Full rewire, underfloor heating but same kitchen

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The house we’re buying has not had its electrics updated and an electrician survey deemed it unsafe and a full rewire required.

I don’t think I’ve fully grasped how destructive this will be. I understand we have to take up all the floorboards but can we use the same floor again after (carpets, vinyl, floorboards, tiles (we’re not too fussed about the vinyl and carpets))?

the kitchen is small (approx 4x 2.75) and because of the layout I thought it would be better to have dry underfloor heating and put that in with the Rewire. But from what I’ve read it’s not good to have underfloor heating under fridges or cabinets. We don’t want to change the kitchen yet because I want to see how we use it best and design the kitchen around that.

what would be the best thing to do here? Ideally I’d live there for a bit before doing anything but the electrician said the work NEEDS to be done, and if the electrics haven’t been touched in 30+year (vendor has said they’ve not updated it in the time they’ve lived there) then I think they are due and update and from what I’ve read it’s much easier to not be living there.

also (sorry) the bathroom looks new, and I don’t think it needs changing. How would a Rewire work with that?

so confused!!

You don’t have to take up all the floorboards. But you have to take up some .

Yes they will replace the same floorboards. They just cut a few and replace them.

No you can’t replace ceramic or porcelain tiles.

The bathroom will probably need the ceiling light done and they will do it from above.

re the kitchen - you need to replace it now. If it’s small there’s probably not too many options for the layout. You will need :

new wall sockets to plug things in on your worktop and an isolator switch for your cooker
new sockets inside base cabinets for appliances
wires on the walls for your cooker hood and under cabinet lighting

so this all has to be planned around the lay out of the new kitchen.

Oh and don’t try to reuse your carpets and vinyl. Unless the carpets are newish and you like them , or are on a tiny budget . They can be refitted, it will cost about £40 a room.

Sheet vinyl is very cheap to buy and fit. The old stuff will probably rip
when it’s pulled up.

The cost of new vinyl will be tiny compared to a rewire and a complete new kitchen.

Re the kitchen I'd leave the underfloor heating for now, as I'm guessing if you redo it in a few years you'd likely want to replace the floor anyway? (We also want underfloor heating in our kitchen but have held off for exactly this reason, we're 3 years off affording the extension and kitchen that we really want and I can't bear to pay for the same work twice over!) Can you keep a radiator in the interim and then install underfloor heating when you do the kitchen properly?

I'd also second what you've said about waiting to live in the space. We've been in our house a year and have completly changed our thoughts on the future kitchen design based on how we've found the current layout over time. My friend moved into her house at the same time and instantly spent a lot of money doing big changes and updating. I will openly admit I felt a bit envious at the time, but she's already said she regrets some of what she's done including the kitchen, as she would have chosen a completely different layout now.

They don't have to take up the floors, just a few strategic points, though carpet would be easy enough to re-lay I don't know about vinyl. You don't have to move out, though would be better to have done before you move in and the place is clear of all furniture.
I think as you will eventually change the kitchen just have it rewired for now and tell the electrician you want to put in underfloor heating later so he can make sure the new fuse board can accommodate it.

Oh, and also get a second opinion? Our house was built in 1985 and although one electrician said it would automatically need a complete rewire immediately without even inspecting it, two others disagreed and said what we have will last a while longer as is.

You could look at having a kick board heater put into your kitchen instead of underfloor.

I had electric underfloor put in about 10 years ago when house was completely done, it's under the fridge and other appliances and I've not had any problems with them. I love it as always have cold feet and don't like wearing slippers. I would never have a tiled floor put in without it again.

I agree with @mummabubs . Get a second opinion about the electrics. It probably just needs a new fuseboard or something like that to get it up to modern regulations. Get any essential work done and then live in the house for a while and work out what you want to do next.

thanks for the replies everyone. They’ve been really helpful.

we really don’t want to put a new kitchen in now (Cost, planning, extra building work).

there’s a radiator in the kitchen which we would live. It might just get bashed a lot by the table/ chairs as that’s where we plan to put the table.

the vendors have said that they’ve not done anything with the wiring and they’ve lived there for over 30yrs and I read that you ‘should’ updating your electrics every 25years.

