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Original poster

Can you live in a house being totally rewired?

39 replies

Snowstorm · 10/06/2011 19:25

Hope to exchange/buy a house that (unfortunately) needs totally re-wiring. We're not going to be able to afford to not live there whilst the work is being done but I'm not quite sure what to expect.

All constructive experience welcome ... am trying to avoid doom and gloom stories as am quite stressed enough about the whole buying/selling thing going on!

TIA.

OP posts:

Vix1980 · 13/06/2011 10:06

You have to check the state of the walls to have a more accurate timeframe, we were quoted 1 week by a good friend who recently did ours, all was fine till he started channeling out the upstairs walls and 1 by 1 they all fell down, due to being so old we had to spend the next month or 2 repairing them, then he was able to continue, but die to the dust and dirt i personally couldnt live in the house while it was going on, you can shut the door to a room your staying in, but it still gets in! is there no way you could stay with a few friends for a couple of days providing the electrician does the dirty work in that time, so it wouldnt be that bad when you have to move back and live in the rest.

Original poster

Snowstorm · 13/06/2011 14:16

Well my understanding is that it's going to take about 3 weeks and so it's unfortunately it's not just a matter of a couple of days and staying with someone.

Presuming the sales all go through, will try to get it done at start of term so kids don't have to be here for majority of the day (don't know how I am going to get by without internet access though - eek!). Will also not be doing kitchen and dining room until we've decided whether we can and will knock through or not.

Will try and get back in there with the electrican once we've secured the sale/exchanged (if the current owner doesn't mind).

OP posts:

GnomeDePlume · 13/06/2011 14:43

Hi Snowstorm, when you do a walk through with the electrician discuss with him/her any plans you have for changes. It is possible that he will be able to do the wiring and leave you free to make the changes you want later without a huge amount of disruption to the wiring. Also mention to him if you are thinking of extending, putting on a conservatory or opening up a patio door. All these can affect how the electrician will think about the circuits.

Original poster

Snowstorm · 13/06/2011 15:09

Thanks Gnome ... all very good/sensible/invaluable advice ... must make a note or not lose this thread!

OP posts:

PigletJohn · 13/06/2011 15:29

It will be done quicker if the house is empty

(unless he charges by the day and sits about reading the Fun)

GnomeDePlume · 13/06/2011 15:32

Just a thought - will you be making changes to the central heating system? If so, then this is also worth doing at the same time while the walls are being hacked about and floor boards are up.

We renovated a bungalow a few months ago and because of woodworm replaced all the floors and some joists. DH and his gas fitter mate were in 7th heaven because all the floors were up and they could fit away to their hearts' content. It is surprising what makes sparks and gas fitters happy!

Original poster

Snowstorm · 13/06/2011 16:30

Would be lovely to be able to have it done while the house is empty but we do not have that option.

Gnome ... again that's a very good point ... how do you feel about project managing this one!!! Once we've got the paperwork back from the vendor then we'll be able to ascertain the state of the central heating system and whether or not we need to send the plumber in. Am still getting over the whole electrician/re-wiring/ripping the floorboards up/destroying the house thing at the moment ... One step at a time for the faint of heart!

OP posts:

GnomeDePlume · 13/06/2011 17:39

Snowstorm - we have renovated a couple of houses as business ventures. The real trick I think is not to panic. I had an attack of the vapours when I read about the woodworm in the last place but in fact it wasnt the disaster scenario which first passed through my mind.

BTW many houses which were built before central heating will have had woodworm or some sort of rot. If you do find this when the carpets come up dont panic. Replace all the damaged timbers and put new floors down if required. As we were putting carpets in we put flooring grade chipboard
down rather than floor boards. Treat all exposed timbers with woodworm gloop (available from people like screwfix). Total material cost to replace the whole of a bungalow floor plus some joists was certainly no more than a couple of hundred pounds.

Do read up about things before making any contracts to have work done. Come back on MN with any questions or feel free to PM me. It's amazing how your confidance will grow as you go through this work. Before you know it you will be chatting about rads with your gas fitter, supplementary bonding with your electrician and discussing steels with your builder. At this point you will look with disdain at dandy kitchen designers!

Original poster

Snowstorm · 13/06/2011 18:34

Brilliant - thanks Gnome! What is PM you and how would I do that?

OP posts:

GnomeDePlume · 13/06/2011 18:48

PM = Private Message

If you go to the top of the Mumsnet screen you will see a button marked Inbox. This allows you to email via mumsnet using the username ie I am GnomeDePlume and you are Snowstorm!

Anyway, have fun doing up your house!

Original poster

Snowstorm · 13/06/2011 18:51

Oh that's good - thanks!

OP posts:

ThatVikRinA22 · 13/06/2011 23:06

o god gnome i wish id known you on here before....to have our floor and joists replaced and to treat a woodwormy floor cost us £1200!

GnomeDePlume · 14/06/2011 07:59

Vicar - the cost I quoted was purely materials as DH did the work himself. We didnt need to replace the whole floor but it was a case of in for a penny in for a pound. If we didnt replace all of it I had visions of my mother/MIL pushing a walking stick through the floor in some missed bit of wormery.

It is certainly always worth reading up on the internet about things. Knowing what a job actually entails does keep the cowboys at bay. Good tradesmen are worth their salt. Sadly too many baduns are making it difficult if not impossible for the honest guys to make a decent living.

northerngirl41 · 14/06/2011 19:20

Having been adamant that I was going to stay in situ, it took me three days to realise that it wasn't humanly possible. The dust is just revolting and a complete rewire means you can't even camp out in one room and isolate it from everywhere the work is being done.

Top tip: book industrial cleaners before you attempt to do anything after they've finished.

I vividly remember standing in our kitchen and just not knowing where to start... Took industrial cleaners, two normal cleans and one further industrial clean to get it all back to normal. You'll find that you clean everything and disturb the dust, which then resettles and you need to clean it again. Wiping it just smears more!

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