If you're looking at having a 3 bedroom house rewired, one of the first questions you're probably going to ask is how much is it going to cost? It's also one of the questions we get asked most often.
Unfortunately, there isn't one set price that works for every 3 bedroom house. Two properties that look almost identical from the outside can end up with very different rewire costs
depending on the specification, condition of the property and exactly what the homeowner wants.
In this guide, I'll explain what you can realistically expect to pay for a 3 bedroom house rewire in Bracknell and the surrounding area, what that price normally includes and some
of the things that can push the cost up or down.
How much does a 3 bedroom house rewire cost in Bracknell?
As a general guide, I'd expect a standard 3 bedroom house rewire to cost somewhere in the region of £5,000–£7,000 + VAT.
That's deliberately quite a wide range.
At the lower end, you might have an empty 3 bedroom house with fairly straightforward access and a relatively simple electrical specification.
At the other end, you could have a property with considerably more sockets, LED spotlights, external lighting, additional circuits and other extras.
The important thing to remember is that you're not really paying to "rewire a 3 bedroom house". You're paying for a particular electrical installation.
The number of bedrooms gives us an idea of the size of the property, but it's the specification and the work involved that ultimately determines the cost.
What is included in a full house rewire?
A full rewire means replacing the electrical wiring throughout the property and bringing the installation up to modern standards.
For a typical 3 bedroom house, this would usually involve:
- New electrical cabling throughout
- New socket circuits
- New lighting circuits
- New sockets and switches
- Dedicated circuits for appliances where required
- A new metal consumer unit
- Individual RCBO protection
- Surge protection
- Mains-wired smoke alarms
- Full testing of the new installation
- Electrical certification
- Building Regulations notification
It also gives you the opportunity to think about how you actually use your home.
Older properties simply weren't designed for the number of electrical appliances we use today.
Rather than automatically putting sockets back where they have always been, we can look at where televisions, beds, desks, lamps and other equipment are going and position the
electrical points accordingly.
This is one of the biggest benefits of having a full rewire carried out.
Why can two 3 bedroom rewires cost very different amounts?
This is where online rewire prices can sometimes be misleading.
You might see a website saying that a 3 bedroom rewire costs a particular amount, but without knowing what's included in that price, it's very difficult to compare it with another
quote.
There are several things that can make a significant difference.
Number of sockets
The number of sockets required throughout the property has an obvious impact on the price.
A bedroom with two double sockets is very different from a bedroom with four or five.
Personally, I'd always recommend thinking about where you're likely to need power rather than trying to keep the socket count as low as possible.
Adding them during the rewire is considerably easier than deciding you haven't got enough once everything has been plastered and decorated.
Lighting
Lighting can make a surprisingly big difference to the overall specification.
A single pendant light in the centre of each room is relatively straightforward.
If you want LED spotlights throughout the kitchen, bathrooms and other areas of the house, there's considerably more wiring and equipment involved.
You may also want wall lights, feature lighting, under-cabinet lighting or external lighting.
All of this needs to be considered when we're putting the quotation together.
The kitchen
The kitchen is usually one of the most electrically demanding rooms in the house.
As well as your general sockets, we need to consider appliances such as the oven, hob, dishwasher, washing machine, fridge/freezer and extractor.
Depending on the kitchen design, some of these may require their own circuits.
If you're planning a new kitchen at the same time as the rewire, it's really useful for us to have the kitchen plans beforehand.
External electrics
Another area that can change the cost is anything required outside the house.
That could include:
- Security lighting
- Garden lighting
- External sockets
- Power to a garage or shed
- Electric gates
- CCTV
- EV charging
None of these necessarily form part of a standard rewire, but it's worth thinking about them while the electrical work is being carried out.
Is a new fuseboard included in a rewire?
Yes. On our full rewires we install a new consumer unit as part of the electrical installation.
We use modern metal consumer units with individual RCBO protection and surge protection.
RCBOs mean that each circuit has its own protection.
This is much better than older-style boards where several circuits may share one RCD. If a fault occurs on one circuit, you don't want half of the house losing power unnecessarily.
Surge protection also helps protect electrical and electronic equipment within the home against transient overvoltages.
The consumer unit is only one part of the rewire, but it's a very important part of the finished installation.
Does a house rewire make a lot of mess?
There's no point pretending otherwise – rewiring a house is disruptive work.
We need to get cables from the consumer unit to sockets, switches, lights and appliances throughout the property.
