Consumer unit replacement
House rewires
Kitchen electrics
Garden lighting
EV chargers
EICR
Landlord electrical reports
Extra sockets and lighting
Fault finding
Emergency electrician
Old fuse board? You may not need a full rewire
Testing first can show that a new consumer unit makes an installation safe, without lifting a floorboard.
The worry
A lot of people are told their house needs a rewire because the fuse board is old. Sometimes that is true. Often it is not. The age of the board tells you about the board, not about the cables in the walls.
What testing shows
Insulation resistance, earth continuity and loop readings on every circuit tell me whether the cables are sound. If they are, a modern consumer unit with RCBO protection on each circuit and a surge protection device makes the installation safe, usually in a day.
When a rewire really is needed
Perished rubber or lead-sheathed cable, no earth on lighting circuits, or readings outside the limits in BS 7671. Then the honest answer is a rewire, and it is cheapest while the property is empty.
The board tells you about the board, not about the cables.
What I do
I test before I recommend anything, and the quote says in writing what the testing found. If you have been told you need a rewire, a test is a cheap second opinion.
