Outlining the steps involved in rewiring a building, from planning and preparation to the actual rewiring process and final testing.

Rewiring a home can be a daunting task for any homeowner. It involves a comprehensive overhaul of the electrical system, impacting every room in the house. The electrical system, powered by cables hidden within the walls, provides power to all your electrical appliances, lights, and outlets. It is advised to replace these cables every 25 years to avoid the potential hazards of sub-standard and incorrectly installed electrics, such as fires and electric shocks.

We offer rewiring services to ensure your home is up-to-date, safe, and compliant to eliminate potential problems.

Initial Enquiry

It all starts with an enquiry.

If you're considering rewiring your home or want to assess the safety of your electrical system, Hal Systems can help.

Simply call us on 07544871356, email us at admin@halsystemsltd.co.uk or use the contact form.

We'll gather your information at our office and chat about your project. We can estimate the installation cost and share examples of similar rewiring projects we've done in your neighbourhood or even on your street.

Our lead electrician will arrange a visit to your property at a time that's convenient for you. The survey will take little time; our electricians have rewired so many homes in the South Yorkshire area that we just need some basic notes and a conversation about your electrical needs.

We aim to send you a quote for a complete rewiring job within 24 hours, and we hope that we'll be chosen to handle the rewiring of your home.

Installation Day

Our professionals show up ready to go at the crack of dawn

Before our arrival, it is important that you have made the necessary preparations and organised your property. Upon arrival, we will take a moment to go over the positioning and layout of your new electrical system. Some clients may have a pre-determined plan, while others may prefer to receive advice from our knowledgeable electricians on the best electrical layout for their homes.

  • Outlets - Determine the placement and type of your new electrical outlets.
  • Illumination - Specify your lights' location, type, and switch options.
  • Outdoor Lighting - Consider installing lights at both the front and back of the property.
  • Outdoor Sockets - Some clients prefer an external socket for convenience.
  • Shower Supply - Decide whether you need an electrical supply for a shower or if the boiler will power it.
  • Cooking Options - Determine if you will cook with gas or require an electrical supply for cooking.
  • Fire Safety - We suggest installing smoke alarms on each floor and kitchen.
  • Detached Buildings - If you have a garage or shed that requires power, consider the accessibility.
  • Ventilation - Determine if your property requires extractor fans to meet building control regulations.
  • Kitchen Upgrades - Consider the electrical requirements if installing a new kitchen.

Let's Start the Work!

At this point, you should have received information on how to prepare for our arrival.

We cover your belongings in occupied homes with dust sheets and rearrange any remaining furniture. Then, we remove any floor coverings, such as carpets.

Our electricians are highly skilled in rewiring and only require a brief planning period to determine the best approach for each property. A quick meeting between our team will be held to assign tasks, address potential challenges, and agree on a plan of action.

Isolate the Supply

Before beginning the rewiring process, we must isolate your electrical supply for safety. Our electricians follow a safe isolation procedure to always ensure their safety. A temporary electrical supply will power our tools, chargers, and lighting.

Floorboards

Most properties have floorboards, and we will run the main electrical cables under them. In the initial stages of the rewiring, we will lift the necessary floorboards and create routes for the new 240v cables.

Chasing and Cutting

We will tackle the messier part once the routes are ready. Most clients prefer having the cables concealed within the walls. We will use a chasing machine to cut through the brick and remove the remaining brickwork to create a neat channel for the 240v electrical cables.

Clean as we go – At HalSystems, we take our rubbish and clean as we go.

Electrical Wiring

This is where our electricians use their technical knowledge to wire the property in accordance with the 18th edition wiring regulations. We use cables rated for each circuit to prevent overheating and ensure that each circuit can handle the current needed to power your devices and appliances.

Typical Home Electrical Circuits

In a standard property, we expect to see the following circuits:

  • Ring mains for socket outlets
  • Ring mains for kitchen sockets
  • Upstairs lighting circuit
  • Downstairs lighting circuit
  • Smoke alarm circuit
  • Central heating circuit
  • Shower circuit
  • Cooker circuit

We provide extra circuits in your new 18th edition dual RCD or RCBO consumer unit. Some examples of additional circuits may include:

  • Garage circuit
  • Shed circuit
  • Car charging circuit
  • Water heater circuit
  • Hot tub circuit
  • External lighting circuit
  • Shower pump circuit
  • Alarm circuit
  • CCTV circuit

Wiring Completion

Once all the necessary electrical cables are installed, it's time to assemble your home. We double-check everything to ensure nothing was missed, and all new cabling is in good condition without any damage or potential risks.

