How Long Does a Full House Rewire Take? Realistic UK Timeline

A full house rewire in the UK typically takes between 3 and 10 working days, depending on the size of the property. A two-bedroom flat can often be finished in three to four days, while a four-bedroom house may take up to two weeks. When plastering and second-fix are included, the full project spans four to six weeks.

What Factors Affect How Long a Rewire Takes?

Several variables will push the timeline up or down; understanding them helps you plan realistically and avoid unpleasant surprises mid-project.

Property size and layout - The more rooms and floors a property has, the more cable runs, circuits, sockets, and connection points need to be installed.

Construction type - Modern homes with timber stud walls and suspended timber floors are far easier to wire than older properties with solid brick or stone construction. In solid-walled homes, electricians must chase channels into the masonry to conceal cables, which adds considerable time and creates significantly more dust and disruption than in properties where cable can be run through voids and cavities.

Age and condition of existing wiring - Properties still running on rubber-insulated cable, aluminium wiring, or old-style rewirable fuse boards require a full strip-out before new cable can go in. This work often reveals complications such as damp or previous unofficial wiring that must be addressed before the project can move forward.

Team size - A lone electrician will typically take roughly twice as long as a two-person team working in parallel across different areas of the property. Larger homes are often staffed with two or three electricians to keep the disruption period as short as possible.

Occupancy during the work - An empty property allows electricians to work freely across all rooms at once. If you remain in the house, the team must plan around your routine, keep certain areas functional, and manage dust more carefully - all of which slows the pace of work.

Scope of additional electrical work - A rewire frequently includes other upgrades: a new consumer unit, electric vehicle charging points, underfloor heating circuits, or smart home wiring. Each addition extends the overall programme, sometimes quite significantly.

How Long Does a Rewire Take for Different House Sizes?

The estimates below are based on a two-electrician team working on a typical UK property with reasonably accessible construction. A sole electrician will generally take roughly double the time shown. These figures cover first-fix wiring only - plastering and second-fix are separate phases covered later in this guide.

• One-bedroom flat - 2 to 3 days
• Two-bedroom house or flat - 3 to 4 days
• Three-bedroom semi-detached or terraced house - 5 to 7 days
• Four-bedroom detached house - 7 to 10 days
• Five-bedroom or larger property - 10 to 14 days

An older period property of the same size could easily add two or three extra days. Properties with extensions, loft conversions, outbuildings, or garages that also need rewiring will take longer still. If your home has a mix of old and newer wiring - perhaps because extensions or alterations were carried out over the years - the electrician will need to assess carefully what can be retained and what must be replaced, and this assessment can occasionally reveal that more work is needed than initially anticipated, so build in a degree of flexibility when setting your timeline.

What Actually Happens During a Full House Rewire?

Day one - Survey and strip-out - The first day is typically spent confirming the scope of work in detail, agreeing circuit layouts, and beginning to strip out the existing wiring. Old sockets, switches, and light fittings are removed, and accessible old cable is pulled out. This stage can uncover wiring buried deeper than expected, evidence of damp, or previous non-compliant work that must be flagged and dealt with before the project can move forward safely.

Days two to four or longer - First-fix wiring - This is the main bulk of the job. Electricians run new cable through the building fabric, drilling through floor joists, feeding cable through ceiling voids, and chasing walls where necessary. They install cabling for power circuits, lighting circuits, and dedicated circuits for cookers, showers, and any specialist equipment you have agreed on. Back boxes for sockets and switches are fixed into walls at the correct heights and positions throughout every room.

New consumer unit installation - A full rewire almost always involves fitting a new consumer unit. Modern units must comply with the 18th Edition Wiring Regulations and include RCDs or RCBOs to protect individual circuits. The new consumer unit and fuse protection is typically installed during the first-fix phase, though the board is not energised until all circuits have been completed and fully tested.

Making good and plastering - Once the first-fix is complete, walls and ceilings need to be made good. This work is carried out by a plasterer rather than the electricians in most cases. The extent of the work depends on how much chasing was required - in older solid-walled properties this can be extensive and affect most rooms throughout the house.

Second-fix wiring - After plastering has fully dried, the electricians return to install all of the visible components: sockets, switches, light fittings, extractor fan connections, and any specialist equipment. All circuits are connected to the new consumer unit and the full installation is comprehensively tested.

Testing and certification - All electrical work must be tested and certified before the project is handed over. Your electrician will issue an Electrical Installation Certificate, and the work must be notified under Part P of the Building Regulations through a competent person scheme or a Building Control application. This documentation is a legal requirement and is essential if you ever come to sell the property.

What About Plastering and Making Good?

