Plastering after an electrical rewire

[ladyclarandon]

Just purchased a 2 bed flat which needs a complete rewire. Flat is currently empty as I'm moving in from rented and have a few weeks before i need to move. My question is when you have plastering done after a rewire do they usually only plaster around where the walls have been cut in (is that the correct term) or do they need to do whole walls to keep everything smooth?

Second question is if plastering is only around the rewiring damage, and some walls have a lot of drill holes from vendors shelves etc, is it worth getting the whole wall replastered or will a competent DIYer be able to fill and make good the holes so that the walls are smooth for painting? Trying to keep costs down but want to get things as good as possible while flat in empty to save future hassle.

Just had a rewire and everywhere was plastered - all over the walls not just patches. Don't know if that's the norm though but just offering my experience!

If you get a plasterer, he will want to whiz over the entire wall.

A DIYer will prefer to fill in holes and chases. This is likely to take longer.

If done properly, the whole wall should be skimmed over. As John said, a DIYer will just do a patch work quilt.

Had mine done a little while back and although they tried their best to limit the destruction and only cover up the actually damaged parts, there was a lot of full plastering needed to get everything back into a fit state for decorating. Then I asked them to replaster one room that they had got away with barely damaging anyway as it was being shown up so much by the others and had a lingering odour from the old tenants (lol). This house was horrific from the beginning, though.