electrical rewire and a new boiler

[kilkenny]

I am seeking a price to rewire my house. Unfortunately the quotes I am receiving seem to vary massively in cost as do the scope of works.

Where can I get a rewire specification to current UK standards that I can get all of those pricing to cost against.

And while we are at it whrer can I get a spec for installing a new boiler to current standards

Thanks

[Catso]

Shouldn't you have specified that the quotes are all for a comparable amount of work? Even if that isn't what you end up doing, you'll then be able to compare firms. EG completely replace like with like, to current standards as applicable.

The standards the work must comply with are specified already, as part of the building regulations and the IEEE(?) regulations.

[turboped]

A rewire would come under BS 7671 and are also governed by Part P of the building regulations, there is a minimum required standard and restrictions on the minimum number of outlets, height and location of accesories and fittings etc, etc. If you are getting quotes from an electrician who is a member of one of the organisations that monitor their members, NICEIC, NAPIT, ELECSA are the 3 main bodies, these quotes are all to the required 'standard', the trouble is that rewires in houses that are being lived in can sometimes be unwanted work and therefore you can end up paying a premium, I assume that you have provided the same detail to all about what you expect in the way of changes to the existing No of sockets, lighting changes etc. Also there is a vast difference in some of the accesories that can be used, perfectly good manufacturers produce Sockets and Switches that meet british standards and others produce the same but the quality may be slightly better, I know of some electricians that supply only MK and these can be upto 4 or 5 times more expensive than say 'click' accessories. Also it is up to you if the work is surface or sunk in to the walls. You could channel the walls and fix the metal back boxes yourself saving paying an electrician a premium to do it. You could also move the furniture, lift carpets and floorboards to save more.

I am currently working on a proicing plan to enable the quotation of such work and I am trying to keep the weighting for rewire of a lived in property to a minimum, at the moment I am looking at adding 5% (to the cost of the same work on new build) but I am not sure trhis is enough.

Tell me how many Sockets and Lights and I will tell you what I come up with.

[raysparx]

Hi kilkenny,

I have just put a quote in to Re-wire a 4 bedroomed Victorian House, all wires to be cocealed,but a plasterer is doing the making good, the quote was �4500.00 and yhe bloke agreed straight away,he had another quote that was over �7000.00,which is a joke is it any wonder we get called names, the pricing will depend where you live and amount of outlets,as Turbo said, I use Contactum Socket outlets which are a middle priced range, give both some more info and I am sure we will both do our best to help you, Ray

[turboped]

ray, where about in North wales are you?

[raysparx]

Hi turbo, I am near Betws-Y-Coed, about 20 mile from Llandudno, Do you know the area?

[turboped]

Many years ago I worked on the Waterloo Hotel (my Dad built it when I was a kid) and as an apprentice I worked on what was then the new Little Chef next door. I have family in Llanrwst and have worked there on many occasions including rewire the alarms in the flats about 20 odd years ago. I live between Denbigh and Mold.

[raysparx]

Hi Kilkenny,

sorry to hijack your thread, Turbo,that is wierd I am about half a mile from waterloo hotel, the flats you mention,is that Glanrafon ? The area you live is lovely,as is the whole of North wales of course,take care, Ray

[buildersmate]

Regarding the boiler part of your question, you are likely to have less trouble with spec variations on this because it is just a single piece of kit going in. You don't say whether this is oil or gas, but whatever it is, installation can only legally be done by a qualified person. New boilers installed in the UK now have to be what is called 'condensing'. This is more energy efficient than non-condensing, and more costly to buy (though the greater volume of condensing boilers being supplied and competition between suppliers seems to be reducing prices). Invite three local heating installers around, show them what you want and let them describe it in their quotation back to you. Heating Engineers don't expect householders to be experts in their business. Ask them what boiler they would recommend and why. You can check out yourself on the web what price the different boilers are (between �500 and �800). That should get the specification the same, but do expect wildly differing quotations because people price jobs according to how much they want the work.