@LivingDeadGirlUK are the kickboard heaters good? Ive never seen or used one in real life. They look like they’d only heat a small section of the kitchen so would need more than one

I have just done a rewire and to save cutting out the light switches used www.quinetic.co.uk/ . They are very good and don't need wires to the switches so can be moved around at a whim and also no batteries or recharging. It is very messy I had the whole kitchen and bathroom floor up to do mine.

Why should electrics be redone every 25 years? The wires, switches and sockets won't wear out or become damaged in that time. The safety regs for the switch board and possibly the cooker power may have been updated and therefore need upgrading but other than that and possibly wanting to add extra sockets I don't think anything needs doing.

Most people never do a full rewire on their whole house. We have done ours but it is 200 years old and hasn't been lived in since the 70s! It is a back to brick renovation project so makes sense to do it. A full rewire will involve chasing into the plaster in all of the rooms in the house for new sockets as well as lifting the floors and will create a lot of building dust and mess.

@Geneticsbunny i think I’ve just read on a few websites that they should be upgraded that often. But you’re right. I can’t image all houses have their insides gutted every 25years.

I’ll get a second opinion and see how much needs to be done to make it safe. That would be better. If we can get away with just adding a few new sockets (we wouldn’t even need that many as we don’t have much- two in the main bedroom, one or two in each of the other bedrooms for wfh, we don’t have games consoles or speakers etc, our living room entertainment area is just the tv plug).

Hopefully a different electrician will make sure it is all safe and save you some money and a lot of mess. Good luck. Hope the renovations work out.

@Geneticsbunny thanks. we hadn’t planned to do a renovation (nothing beyond change floor and decorate). I’ll want a new kitchen. the kitchen is small but bigger than what we have now, so it’s hard to say if the size will be enough or if extending (or moving) will be required. I’m moving from a small flat so I don’t want to make any big changes until I know how the space will work.

Another vote for a second opinion. Also ask them to give you an idea of cost and time taken. Gives you a better idea of how disruptive it will be and what will be involved in your house.

You need a rewire if there are large scale deviance from the regs from a safety perspective. For example dangerous spuring missing earth's ect. Or you get low insulation resistance measurements. These require an eicr to be undertaken. Or maybe green goo leaking from the cables but that should show up on insulation resistance testing. An electrician would be able to advise having undertaken a report. You should always get an EICR when buying a new home and if renting you should see the landlords one.

@Oscarthedog i had an EICR and the electrician said it’s not safe and needs a full rewire, but won’t tell me exactly why. When I’ve pressed for an answer he just gives a load of information that I don’t understand, rather than explaining why it’s not safe and if there’s anything else I can do to make it safer. When I’ve googled the things he’s described, none of the things lead to a full rewire so it’s just so confusing

After the comments on here, I think I’ll get another one and compare. Or show the report to another electrician and see what they say.

The EICR should be coded c1s c2s and c3s. Along with a full set of test results including things like insulation resistance and loop impedance. I agree you should show that to another electrician to get a second opinion. Unless you have something exotic like old aluminium cable or Indian rubber. Then unless it checks out on test or doesn't have significant c1s or c2s then it may not need a rewire.

Your electrician will be able to advise what size heater/number required for the size of the room. It's a good solution for kitchens as its basically an electric fan heater so you can heat a small space quite quickly and then turn it off once your oven or hob is on and chucking out heat.

If you can post the info in the EICR we can advise OP.

@LivingDeadGirlUK ooo thanks. I’ll do that.

I don’t actually have it yet (which is another red flag for me as it’s been over two weeks since the check). He’s just said it’s really unsafe and needs a full rewire. I keep asking for it (he will not be paid until I get it, which was agreed beforehand). He’s said he’s posted it so it should be on the way after the bank holiday.

We were told we needed a full rewire, but just needed a switch moving from bedside the immersion tank, and a new fuse board.