That normally involves lifting floorboards, accessing floors and ceilings and chasing walls for new cables.
However, there's a big difference between a rewire being messy and it being unnecessarily messy.
Before we start, protecting the property is a major part of the job.
We use floor protection and dust sheets and take steps to contain as much of the dust as possible. We also use dust extraction when chasing walls.
There will still be dust and disruption, but good preparation makes a huge difference.
Does the price include plastering?
This is something that's worth checking when comparing rewire quotations.
Chasing cables into walls leaves channels that need to be repaired before decorating.
We regularly work alongside a plasterer so that these areas can be made good once the electrical installation is complete.
Exactly what making good is required will depend on the property and what other renovation work is taking place.
For example, if you've just bought a house and you're planning to completely skim the walls anyway, it wouldn't make sense for us to arrange for every individual chase to be fully
finished.
We can discuss this during the quotation so you know exactly what's included before the work starts.
How long does it take to rewire a 3 bedroom house?
For a fairly standard 3 bedroom property, we'd normally allow around five working days for the electrical work.
However, this can vary depending on the specification and the property itself.
An empty house is usually much easier to work in than a fully furnished and occupied property.
There can also be differences depending on the construction of the house and how easily we can access the areas where cables need to run.
When we quote for the work, we'll give you a much clearer idea of how long your particular rewire should take.
Can I stay in my house while it's being rewired?
Technically, sometimes you can.
Would I recommend it? Not if you have another option.
During a rewire, power will be unavailable for long periods. Floorboards may be lifted, furniture may need moving and several rooms are likely to be worked on at the same time.
It's noisy and dusty work.
If you can stay somewhere else while the main electrical work is being completed, it generally makes the whole process easier for everyone.
We've also completed rewires while clients have gone away on holiday, which can work really well.
We can get on with the disruptive part of the job while you're away and have the property much further along by the time you return.
When is the best time to have a house rewired?
If you've recently bought a property that needs renovating, before decorating is almost always the best time.
If you already know the wiring needs replacing, there's very little point spending thousands of pounds plastering and decorating only to chase the walls afterwards.
Ideally, the order would be something along the lines of:
Rewire → making good/plastering → decorating → flooring
It's also much easier for us if the property is empty.
That's why we regularly carry out rewires for homeowners shortly after they've collected the keys and before they move in.
If you're buying an older property and suspect it may need rewiring, getting an electrician involved early can make planning the rest of the renovation considerably easier.
How do I know if my 3 bedroom house needs rewiring?
The age of the house alone doesn't necessarily mean it needs rewiring.
What we're interested in is the condition and age of the electrical installation.
Some of the things that might indicate an older installation include:
- An old fuseboard or consumer unit
- Rewireable fuses
- Very few sockets
- Older electrical accessories
- No RCD protection
- Deteriorating cabling
- Signs of green goo around cables or accessories
- Electrical alterations carried out over many years
If you're unsure about the condition of the wiring, an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) can be a very useful starting point.
An EICR involves testing and inspecting the electrical installation to assess its condition and identify defects.
Importantly, an older installation doesn't automatically need to be rewired simply because it isn't built to the latest regulations.
Testing allows us to make a much more informed decision.
Should I get several quotes for a house rewire?
For a job of this size, absolutely.
But I wouldn't recommend comparing quotes based purely on the figure at the bottom.
Make sure you're comparing like for like.
Look at how many sockets are included, the lighting specification, consumer unit, smoke alarms, external electrics, making good, testing and certification.
A quote that's £1,000 cheaper isn't necessarily cheaper if the specification is completely different.
I'd also ask questions about who is actually carrying out the work, how the property will be protected and what happens once the rewire is finished.
You should know exactly what you're getting before agreeing to the work.
Getting a quote for a 3 bedroom house rewire in Bracknell
If you're considering rewiring a 3 bedroom house in Bracknell or the surrounding area, the best way for us to give you an accurate price is to visit the property.
We can look at the existing installation, discuss what you're planning to do with the house and go through where you'd like sockets, switches, lighting and other electrical points.
From there, we can put together a detailed quotation based on your property and your specification, rather than simply giving you a generic price based on the number of
bedrooms.
As a starting point, we'd suggest budgeting approximately £5,000–£7,000 + VAT for a typical 3 bedroom full rewire, with the final cost depending on the specification and the
property.
If you're buying a property, planning a renovation or simply think the wiring in your current home may be due for replacement, feel free to get in touch with Thames Valley Electricians Ltd and we can talk you through the options.
