Full & Partial House Rewires in Hampshire & Surrey

If your home was built or last rewired more than 25–30 years ago, the wiring may no longer be safe.

Cable insulation degrades over time, PVC becomes brittle, older rubber insulation crumbles, and the connections at sockets, switches, and junction boxes loosen with decades of thermal cycling. Properties with original 1950s, 60s, or 70s wiring are the most common candidates for a rewire, but we also see homes from the 1980s and 90s where the wiring was substandard when it was first installed.

A full rewire replaces every cable, socket, switch, light fitting connection, and the consumer unit throughout the property.

A partial rewire covers specific areas or circuits, perhaps the upstairs only, a kitchen and bathroom, or just the lighting circuits.

We carry out both, and we will always recommend the most practical and cost-effective approach for your property rather than defaulting to a full rewire when a partial one would do the job.

When Does a House Need Rewiring?

There are several signs that your home's wiring may be reaching the end of its safe working life:

• The wiring is more than 25–30 years old – even if there are no visible problems, cable insulation degrades with age. The older the wiring, the higher the risk of insulation failure, which can cause short circuits and fires.
• An EICR has flagged issues – if a condition report has returned C1 (danger present) or C2 (potentially dangerous) observations on the wiring itself, a rewire may be the most cost-effective way to address them all at once.
• You can see old cable types – rubber-insulated cable (black rubber sheath), lead-sheathed cable, or single-insulated cables without an earth conductor are all signs of very old wiring that should be replaced.
• Sockets or switches feel warm – warm faceplates usually indicate loose connections or overloaded circuits. This is a fire risk.
• You are renovating – if you are stripping rooms back to bare plaster or opening up walls for other work, it is the most practical and cost-effective time to rewire. Running cables through open walls is far easier than doing it once the plastering is finished.
• Frequent tripping or blown fuses – while this can have simple causes, persistent tripping across multiple circuits can indicate systemic wiring deterioration.

Full Rewire vs Partial Rewire

A full rewire replaces every cable, socket, switch, and the consumer unit. For a typical 3-bedroom house, this takes around 5–7 days for the electrical work (first fix and second fix), not including plastering and decorating. It brings the entire electrical installation up to the current 18th Edition standard and gives you a brand new installation with a life expectancy of 25–30 years.

A partial rewire updates specific circuits, floors, or rooms. It is quicker, less disruptive, and costs less.

However, it is only appropriate if the remaining wiring is in good condition, we will assess this and give you an honest recommendation. A common example is rewiring the ground floor and kitchen of a property where the upstairs was rewired more recently and is still in good condition.