How long does a rewire take?

Typical timescales by property size

• 1-bed flat: 3 – 4 days
• 2-bed terrace: 4 – 6 days
• 3-bed semi: 6 – 10 days
• 4-bed house: around 2 weeks
• 5-bed house: 2 – 3 weeks

These are working days with the house partly lived in — the way most Blackpool rewires actually happen. An empty property is quicker because nothing has to be worked around, covered up or reconnected each evening.

First fix: the noisy, dusty part

A rewire happens in two stages. First fix is the disruptive one: floorboards up, chases cut into plaster, old cable stripped out and new cable run to every socket, switch and light position. Back boxes go into the walls and the new consumer unit position is prepared. For a 3-bed semi, first fix is usually the first week. This is when the house looks like a building site — because it briefly is one.

Second fix: putting it all together

Second fix is calmer. Faceplates, switches and light fittings go on, the consumer unit is connected up, and then every circuit is tested and the certification completed. You get an Electrical Installation Certificate at the end — keep it safe, because your buyer's solicitor will ask for it one day. Second fix on that same 3-bed is typically two to three days.

Can you live in the house during it?

You can, and most of our customers do — but we won't pretend it's pleasant. Expect no power in whole sections of the house during the day, furniture shuffled from room to room, dust despite the sheets, and the kettle living wherever the temporary supply is. We work room by room and reinstate power to essentials each evening, so you're never without a fridge or somewhere to charge a phone overnight.

If you can decant to family for the first-fix week — or line the job up between tenants or before you move in — do it. Every empty-house rewire finishes faster than the same house occupied. Holiday-let owners on the Fylde coast usually book us for the quiet weeks after the illuminations switch off, which is exactly the right instinct.

How to prepare for rewire week

• Clear a metre of space along the walls in each room — that's where we work.
• Empty wardrobes and cupboards that sit over floorboards we'll need to lift.
• Box up ornaments and anything fragile; dust travels further than you'd think.
• Decide socket and light positions before we start — moving them mid-job costs time.
• Plan for pets: doors stand open and floors are up, so a day at a relative's helps.

What stretches the timeline

Concrete floors mean cables route through ceilings and walls instead — slower. Lath and plaster walls, common in Blackpool's older terraces, need gentler chasing than modern plasterboard. Fitted kitchens and bathrooms that are staying put have to be worked around rather than through. And every "while you're here, could you just…" adds a little — worth asking for upfront so it's priced and planned rather than squeezed in.

Does the timeline include plastering?

Our timescales cover the electrical work and filling the chases we cut — walls are left sound but not decorated. Skimming, painting and papering come after us, so if you're planning a full refurb, sequence it: rewire first, plasterer second, decorator last. Doing it in that order once is far cheaper than doing any of it twice.

Costs and booking

Rewires run from £2,000 for a 1-bed flat to £8,000 – £10,000 for a 5-bed house. There's a full breakdown on our house rewiring page, or ring 01253 835566 and we'll talk through your dates.