What a house rewire costs in York A guide figure, and what actually moves it
As a guide, a full rewire runs at about £2,000 plus VAT per bedroom, with materials at the prices they are today. That is the figure I give on the phone before I have seen the house. The survey sets the real number, and the real number goes in writing before anything starts.
Search for this and you will find averages between four and five thousand pounds. A fair number of those results are American, because there is a much larger York on the other side of the Atlantic. This page is about York in North Yorkshire: YO postcodes, Victorian terraces off Bishopthorpe Road, interwar semis in Acomb, 1970s estates in Woodthorpe.
The guide figure
A guide before survey, at current material prices
£2,400 inc VAT
A guide is not an estimate. It exists so you can tell in one phone call whether we are in the same conversation, without either of us spending an afternoon on a survey to find out we are not.
What the guide includes, and what it does not
Every rewire I do covers all of this, and none of it appears as an extra line later:
- A new consumer unit with an individual RCBO on every circuit
- Integrated surge protection
- All new cable throughout, first fix and second fix
- New sockets, switches and accessories
- Full testing and an Electrical Installation Certificate
- The Building Control notification on notifiable work. I am registered to self-certify it, so it is handled as part of the job rather than left with you
What it does not include, and I say so in the estimate rather than at the end: plastering and decorating. I fill the chases and leave the walls ready for a decorator. That is a different trade and I would rather you knew before, not after.
Why the figure moves with materials
The per-bedroom guide reflects what cable, consumer units and accessories cost today. Materials are the part of a rewire most exposed to price movement, and they are a real share of the total. If material prices move, the guide moves with them. That is why it is a guide given on a date rather than a fixed rate, and why the survey figure is the one that counts.
What moves the price, in York specifically
Victorian and Edwardian terraces. Solid walls, lath and plaster ceilings, original floorboards worth keeping. Chasing into solid brick takes longer than a stud wall and makes more mess. In a conservation area or a listed building, the cable route has to work around what cannot be disturbed.
Interwar and 1930s semis. Usually the most straightforward of the York housing stock. Suspended floors, accessible lofts, sensible room shapes.
1960s and 70s estates. Often part-rewired at some point, which sounds like it should help and frequently does not. Mixed-age cable in one property is slower than all-old cable, because everything has to be traced before anything can be assumed.
Flats and conversions. Access, communal supplies, shared risers, and often a management company who needs to agree the work. The wiring is usually the quick part.
There is a fuller version of this, era by era, on what is behind your walls in a York house.
Whether you are living in it. An empty house is cheaper than an occupied one. Living there means working room by room and covering everything each evening.
What is behind the plaster. Nobody knows until it is open. That is the honest answer, and it is why I hold a contingency inside the price rather than coming back for more halfway through. If it is not needed, the balance comes back to you at the end.
Why the online averages are lower
The comparison-site figures are not lies. They are measuring something narrower than the job: usually cable and the labour to install it, with the consumer unit, the certification, the notification, the accessories and the making good left out. Add those back and the number moves. I have written that out properly in the £4,750 rewire figure and what it leaves out.
Not every house needs a full rewire
A partial rewire is a legitimate answer when the survey says so, and I will tell you when it is. What I will not do is a partial that leaves you with two generations of installation and a certificate describing the join, because that turns up on somebody's report five years later as a problem.
If you are not sure which you need, an EICR first is usually the cheaper decision. It turns "the house is old" into a specific list, and sometimes the list is short. Signs your wiring needs replacing covers what actually indicates it, as opposed to what worries people.
How the money works
- Written estimate before anything starts. Nothing begins on a verbal.
- Nothing lands on your bill that you have not already agreed.
- The estimate holds for 30 days.
- Staged payments on larger jobs, agreed up front.
Full detail on how I work and what things cost, and the workmanship cover is on the warranty page.
Questions I get asked
How much does a house rewire cost in York?
As a guide, about £2,000 plus VAT per bedroom at current material prices. That is the figure I give on the phone before I have seen the property. The survey sets the actual figure and it goes in writing before any work starts.
Why does the rewire guide figure move?
It reflects what cable, consumer units and accessories cost today. Materials are the part of a rewire most exposed to price movement and a real share of the total, so if material prices move the guide moves with them.
What is included in a rewire price?
A new consumer unit with an individual RCBO on every circuit, integrated surge protection, all new cable, new sockets, switches and accessories, full testing, an Electrical Installation Certificate, and the Building Control notification on notifiable work. Plastering and decorating are not included, and that is stated in the estimate.
Do I need a full rewire or a partial one?
An EICR answers that. It tests every circuit and turns a general worry about an old house into a specific list, and sometimes the list is short. A partial rewire is a legitimate answer when the survey says so.
Do I have to move out?
No, but it is cheaper if you can. Living in it means working room by room and covering everything each evening, which adds to the job.
How long will it take?
I would rather tell you at the survey than guess on the phone. Every property is different, and a timescale given before I have seen the house is a number neither of us should rely on.
Will you make good afterwards?
I fill the chases and leave the walls ready for decorating. I do not plaster-skim or decorate. That is stated in the estimate so there is no surprise at the end.
Does my house need one just because it is old?
No. Age is a prompt, not a diagnosis. Plenty of older York houses have had good work done at some point and need far less than the owner fears. An EICR tells you which you have.
Is it worth doing before I sell?
Sometimes. Selling your house and the electrics goes through when it pays and when it does not.
Why is your guide higher than the averages I have found?
Because it includes the consumer unit, the certification, the notification, the accessories and the making good, and because it carries a contingency for what is behind the plaster. A lower number that grows halfway through is not a lower number.
Thinking about a rewire? Tell me the property and how many bedrooms and I will give you the guide figure on the phone. If it is in the right area, I will come and survey it and put a real number in writing.