Box Out

Next, we install the electrical back boxes. Galvanised boxes come in 1 or 2-gang versions; we choose the appropriate box for each accessory. The boxes have threaded lugs for screwing in your sockets and switches and space for connections at the back of the switch. We secure the boxes to the wall with screws and use a rubber grommet to create an entry point for the new wiring.

Capping

Protection for the electrical cables is not mandatory, and each contractor has their methods, but at Hal Systems, we prefer to use galvanised metal capping. This thin protective layer covers the cables for a neat, professional finish and offers some protection during other trades, such as plastering.

Flooring Reinstatement

Finally, we put the property back together by replacing floorboards and closing gaps. The property is starting to look normal again, and now is a good time for another sweep, regrouping, and discussion on the next steps.

Plaster and Making Good

If you haven’t guessed by now, rewiring can get messy. It involves cutting into your home's brickwork, which means the walls must be repaired. The plasterers arrive at this rewiring stage and work with the initial bonding coat. During this time, we aim to give the plasterers some space, so you will find our electricians working on second-fix items such as your new consumer unit, external lighting, or other areas that don’t require significant plaster repairs.

Once plastering is complete, this leaves an excellent surface, which our rewiring electricians can screw the new faceplates against.

Fit Out and Termination

We are fast approaching the end of the project. The hard work is complete, and it's time to terminate all the new electrical accessories and products throughout your home.

We use electrical side pliers to strip back the PVC Twin and earth cable to reveal the inner core. The inner core is stripped at the end to reveal a small copper section. The copper section carries the electrical current, which is the important part that must connect to the terminals of the electrical accessories. The copper section is connected at the circuit breaker and then at each electrical accessory, carrying the electrical current where ever it needs to go. The PVC insulation is in place to protect anyone from touching the copper part and getting an electrical shock.

Examples of Electrical Switchgear Accessories

The “A” indicates how many amps that accessory can safely handle.

  • 32A Socket Outlets Double
  • 32A Socket Outlet Single
  • 6A Light Switches 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G and more….
  • 6A Pendant Lamp Holders
  • 6A Baton Lamp Holders
  • 32A Switched Fuse Spurs
  • 6A Fan Isolators
  • 45A Cooker Switches and Outlets
  • 45A Shower Switches
  • 20A Double pole switches

Other Electrical Products Often Installed.

  • Smoke Alarms
  • Heat Alarms
  • C02 Alarms
  • External Security LED Security Lights
  • Alarm Systems
  • Doorbells
  • Extractor Fans
  • Wall Lights
  • Decorative External Lights
  • Electric Heaters

Consumer Unit

All the electrical accessories and products are connected to the preinstalled wiring, which feeds back to the consumer unit or how it's better described as a distribution unit.

In short, it takes the main power and fuses it down to smaller cables which we have installed to power your accessories. It provides safety features and switching options to safely isolate each circuit. The trip switches turn off if a fault is detected in the system.

If completed after now, one of our trained electricians connects all the cables at the consumer unit in preparation for the power going on.

Initial Tests

Using electrical test equipment, we conduct initial electrical testing to ensure the cables are safe to energise. We have further tests to do when the power goes on, but we must ensure it will work properly and avoid any nasty faults.

Power Up

The Fun Part!

We now get to see all that initial handwork come to light.

We start with the main switch individually, energising your new electrical circuits. Seeing the property light up is good and gives a great sense of achievement. Our electricians quickly perform functional tests such as switching the light switches and trying some load on the sockets.

Clean Up

We move on to the big tidy-up when all electrical works are complete. Electrical rewiring can get very dusty, so the prior preparations must be done properly to reduce mess.

We use dust extraction equipment when possible to reduce the scale of the mess, but being such a disruptive building works, it's inevitable there will be some dust around.

We clean at each job stage and then work on the final clean.

The carpets are down, and we start hoovering each room, starting with the big hoover and then using the small hoover to catch all the fine dust particles. It’s important to clean into all the corners, on top of skirtings, doors, and anywhere else the dust might have found its way too.

Finally, each surface is wiped down with a damp cloth which helps with surface dust. The property will likely need another clean when we leave, but the initial clean by our team is generally good.

We offer further professional builders clean while this is often not required, some clients choose this option to go one step further and avoid any cleaning of their own.

Final Tests and Sign Off 

It's time to sign off when we are complete and happy with the job. Our electricians will call you around one hour before it's time to showcase your new electrical system.

We start our final tests and log this information onto our NICEIC online certification software during this time. The certificates are processed in a few days and delivered to your email. This also forms your 6-year platinum promise guarantee, so keep them safe.

Our electricians will take you around the site to explain the electrical work and demonstrate how it functions.