How much for rewire and plumb house

The_B_Man

I have a 3 bed semi.

I'm getting the plumbing done (new boiler, new cylinder, moving hot press, adding 3 zones, replacing all rads, new pipes, power shower).
Getting the bathroom gutted as well as new floors and walls upstairs. €17.5k!!

The builder got an electrician in who said the wiring is in bits. My friend is a sparks and I had him in and he said the insulation is a bit rough so could probaby do with being rewired. The front bedroom wasn't as bad. But anyway, the electrician quoted me €5.5k!! Told him not a hope and he went down to €5k straight away and said to have a think about it and get back to him.

Now as far as I'm concerned, a rewire is €3.5k. Maybe a few hundred more. The floors are up coz the whole upstairs is being done. Downstairs hasn't been touched though. So am I right in thinking that the main cost of a rewire is the labour involved in lifting the floors? He wants to move the fuse box as well, which is about 10 years old by the looks of it. Actually it was moved from under the stairs a few metres out towards the kitchen. In the original location, they left a box with the wiring just crammed inside. It'd not very neat. Would this add much to the cost? Like there's about 8 cables to the fuse box. Is it not just a case of shorting them, seeing which are active, and just moving them wires? Is it that big a job like?

I nearly choked when he said €5.5k to stick in a few sockets and runs few wires!!

Gonna ring him back tomorrow and see if I can get him down below €4k, otherwise I'll do without. He said I needed all my light switches earthed as well, but sure all the houses in the estate were built like that and nobody had died yet in 40 years! He also made up something about putting a "fire head" in the attic.

jlm29

I don’t think there’s much costs associated with lifting floors tbh, from the electricians who we had look at our house to quote for rewire, they seemed to intend to lift the floors in a fairly rough and ready way, not as though they were going to be minding them, so I can’t imagine it would take any more than a few hours.
We were quoted up to 8k to rewire- our house isn’t a 3 bed semi, probably a small bit bigger, but not significantly so, and we don’t have many plugs (1 per bedroom, 2 in rooms downstairs).
I think you’re dreaming with 4K, tbh. Obviously you should just get a couple of other electricians to price it though, if you think otherwise.
We had trouble getting people to even quote it though- they don’t seem to want that kind of work at all, it’s messy, and they seem to be able to make easier money elsewhere. If you’re already doing the level of work you say, I’d get it wired, you don’t want to have to go pulling up your floors again in a few years.

Charles Babbage

Whatever about the cost of lifting the floors, the fact that they are being lifted and there are new walls upstairs does make the job a bit more straightforward for the electrician and perhaps more pleasant.

jlm29

Also, I just re-read your OP. 40 years? Is that how old your wiring is? Just because no one has died, doesn’t mean it’s ok, unless you want to be the first?
It’s intricate work, and if it needs to be done, you’ll have to pay the going rate. You can’t just make up a price that suits and tell them that’s what you’ll pay.

thecribber

If you are such an expert at electrical installations, and know so much about how to do the job, why aren't you doing it yourself ?.????

The_B_Man

thecribber wrote: »

If you are such an expert at electrical installations, and know so much about how to do the job, why aren't you doing it yourself ?.????

So coz I can't rewire me house, I should pay at least a grand over for a quote?

Sure I can't build a car either but I'm not paying €100k for a Nissan Micra!

The_B_Man

I've some friends who are electricians. They all said €3500 is the going rate. One said €3500 would be a bit tight. I said what about €4k and he said for that price you could get premium fittings like chrome faceplates with USB charging ports on the plugs. They all laughed when I said your man quoted €5k+.

All the houses were built mid-70s. It's a big estate. If it was that dangerous, surely the residents would be dropping like flies.

If it HAS to be done, I'll get it done. But only for a fair rate. Not gonna be ripped off. The budget won't extend out of thin air.

hufpc8w3adnk65

The_B_Man wrote: »

I've some friends who are electricians. They all said €3500 is the going rate. One said €3500 would be a bit tight. I said what about €4k and he said for that price you could get premium fittings like chrome faceplates with USB charging ports on the plugs. They all laughed when I said your man quoted €5k+.

