our property does have some access issues. (2017) | £4500+ |
| Chris (Bristol) | two bed house, we got four prices and this was the cheapest. (2017) | £2250 |
| [redacted] (London all areas) | We normally charge between £2750 and £3250 for house rewires, 2 bed or small 3 bed houses. Call us on [redacted] to arrange a free estimate. (2017) | £2750-3250 |
| Mick (Preston) | New consumer unit, sockets and lights in the same location, alarm, entry cctv system, 2x outdoor security lights + porch light. Data points downstairs and in one bedroom. New heating controls with app access. Brushed chrome finish on all parts. 3 bed house. (2017) | £3300 |
You can add your own figures here.
How Many Sockets Are Required?
This is a common question and it’s worth remembering that how many are required and how many are recommended are two separate things.
Customers should try to future-proof their property so they don’t need extra work done down the line.
Consider these suggestions:
- Downstairs corridor/hallway – 1 x double socket for a small area, 2 x double sockets for a larger hallway.
- Lounge – 2 x double sockets in each corner with extra double socket near entertainment centre/tv.
- Kitchen – 4 x double sockets under worktop and 3 or 4 x double sockets above worktop.
- Utility room – 3 double sockets.
- Home office – 6 x double sockets to allow for computer, monitor and printing equipment.
- Landing at top of stairs – 1 x double socket.
- Master bedroom – 1 x double socket on either side of the bed and 2 x double sockets at each opposite corner of room.
- 2nd and 3rd bedrooms – 3 x double sockets.
How Often Should a House be Rewired?
Houses in the 1960s are now being rewired to get them up to a safe specification so while there isn’t a set lifespan for wiring and components such as consumer units and switches, your house shouldn’t need another rewire for at least 40 – 50 years.
Get a House Rewire Price Today
The house rewiring prices on this page were updated in 2022 but are estimates.
The only way to get an accurate figure is to arrange for a custom quote based on your requirements.
Tap the button below and fill out the form to get your free custom price for rewiring:
More:
The guide price on this page includes VAT at the current rate of 20%.
You could make a saving by choosing an electrician that is operating below the VAT registration threshold. although the saving would apply to the labour cost, not the materials.
Below you can find a link to our recently updated trade day rates page:
This guide to how much a house rewire will cost was written by Danny Woodley and was last updated in April 2022.
Don’t forget; we have price guides for hundreds of home improvement projects.
Explore our full list of detailed price guides here.
