How to Price a Full Rewire (UK 2026)
A full rewire is priced on days and points, not on a per-room feeling — count the accessories, estimate the days, and let occupied working and making good push the figure up.
A rewire is one of the largest jobs a domestic electrician quotes, and it’s the one where under-pricing hurts most — a week of work costed wrongly is a week you effectively worked for less than your day rate. The reliable way to price it is to estimate the days and the point count, not to guess a round number per bedroom.
This guide covers the two common methods — per-point and day-rate — sets out everything a full rewire actually includes, explains why an occupied property costs more than an empty one, and gives indicative 2026 UK ranges by bed count. As with all pricing, treat the figures as typical and adjust hard for your region and the state of the property.
Key takeaways
- Two methods dominate: pricing per point (each accessory position) or estimating the days and applying your day rate — good estimators cross-check one against the other.
- A full rewire is first fix, second fix, a new consumer unit, full testing, certification and making good — the making good and the certificate are real costs, not extras.
- Occupied properties cost more than empty ones: you work room by room, protect belongings, and lose time to access and disruption.
- Property size drives days: bed count is a rough proxy, but point count and access are the real variables.
- Always quote making good and decoration boundaries explicitly — chasing walls and lifting floors is destructive, and who fills and paints must be agreed.
1. Per-point vs day-rate methods
The per-point method assigns a price to each accessory position — every socket, switch, light point, cooker outlet and so on. Count the points from the plan or the walk-round, multiply by your per-point rate, and you have a figure that scales with the actual scope. It’s transparent and easy to adjust when a client adds sockets.
The day-rate method estimates how many days the job takes and multiplies by your day rate, then adds materials and the consumer unit. Experienced electricians use both: build the estimate on days because that’s what actually determines profit, then sanity-check it against a per-point figure to make sure the scope and the days agree. If they diverge badly, one of your assumptions is wrong.
Days are what you get paid for
A rewire priced too low doesn’t just earn less — it ties up a week you can’t sell to anyone else. Estimate the days honestly, apply a day rate that already carries your overheads, and don’t discount your way into a loss-making week.
2. What a full rewire includes
First fix is the destructive, cable-laying phase: chasing walls, lifting floors, running all the new cabling, back boxes and containment. Second fix is fitting the accessories, the consumer unit and connecting everything. Then comes full testing to BS 7671 and the Electrical Installation Certificate — a rewire is comprehensively tested and certified, and that testing is a substantial part of the job.
Making good is the line clients most often forget. Chasing and floor lifting leave the property needing plaster repairs and reinstatement, and the quote must state clearly whether you make good to a fill-ready finish, plaster, or leave it for others. Decoration is almost always separate. Being explicit here prevents the dispute where a client expects a paint-ready house for a rewire price.
3. Occupied vs empty properties
An empty property is the efficient case: you rip in, work fast, and aren’t working around anyone. An occupied one costs more because you go room by room to keep the household functioning, protect furniture and floors, tidy each day, and lose time to access negotiations and disruption. The same house can take noticeably longer occupied than empty.
Price the two scenarios differently and say which you’ve quoted. If the client plans to move out for the works, that’s cheaper and faster and worth flagging as an option. If they’re staying put, build the extra days in — don’t quote the empty-house price and then absorb the occupied-house time.
Issue the certificate with the job
TradePlanr lets you record the full schedule of test results and issue the Electrical Installation Certificate as a PDF when the rewire completes, so the certification that a rewire depends on is done on site rather than chased afterwards.
4. Indicative price ranges
The table gives typical 2026 UK ranges by bed count for a full domestic rewire. The spread within each row is driven by point count, access, occupied vs empty working and how far you make good — a small but cluttered occupied flat can cost more than a larger empty house.
Regional variation is large; London and the South East sit well above these figures, and rural sole traders often below. Build your quote from days and points, then check it lands somewhere sensible against the band — not the other way around.
| Property | Typical duration | Indicative price |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 bed flat | 3–5 days | £2,800–£4,500 |
| 3-bed house | 5–8 days | £4,000–£6,500 |
| 4-bed house | 8–10 days | £5,500–£8,500 |
| 5-bed / large house | 10+ days | £7,500–£12,000+ |
| Occupied premium | Add roughly 15–30% to duration | Reflected in the day count |
5. Building and presenting the quote
Assemble the quote from days and materials: estimated days at your day rate, the consumer unit and accessories, cabling and sundries, making good to the agreed standard, and margin. State the making good and decoration boundary in writing, and note whether the price assumes an occupied or empty property.
Present it as a proper written quotation, not a text-message number. A rewire is a big spend for a homeowner, and a clear breakdown — days, scope, what’s included, what’s excluded — both wins the trust that closes the job and protects you when the client later asks why the skirting isn’t painted.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a full rewire take?
Broadly three to five days for a small flat and up to two weeks or more for a large house, depending on point count, access and whether the property is occupied. Occupied working adds roughly 15–30% to the duration because you work room by room around the household.
Does a rewire price include making good and decoration?
Making good is usually included only to an agreed standard — often fill-ready or plastered — and decoration is almost always separate. Chasing walls and lifting floors is destructive, so the quote must state exactly who fills, plasters and paints to avoid a dispute at the end.
Should I price a rewire per point or by the day?
Estimate by the day, because days are what determine your profit, then cross-check against a per-point figure to confirm the scope and duration agree. Per-point pricing is transparent for clients and easy to adjust when they add accessories, so many electricians present both.
From guidance to action
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