All the houses were built mid-70s. It's a big estate. If it was that dangerous, surely the residents would be dropping like flies.

If it HAS to be done, I'll get it done. But only for a fair rate. Not gonna be ripped off. The budget won't extend out of thin air.

You’d risk you and your family’s life’s for the sake of a grand??

K.Flyer

The_B_Man wrote: »

I've some friends who are electricians. They all said €3500 is the going rate. One said €3500 would be a bit tight. I said what about €4k and he said for that price you could get premium fittings like chrome faceplates with USB charging ports on the plugs. They all laughed when I said your man quoted €5k+.

All the houses were built mid-70s. It's a big estate. If it was that dangerous, surely the residents would be dropping like flies.

If it HAS to be done, I'll get it done. But only for a fair rate. Not gonna be ripped off. The budget won't extend out of thin air.

Well there's your answer right there, get one of your friends to do the job!

Tell me how

The_B_Man wrote:

I've some friends who are electricians. They all said €3500 is the going rate. One said €3500 would be a bit tight. I said what about €4k and he said for that price you could get premium fittings like chrome faceplates with USB charging ports on the plugs. They all laughed when I said your man quoted €5k+.

Why are you on Boards asking the question then?

Your friends would also know on greater detail the size of your house, the quality of the current wiring and your expectation of quality than anyone reading here.

jlm29

Are your friends electricians who work for themselves? Then they can do it, and sign it off. If they work for someone else, they can’t sign it off, and maybe they have a bad idea of overhead costs etc that the person working for them self incurs. Get multiple quotes for the job from people who can do it, and sign it off properly etc, and then assess.
As I say, €3500 seems ridiculously low, based on quotes we got

The_B_Man

They're either on holidays or busy on other jobs.

I asked them what the goin rate was and they said around €3.5k+.

I don't see how it costs 5 grand to earth a few switches.

hufpc8w3adnk65

The_B_Man wrote: »

They're either on holidays or busy on other jobs.

I asked them what the goin rate was and they said around €3.5k+.

I don't see how it costs 5 grand to earth a few switches.

I dunno where in the country you are but in Cork 5K is the going rate. It’s far from earthing a few switch’s..every cable in your house, swicth socket light etc will all be replaced aswell as your fuse box.

If the installation is as poor and old as you say you most likely won’t get 40 years from it so you will have to do it at some stage!

Del2005

The_B_Man wrote: »

They're either on holidays or busy on other jobs.

I asked them what the goin rate was and they said around €3.5k+.

I don't see how it costs 5 grand to earth a few switches.

Sounds like a story I heard years ago. A person goes into a shop looking for a item and is told its €50. Person goes made and says shop up the road had it for €30. Shopkeeper says buy it there then, person says its out of stock. Shopkeeper replies its €30 here when I don't have stock.

You have several friends who are electricians and they are all busy. When demand outstrips supply the price goes up. If you are willing to pay €4k to a stranger you'd think that your friends would be jumping at the chance to make €500 extra for a "simple" job.

salmocab

40 year old wiring including an already moved fuse board will need changing at some stage, the sparks can’t rewire and not put earths at your switches so that needs doing, if you don’t get it done now it will cost more in a few years when you have to pay an electrician anyway and the cost of any redecorating. It’s impossible for anyone here to tell you if the price is fair without seeing the job and I doubt your friends have sat down and looked into your actual requirements.
If it bothers you don’t get it done but it will certainly cost more in the long run.
Get a couple more quotes and see how it stands up.

The_B_Man

Btw, the fuse box was replaced already. It's not that old. It would just need to be moved.

Are you saying that moving this fuse box is where the bulk of the fee is coming from?

salmocab

The_B_Man wrote: »

Btw, the fuse box was replaced already. It's not that old. It would just need to be moved.

Are you saying that moving this fuse box is where the bulk of the fee is coming from?

No

hufpc8w3adnk65

The_B_Man wrote: »

Btw, the fuse box was replaced already. It's not that old. It would just need to be moved.

Are you saying that moving this fuse box is where the bulk of the fee is coming from?

