How Much Does It Cost to Rewire a House?
There are a lot of ways you can make improvements to your home, and one of the best upgrades is to have your home completely rewired. If yours is a newer home, your wiring should be fine, but if it’s an older house still with its original wiring, new wiring could provide a massive improvement in both function and safety. Let’s take a look at the costs and benefits of having the wiring in your home replaced.
Why do you need to have your home rewired?
Whether you’ve just bought a property with old or dodgy electrical wiring or you’re in the process of renovating, you’ll probably need your home rewired. But rewiring a house is a task that can often get overlooked. Because electrical wiring is generally out of sight, it’s not usually considered a priority when moving into a house or renovating, unless an electrical problem is obvious.
It’s crucial that the wiring in your home is up-to-date and complies with all Standards to prevent the possibility of electrical hazards, fires or shock. It’s especially important to have the wiring looked at in older-style homes that may have had DIY electrical work done over the years, as it’s likely that this wiring is outdated, incorrectly installed and potentially dangerous.
The majority of older houses have only one circuit for all power outlets, meaning that all of the appliances plugged in are powered from one point. Have you ever had the problem of a fuse blowing when you have too many appliances in use – like the heater, toaster and hair dryer? This is when a rewire becomes important. Rewiring the power circuits will eliminate power trips by splitting the outlets over multiple circuits so that they don’t overload.
It’s also important to make sure that your main switchboard and earthing system is up-to-date. Residual Current Devices are paramount for the safety of your home, as they provide protection for all your family and your home.
Hiring an electrician
Unless you know exactly what you are doing, you should never attempt to do anything with your home’s electrical wiring. Instead, call for professional electrical services. The cost will depend on the size of your house and the amount of labor involved, and you can expect to pay anywhere between $90 and $150 per hour. If you’re renting your property and you require electrical services, contact your landlord or real estate agent, as it is their responsibility to have this organized.
Building permits
Your electrician will be able to tell you what permits are required for having electrical work done in your area, and they can even get them on your behalf. Depending on the area in which you live, the permits are generally not too expensive, but still need to be included in your rewiring budget.
Upgrades to electrical switchboards
Older houses have electrical switchboard that run off fuses, so if yours is one of these, you will need to have the entire electrical switchboard upgraded and replaced, which can cost at least $1,500.
New fixtures
The materials required to completely rewire your home will depend on a number of factors, such as the size of your home and the type of upgrades you require, for instance the installation of new outlets, or having dimmer switches installed.
Benefits
Safety
Many older houses have an outdated style of cabling with fabric-sheathed wiring encased in a black steel conduit. When left alone, this type of wiring may not pose a threat, however if worked on, moved or disturbed it can cause fuses to blow and may become dangerous.
Old electrical wiring eventually deteriorates and if not replaced, this could lead to a fire. It’s therefore essential for the safety of yourself and your family that you have the wiring and earthing in your home assessed by a licensed electrician, to ensure that it is up to date and complies with local Standards.
Separate circuits
One huge benefit of having your home rewired is that it enables you to establish separate circuits for some of the more important elements of your home, such as your hot water heater or security alarm system. This will protect some of the more important elements of your home from being affected by less important appliances tripping their own circuits.
Convenience
Having your home rewired provides you with the perfect opportunity customize your living space for convenience. You can finally have all those outlets where they will be most useful, as older houses weren’t designed with so many electrical appliances in mind. Dimmer switches and motion sensor lighting are other fantastic capabilities your home can incorporate into its new rewired system.
Value
If you want to be able to sell your home for a decent price, you should ensure you have the wiring up to date, as this is a question that potential buyers will likely ask. Not only this, but you should ensure the safety of those who are moving into your home.
Having your home rewired is a great way to invest in one of your most important assets, so don’t wait for it to become a problem – upgrade your home’s wiring sooner rather than later. If you have any questions regarding rewiring or believe that your home’s wiring needs to be looked at, contact Linc Electricians today.
