Electric cables on the wall, not in the wall

[Electrifyin]

Hello,

I have bought a house and have been told it has had a partial rewire but the grey wires are these plastic casings stuck on the wall rather than plastered over inside the wall.

My question is, would I need an electrician to put the wires in the wall or would a plasterer be able to do it? If electrician required, would it cost the same as a full rewire or cheaper?

It is so difficult finding honest, reliable trades people. The last tradesman I called for a quote was pressuring me to pay there and then for work I wasn’t sure needed doing.

I’d say if they’ve left bare wires on the surface of the walls, they’ve done a really crap job. Get an electrician in - someone who comes recommended - to give you a price to sink the wiring into the walls.

That doesn’t sound right at all

That doesn't sound at all and in fact a partial rewire is rarely a good idea. I think you need to factor in a full rewire or at least another partial rewire to fix this.

I hate that, I am assuming the wires are covered by plastic trunking? Wires need to be chased into the wall. But yes a much bigger and more expensive job.

Thanks for the replies.

Yes the wires are covered by plastic trunking.

Is this still classed as a full rewire?

Is it an older house? Sometimes if so the wires can't always go directly into the wall and have to run along the edges. Usually these get covered by some plastic or sometimes behind added on skirting boards etc.

It's still a rewire but it's a much cheaper ( and shabbier ) way of doin* things, often found in rentals and HA properties as less dust and need for plastering etc.

If it is just a couple of extension sockets done this way then no, it's not a full rewire but you would still need an electrician to make sure the work was safe. The chasing out and plastering are things you "could attempt" if you are good at DIY and can make sure that is adequate for the electrician.

If the rest of the wiring is coming to the end of its life then I'd do it all at once as rewiring makes a big mess.

Yes, I suspect it was done this way to save costs as an elderly couple used to live there.

They did this when they required man’s bungalow - it was cheaper than chasing into the walls but bought the electrics up to spec. No idea how to now rectify it so I’m sorry can’t help there OP. I would expect a plasterer would say it’s an electric job though as they need to ‘touch’ the wiring? Worth asking! Also usually the leccy chases them in as part of the electric work , does a crap job of filling the chases, then a plasterer is hired to fix the mess on the walls. From what I can tell anyway!

Argh, I am now resigned to paying a small fortune on electrician for ‘rewiring’ and plasterer afterwards. The cost of everything has gone up so much. Wondering whether I should as a company to come out (need decorating/new kitchen/bathroom too) or find individual tradespeople . Oh but how

It's annoying but in the bigger scheme of things it is really good to update all your electrics if they are dated as they could be unsafe. Get individual trades in and make sure you find a good electrician. They might be able to do it pretty neatly and you can get away with a good decorator and not a plasterer (or even do this part yourself). Also, at this point think about what changes you would want in terms of sockets etc. and how you will actually live in the spaces. Try and think ahead of any changes you might be planning to make in the future too so you can minimise future expansions etc.

My post was meant to say ‘nan’s rewire ‘ sorry!
It is probably recent/safe - but unsightly - I feel for you

Assuming cables are the new colours and fuse box certified when it was redone into the trunking, you might find a handyman willing to redo it and patch walls after but be careful as if they are not leccy trained and insured (niceic I think) it would invalidate the certifications in place.

Can you post a picture? Are the wires in the kitchen hanging down from the ceiling? They could be for an oven if it's had a partial rewire

What is the structure of your walls? All ours internal walls are plastered brick and it is a right messy job chasing them in

I received no certifications when I bought, so no idea who did it and when.

Not sure about wall structure either.

The wires are covered in plastic casings and go to a few sockets in the various rooms, which have been raised from the skirting boards to make them legal?? The lighting on the ceiling has yellow/green wire and I have been told that is fairly new.
Inside the plastic casing covering are thick grey wires??

I can see little circular patches in the ceilings which have been patched up presumably after rewire ir updating lighting?