EVERY cable in the house needs to be replaced and more added!

enricoh

Did an extension last year , utility room, Jack's under stairs and large kitchen/dining area. Bedroom w/ensuite upstairs- I had to give 3k for that and thought I got good value. By the time u put in heat alarms, carbon monoxide alarm n smoke alarms, decent led downlights etc they add up. Plus the Sparks reci fees!

LirW

Got the house re-wired, paid approx. 5,5k which included the electrics for the heating too. The quotes were all around that or a bit higher.
House is a 3bed end of terrace.

Also redid the plumbing with zoned heating, new rads, new cylinder and a new bathroom and paid a bit over 11k for it. (Got tiling done by someone else)
With plumbers it really pays off to get as many quotes as possible. Beside two minor hiccups that were fixed for free it's all good.

2011

Speaking as a qualified electrician that was a registered electrical contractor in the past, a few points that will impact the price:

1) There is no end of work for electricians working for large electrical contractors at present. The money is good and there is no risk of not getting paid. So anyone that has decided to work as an electrical contractor will only put up with the hassle, risk, stress if it is worth it from a financial perspective. Here is a link to the TEEU hourly rates of pay for electricians. In general electricians are paid expenses on top of this (I always got a minimum of 10 hours travel per week).

2) Modern houses tend to have much wiring than older houses. For example newer homes commonly have:
- Intruder alarm wiring
- 3 zone heating systems
- CAT 6 network cabling and network switches
- Way more lights (such as down lighters) / outside lights / garden lights
- Induction hobs (which frequently require larger 10 mm sq. cables)
- Far more socket outlets
- Multiple TV points that require more expensive coaxial cable (suitable for 4K). These TV points generally require multiple coaxial cables and generally need to be wire to a satellite dish.
- Surrond sound systems
- Additional some detectors to comply with current regulations
- Carbon monoxide detectors to comply with current regulations
- Speaker systems
- Earthing and bonding - This did not really feature much in older installations.
- Wiring to garden sheds
- Outdoor sockets
- CCTV systems
- Heat pumps
- Shower pumps / instantaneous showers
- More expensive extras often such as USB charge points, dimmer switches, LED lamps, high end socket outlets, various smart devices, extract fans in bathrooms
- A minimum of 3 RCDs to comply with regulations (sockets, bathroom lights and instantaneous shower). These are expensive units and can result in a larger board being required.

3) The cheaper twin and earth cable that most homes in the country are wired in is no longer permitted (since September 2017). See link. The replacement more expensive cable often requires larger chases in masonry walls. This means that much of the existing cabling is no longer compliant.

4) Since this house was wired many regulations have changed. For example light switches all need to be lowered, distribution boards now have a far lower maximum hight, and socket outlets must be a minimum hight up from floor level. These changes often mean more chases in masonry walls, which takes time (and time costs money). In addition more circuits are now required to comply with regulations. There are new requirements for bathroom lighting meaning that the existing wiring is unlikely to be compliant. I summary it is likely that little if any of the existing wiring can be reused. So what if a few floorboards are lifted?

5) ESB meters must be instilled in meter cabinets outside, they are no longer permitted in hallways. These now require larger cables to supply the distribution board (minimum of 16 mm sq.). There is a lot of work installing a flush fitted meter cabinet in a concrete wall!

6) All costs associated with running a business such as this have increased dramatically such as insurance, registration, cabling (copper prices are through the roof), accessories, labour, running a van, tools, additional training courses that are now mandatory (Safepass and verification & testing) etc. All of the new legislation surrounding safety adds to the cost as well when toolbox talks, safety statement etc. are taken into account.

I haven't seen this house so I do not know the specifics but a rewire for €5.5k does not sound that strange to me. It has been well over 10 years since I wired a house, but I certainly wired more than one 3 bed for more than that back then. My view was that I did not spend 4 years doing apprenticeship to work for minimum wage. Since then I have completed an electrical engineering degree and I can honestly say that my apprenticeship was a far tougher experience.

Risteard81

The_B_Man wrote: »

I've some friends who are electricians. They all said €3500 is the going rate. 

Your friends are full of crap...