Up Close Electrical Ltd

• Rubber, fabric or lead sheathed cable anywhere in the property. Modern cable is grey or white PVC. Anything black and rubbery has insulation that will be crumbling.
• Round pin or two pin sockets, phased out decades ago.
• An old rewireable fuse box with no RCD protection.
• Sockets or switches that are warm to the touch.
• Lights dimming noticeably when an appliance kicks in.
• Frequent tripping across several different circuits rather than just one.
• Not enough sockets, with extension leads running everywhere.
• An EICR that has come back with multiple C1 or C2 codes.

A full rewire replaces everything. All cable, all sockets and switches, all lighting, and a new consumer unit.

A partial rewire covers part of the property. Common examples are one floor, the lighting circuits only, or the kitchen and bathroom where the oldest and most demanding circuits usually are.

An EICR is the right starting point. It costs a fraction of a rewire and tells you honestly whether you need everything doing or just part of it. Plenty of people arrive expecting a full rewire and leave with a much smaller job.

• New cable throughout the areas being rewired
• New sockets, switches and light fittings
• A new consumer unit with individual RCBO protection
• Earthing and bonding brought up to current standards
• Additional sockets fitted where you want them
• Full testing to BS 7671
• An Electrical Installation Certificate
• Building Control notification through NAPIT
• Making good to a filled and flush finish, ready for decoration

Survey and plan. We walk the house with you and agree exactly where every socket, switch and light is going. This is the part most people rush and then regret. Think about where the television goes, which side of the bed you charge your phone, whether you want power outside, and where you will want sockets in five years rather than today.

Written schedule. Room by room, with dates, so you know which rooms are out of action and when.

First fix. Cables run, back boxes fitted, chases cut into walls. This is the messy stage.

Making good. Chases filled and made flush, ready for decoration.

Second fix. Sockets, switches, light fittings and the new consumer unit all fitted.

Testing and certification. Every circuit tested, results recorded, certificate issued and notified to Building Control.

Most people do, and it is entirely manageable when it is planned properly.

• We work one floor at a time so you always have power somewhere in the house.
• The kitchen and at least one socket circuit stay live as long as possible.
• Power is only fully off for one day, when the new consumer unit goes in.
• Dust sheets go down daily and mess is cleared before we leave each evening.
• You are told the night before which rooms are going off the following day.

Staying in does slow the job down and it does add to the cost, because everything has to be worked around you. It is still what most people choose.

Chasing cable into walls creates dust and nothing avoids that. What we control is how it is handled. Sheeting down, doorways taped, hoovering at the end of each day, and debris cleared rather than piled up in the garden.

Making good is included to a filled and flush finish ready for decorating. If you want it taken further, full plastering, joinery and decorating can be arranged through Up Close Construction so the whole job is handled by one company rather than three.