Plastering is frequently not included in initial rewire quotes and can add significant time and cost to the overall project. Running cable through solid walls requires chasing - cutting a groove into the plaster and masonry, laying the cable, and covering it back over. In a property with solid walls throughout, this can leave walls and ceilings looking considerably damaged by the time first-fix is complete.

A plasterer then needs to patch and skim the affected surfaces. On average, allow one to two weeks between the completion of first-fix and the start of second-fix, covering the time for plastering and for the new plasterwork to dry sufficiently. In winter, when properties are cooler and ventilation tends to be lower, drying times can extend further.

Before confirming your rewire booking, it is worth discussing the making-good arrangements with your contractor. Many established electrical contractors have plasterers they work with regularly and can co-ordinate this on your behalf, which simplifies the scheduling considerably and reduces the risk of a gap in trades that leaves your project stalled mid-way through.

Will You Need to Move Out During the Rewire?

The honest answer is that it depends on your circumstances and your tolerance for disruption. A house rewire is a genuinely noisy and dusty process. Electricians will be working in every room of the property, there will be extended periods without electricity throughout the working day, and chasing walls creates fine plaster dust that settles on surfaces throughout the house even with protective sheeting in place. For households with young children, elderly family members, or anyone with respiratory conditions, moving out for the duration of the first-fix is usually the most sensible choice. An empty property also tends to result in a faster job overall, as the team can work freely across all areas without having to plan around a family's daily routine.

If moving out is not practical, there are steps that make staying more manageable:

• Agree a room-by-room working schedule with the electricians so that at least one clean, functional room is available at all times
• Arrange a temporary power supply to key areas, particularly the kitchen and bathroom
• Thoroughly cover furniture, flooring, and stored belongings with dust sheets before work begins each morning
• Keep children and pets well away from all working areas throughout the project

The second-fix phase is far less disruptive than the first. If you chose to stay elsewhere during first-fix, most homeowners find they can return comfortably for the final stage without significant inconvenience.

How Much Does a Full House Rewire Cost in the UK?

Prices vary noticeably by region, with London and the South East generally commanding higher rates than other parts of the country. As a broad guide, most homeowners in the UK can expect to pay:

• One-bedroom flat - £1,500 to £3,000
• Two-bedroom house - £2,500 to £4,500
• Three-bedroom semi-detached house - £3,500 to £5,500
• Four-bedroom detached house - £5,000 to £8,500
• Five-bedroom or larger property - £7,000 to £12,000 or more

These figures cover the electrical work only and typically exclude plastering, redecoration, and any specialist installations such as EV chargers or smart home controls. Always request at least three detailed written quotes and make sure each one specifies precisely what is and is not included, so that you are comparing like with like rather than being caught out by unexpected additions later.

It is worth noting that a standalone fuse box upgrade or repair is a much more modest undertaking than a full rewire - usually completed in a single day at considerably lower cost. If your wiring is otherwise in sound condition, an upgrade to the consumer unit alone may be all that is needed to bring your property up to modern standards.

A quote that sits significantly below the market average should prompt careful scrutiny. Substandard rewiring work can fail inspection, create a serious fire risk, and ultimately cost far more to put right than the saving made upfront.

How Do You Find the Right Electrician for a Full Rewire?

Choosing the right person for a project of this scale is arguably the most important decision in the whole process. The safety of your home and everyone in it depends on the quality of the work carried out.

Any electrician carrying out a full rewire in England and Wales must be registered with a Part P competent person scheme, such as NICEIC, NAPIT, or ELECSA. This registration allows them to certify their own work as compliant with Building Regulations without requiring a separate inspection by the local authority. Always ask for their registration number and verify it directly on the relevant scheme's website before signing any agreement or paying a deposit.

Beyond formal qualifications, look for the following when choosing your electrician:

• A detailed written quote specifying exactly what is and is not included in the price
• Genuine references or verified reviews specifically from previous full rewire projects, not just minor electrical jobs
• Clear communication about timescales, working hours, and what happens if the job overruns
• A willingness to explain what they are doing and why at each stage of the project
• Written confirmation that a full Electrical Installation Certificate will be issued on completion

Go Assist connects homeowners with vetted, qualified tradespeople across a wide range of home services, including experienced electricians fully qualified to carry out rewires of all sizes. Our team understands how important it is to get this kind of work done safely and correctly first time, without shortcuts.

Once the rewire is complete and the dust has settled, it is also a good moment to have your appliances properly checked after being disconnected and reconnected. Go Assist provides expert repair services for a wide range of leading brands - including Bosch appliance repairs and Miele appliance repairs - so you can get everything in your home working exactly as it should once your new wiring is in place.