Full house rewiresin Congleton, priced fixedbefore we lift a floorboard

Modern rewires use twin-and-earth PVC cable sized to the circuit: 2.5mm² for ring final circuits feeding sockets, 1.5mm² for lighting, 6mm² or larger for cooker and shower circuits, and 6mm² or 10mm² where an EV charger is being allowed for. Cables run in walls are either protected by earthed metal capping and depth, or routed within the safe zones set out in the wiring regulations.

The consumer unit is a metal-clad board with individual RCBO protection per circuit and surge protection where appropriate, sited so it stays accessible. Earthing and main protective bonding to gas and water services are upgraded as part of the work, because a new board on old bonding is not a compliant installation.

Older Cheshire housing tends to have lath and plaster ceilings, solid brick walls and suspended timber floors. That combination dictates the route: cables drop from above where boards can be lifted, and chases are cut only where there is no better path. Notching and drilling of joists is kept within the permitted zones so the structure is not weakened.

Where a property is listed or has original features, cable runs are planned to avoid cornicing, panelling and original floorboards wherever possible. It takes longer to route around them than through them, which is why the survey matters before a price is given.

An empty property is the quickest and least disruptive rewire: full access, no furniture to work around, and no need to keep circuits live overnight. If you are buying and have the keys before you move in, that window is worth using.

Occupied rewires are done in stages so the house stays liveable: rooms are worked through in sequence, and power and lighting are restored to the areas you are using at the end of each day. It takes a little longer, and the plan for it is agreed before the job starts, not improvised on day three.

Not every property needs everything replaced. Where an EICR shows the majority of circuits are sound and only specific ones are at end of life, a partial rewire targets those circuits and the board. That is a judgement made from test results, not from the age of the house alone.

If you are unsure which side of that line your property falls, an EICR report is the sensible first step. It costs a fraction of a rewire and gives a documented condition assessment to decide from.

A rewire is the cheapest time to add anything that needs a cable. Outside sockets and garden lighting, a supply to a garage or workshop, a dedicated circuit ready for an EV charger, mains-wired interlinked smoke and heat alarms, extra kitchen sockets, USB outlets and network cabling all cost far less now than as a separate visit later.

The business is mainly domestic, and rewires of houses, flats and bungalows are the bulk of the work. Light commercial rewiring, small shops, offices and units, is undertaken on request, where the installation is comparable in scale and the work can be programmed around trading hours.

Larger commercial contracts with multiple distribution boards and three-phase distribution sit outside what a two-person firm should be taking on, and we will say so rather than stretch to it.

Every circuit is tested to 18th Edition standards: continuity, insulation resistance, polarity, earth fault loop impedance and RCD operation. The results are recorded on the electrical installation certificate along with the schedule of circuits, so any electrician working on the house in future has a documented baseline.

Mike holds City & Guilds 2391 for inspection and testing, which is the qualification the certification actually rests on. Keep the certificate with your property paperwork; it is the document a buyer's solicitor and surveyor will ask for.

Rewires are carried out across Congleton and the wider Cheshire area, along with Manchester, Stoke-on-Trent, Stockport, Cheadle, Wilmslow, Altrincham and Crewe. Congleton and the immediate surrounding villages are the home patch, so site visits there are usually arranged quickly.