Rewiring a house, is it important? How often does it need to be done? Why do you need to do it? These are all questions that you should be considering when buying, building, or moving in to a new house. Wiring forms the base infrastructure of your entire home, so if it’s not up to scratch it can cause significant problems down the line, or even prove to be dangerous. So why might you need to get it done?

Age

Technology has obviously improved significantly in the past couple of decades and wiring is no different. Older fuse boxes and wiring can be less reliable than their modern counterparts, and those legacy wires will inevitably begin to show signs of wear and tear over time, so it’s important to address them early on.

How can I tell that my home might have older wiring?

The problems these sorts of older wiring setups cause can vary, including more frequent blown fuses and tripped breakers, buzzing sounds, a burning smell, or even electrical shocks when inserting a plug into a socket. These problems range from being inconvenient to being quite dangerous, and all of them are signs that your home may need rewiring.

There are also less obvious signs..

You may not be experiencing any of these occurrences in your home for the moment but there are a few other key scenarios that will warrant a rewiring of your home - if your home is over 40 years old, if your home has aluminium wiring instead of the more traditional copper, or if you have recently completed a large renovation or extension.

If you’re extending or renovating your home, it’s important that you at least have your wiring checked by a qualified electrician. House extensions and major renovations are not cheap, so the last thing you’d want is to complete an extension to find that turning on the lights overloads your wiring.

If you do decide to rewire your house, then we’d recommend doing so before any decorating is done as the process can be messy, and sometimes require re-plastering.

If left unchecked, poor wiring could lead to electrical shocks, burning, or worse. If you’re worried that your home may fall into these categories, you should definitely get it checked by a qualified electrician.

There are noticeable benefits to getting your home rewired

Most people would be disappointed to find their home needs to be rewired - it sounds expensive. It’s not all doom and gloom though; there are plenty of upsides to having your home rewired, such as improving the overall capacity of your home. For instance, if your home has not been rewired since the 1960s, then there’s a good chance that you will only have a 60-amp service. These days, a 60-amp wiring is seen as being unreliable and even unsafe.

An upgrade to the more modern 100-amp service will provide you with a much more reliable home and can even save you money on your insurance. Most insurance companies will either charge you more, or refuse to insure your home if it still runs on 60-amp wiring due to its potential dangers and unreliability.

Not only will your home be safer, but modern rewiring is also much more efficient than legacy systems, meaning energy bills are likely to reduce over time.

Similarly, just like home renovations, rewiring can also provide a nice bump to the overall value of your home. If you’re looking to sell your home or just improve its value then a rewiring service - , if properly signed off by an inspector - , can really boost your property value. It also makes it a much more enticing prospect for buyers, as old wiring can be an instant put off for many people who aren’t willing to get the work done.

Of course, the most important reason to have your house rewired is for safety. Having your house rewired greatly reduces the chance of electrical problems which will ultimately give you peace of mind. Electrical safety is something that nobody should take lightly, and if you ever have any doubts about the safety of your home, we’d recommend getting it checked by a qualified, trustworthy electrician.

Remember that you should never try to fix an electrical problem by yourself, and always consult with a qualified professional. Need help finding one? We’ve got plenty of trusted tradespeople up for the job on Local Heroes.