If only I could find someone who would explain exactly what needs doing rather than just telling me to rewire everything at high cost.

An electrician can do the work, but the Leo then fitters should sort out the kitchen stuff as part of the refit.

If the electrics are fine it’s just a case of hacking back the plaster and hiding the wires - same for the sockets.

Get a few more quotes, unforgivably trades are very busy.

I'd get an electrician to do it, and ensure it is done to a proper standard

it is dusty, gritty work.

If you have not moved in and the house is empty, this is the best time to do it. You can also have additional sockets, appliance switches in the kitchen, extractor fans, two-way stair lighting etc added, as a budget rewire may not be as thorough as you would wish.

If (and only if) the rewiring has been done to a good standard, you can get an electrician to chase in the cables and backboxes one room at a time, as and when they are redecorated. This will end up costing more.

Mini-trunking is safe and considered acceptable in a garage or workshop, but considered cheap practice and unsightly in living rooms.

Ok, I will try finding good tradespeople and get a few quotes for a full rewire followed by kitchen fitting. Wondering if it would work out cheaper to go for a company that has all tradespeople available so I don’t have the hassle of coordinating them. Don’t know if that works out more expensive though.

Thank you PigletJohn, your advice is always appreciated.

@MoreHairyThanScary

It's still a rewire but it's a much cheaper ( and shabbier ) way of doin* things, often found in rentals and HA properties as less dust and need for plastering etc.

I'm in a HA house and can confirm. When I moved in I was shocked to see that almost every wall has trunking along the ceiling and down the edges. Many and light sockets are connected by trunking. It looks bloody awful and is a shoddy example of a rewire job. If I owned my home I would be getting that done properly asap.

My elderly aunt and uncle had their house rewired with surface-mounted cables in trunking. It's a full rewire, needed because the old electrics consisted of ancient cable with deteriorating insulation. It made sense for them, because (a) it was cheap, (b) they couldn't have dealt with the mess and disruption of having chases cut in the walls in every room and (c) the entire house will need gutting when they've gone anyway!

@MoreHairyThanScary

It's still a rewire but it's a much cheaper ( and shabbier ) way of doin* things, often found in rentals and HA properties as less dust and need for plastering etc.

This.

It's completely legal. Complies with regulations and can be registered as a proper installation.
Often used in commercial units and also used when future works would mean electrics will need repositioning.

We opted for surface mounted electrics in our kitchen when we had a rewire. We are planning to completely redo the kitchen space and didn't want to pay out for the extra cost of chasing in electrics only to have them removed when we extend.

I would say for a domestic property it's not usual.

@Electrifyin

Argh, I am now resigned to paying a small fortune on electrician for ‘rewiring’ and plasterer afterwards. The cost of everything has gone up so much. Wondering whether I should as a company to come out (need decorating/new kitchen/bathroom too) or find individual tradespeople . Oh but how

It should not cost a fortune. If it's surface mounted the wires can be removed very easily. The chasing out is done with a specialised tool, the original wires just push into the slot (minus the trunking) and it's wired into new flush sockets.

The wiring itself won't be changed. It's not a very expensive job.

OP, we have the same situation with the attic floor of our house (Victorian terrace, do-er upper). The attic stairs, small attic landing and 2 attic bedrooms have crap external wiring to not enough sockets, and the centre lights are really close to the inside walls as if they couldn't be bothered to go any further to the middle of the rooms! No lights at all on stairs and little landing. Right half arsed job.

Have had some advice that i trust and am now resigned to needing a proper rewire of that floor where they make as much of a mess of the plastering as they need to, and then will need a replaster. They current plaster is really cracked and a mess anyway! Am clinging to the thought of how pristine it will look when we can eventually afford to have it done.

I think there is money to be made on Dragon’s Den if someone can come up with a less messy and cheap simple solution to rewiring

BeautifullyMad, I am relieved to know that its not going to be as expensive as a full rewire.