Does a whole house rewire mean that we'll have to strip the wallpaper and get it replastered?

[Boonlark]

Hoping to complete on a house this week. It needs a complete rewire. There's wallpaper on every wall. Does this mean we'll need to strip it all off, get it all replastered and then have to decorate? Or is there a way to avoid that?

The house is pre 1945, and I'm fairly sure that the wallpaper is keeping the plaster on the walls, so stripping it could get very expensive, and I've only got a small budget that also needs to buy a double glazing (it's only single glazed) new kitchen and carpets.

Maybe get quotes from My Builder in your area?

householdquotes.co.uk/how-much-does-rewiring-cost/

As an aside, this was one of the reasons a new build appealed. It has up-to-date wiring. Loads more sockets than in older homes (the days before home personal computer technology etc.). Sometimes though, builders put sockets in the weird places but at least they are there.

An electrician won't strip off the wallpaper - they'll get a chisel and chisel out a channel for the new wiring and should make good. Or good-ish...

You could then strip the paper yourselves - it's time consuming but easy enough with a steamer, or do a make-do job and chuck up lining paper over the lot and paint.

Lining paper may be the way to go....

At least, I think that'd be cheaper than stripping, full replastering job and painting?

They either come up the wall or down from the ceiling depending on what room/type of floor etc.
Had ours done last year and every room had some damage (both for sockets and switches). I will say remember electrians are not plasterers and although they did a reasonable job it wasn't as good as the plasterers we've since hired.
On a positive note having it all rewired meant we could have plug sockets where we wanted them and it wasn't as messy as I thought it was going to be.

You could also chuck up lining paper so it's liveable, then one room at a time strip back to plaster and assess plaster integrity then?

They chisel the wall and then plaster over.

I stripped the wallpaper myself and chiselled out the channels myself to save money

Then just replastered each room as I got money

If replacing single glazing you might qualify for the new green deal. I know that’s not your question but it would save a lot. Thanks

FYI they will quite often leave the old wires in there to avoid ripping it all out.

209user my family just told me that the green grant is oversubscribed and you can't get it anymore?

If you're concerned about mess etc get the cabling enclosed in mini-trunking.

Ok, not brilliant but can save a lot of mess and you can then re-decorate, chasing in as you go, through each room at your own pace.

And always have more sockets installed than you think you need at this stage.

If I see wiring in trunking I assume there is a problem with the walls which means the wiring couldn't be fitted flush. Trunking, like exposed piping, isn't a good look.

You could have it in trunking but it’d look shit. Otherwise yes the only way is chasing out the cable runs. Very messy job, easily the worst internal think you’ll have done. Do it before you move in if possible.

We have had complete re-wires twice, I don't recall having to completely re-decorate on either occasion.

Op did a reliable electrician tell you it needed a full rewire?

Depends. Our 1950s house had metal pipes in the walls so new wires were pulled through.

Modern houses have wires through stud walls so might be able to pull through.
Floors had to come up though in places.

Pulling through might not work, or if you want new sockets, then it gets destructive.

The electrician is very reliable. Used him a lot before and doesn't always charge for small bits.

The wiring is fairly old (early 1980s) and I'd rather get it done before we move in, as we're planning for this to be the last move.

I'm speaking to a decorator at the weekend as we need the wallpaper stripping off the ceilings and my dodgy shoulder isn't up to that. Do you think he might have an idea about whether we need to strip the walls too (DIY)? Or maybe just covering up with lining paper and painting? The second bedroom will need stripping, plastering and painting, as it's for the dc and they can't help picking at wallpaper

1980s wiring in all likelihood won't all need replacing - unlike the really old wire made of rubber etc, the stuff used then is pretty much the same as that used now. Have you asked him if he could just test it and just change the consumer unit? Minimal disruption then.

I’m also surprised he’s saying this needs a total rewire. Has it got these issues?

Persistent burning smell.
Scorched or discoloured sockets or switches.
Fuses blow repeatedly.
Flickering or dimming lights.
Electric shocks.
Hanging sockets.

I am also surprised you need a full rewire and agree with Bluntness (above) about faults that could be present if there are problems. Has the electrician actually tested your electrics throughout the house, or has he just said it needs rewiring because it hasn't been done lately? My h is an electrician. Our current house was built in 1975. The only thing he needed to replace was the consumer unit, everything else was in good working order.
The only problem with 1980s electrics is the lack of sockets. We seem to need so many these days. However it is easy for an electrician to add more.

Sorry to butt in but how much to replace a consumer unit? My house has mid-80s wiring And though I haven’t had it tested I assume it needs replacing.

I have re wired two houses and it was definitely worth the cost, the hassle and the dust.

We have sockets, plugs and USB's in the right places and loads of them, so much needs plugging in these days.

The whole house looks totally re freshed and it's so easy to paint or wall paper.

Both houses were built 1970's.

You may find that the house has some DIY electrics and may have a bit of a bodge job.

If I moved again I would re wire in a 1970's house or older.

@FangsForTheMemory

Sorry to butt in but how much to replace a consumer unit? My house has mid-80s wiring And though I haven’t had it tested I assume it needs replacing.

I can’t recall but it’s not much, about three or four hundred quid I think we paid.

May be obvious but worth saying that you can replace all the light switches & sockets with USB ones to make the house all shiny without needing to touch the wiring, & even adding additional sockets is far less disruptive than a full rewire - often the cabling can just be extended from one socket horizontally along/behind the skirting to a new one.

We did a full rewire last year. As another said, they’ll dig out a channel on the wall they need. Ours then filled it with a thick plaster/“mud” and we had a real plasterer come to smooth it out a couple days later. The plasterer will need the wallpaper removed around the channel to allow them to smooth it out properly, at minimum. You’ll need to redecorate after and if every wall is wallpapered it will be a pain. It’s a full on job with carpets and floorboards pulled up etc.