How long does a rewire take?
A typical 3-bedroom semi takes 8–12 working days to rewire fully. A 2-bed terrace is 6–8 days, a 4-bed detached is 12–16 days, and a large period property can run 16–22 days. Power is reinstated at the consumer unit each evening so you can sleep in the property throughout.
By Joshua Richardson & Benjamin Clurow · Co-Directors, JBRC Ltd · Last updated 22 March 2026
8–12 days for a 3-bed semi, working roughly 8am–4pm on weekdays. Day 1: strip-out and first-fix begins. Days 2–6: cabling all circuits. Day 7: consumer unit, second-fix. Day 8: testing, certification, plastering reinstatement. Plasterer skim-coat day 9–10 if booked. Power is reinstated each evening; most owners stay in throughout. Occupied properties add 2–3 days because we work around your living patterns.
Day-by-day for a typical 3-bed semi
Day 1 — Strip-out. Removing existing accessories, exposing cable routes, lifting carpets and accessible floorboards. Power off-and-on multiple times for 5–10 minutes. Dustiest day — expect plenty of plaster fines. We sheet down soft furnishings.
Days 2–4 — First fix downstairs. Running new twin-and-earth cables for sockets, lights, cooker, immersion. Chasing into walls where surface trunking isn't acceptable. Power isolated upstairs only during these days; downstairs sockets work normally each evening.
Days 5–6 — First fix upstairs. Same process. Loft cabling and bathroom IP-rated lighting. Smoke and heat alarm cabling to BS 5839-6. Most disruption to bedrooms; we typically work bedroom-by-bedroom so the family can rotate.
Day 7 — Consumer unit replacement and second fix. Property is fully off-power for 2–3 hours mid-morning, then we're back on with the new board energising new circuits one at a time. By 4pm everything works.
Day 8 — Testing, certification and basic plaster reinstatement of all chases. We test every circuit (insulation, polarity, earth fault loop, RCD). The EIC and Part P notification go to building control that day.
Days 9–10 — If you've booked our plasterer, full skim-coats over chases ready for redecoration. Optional but most owners take it.
What changes the timeline
Occupancy. Empty properties are 30% faster — we can run cables freely without working around bedrooms or kitchens. If you can move out for a week (or stay with family for the dustiest 4 days) you save days and cost.
Property age. Solid-floor 1900s terraces with lath-and-plaster walls take 50% longer than a 1990s timber-frame semi. Every cable run has to be chased rather than dropped into a stud cavity.
Listed status. Properties in The Park Estate or grade II listed Mapperley homes need careful surface-mounted runs in chrome conduit on certain walls — adds 2–3 days for design and approvals (we handle the listed building consent paperwork).
Three-storey townhouses. 20–30% longer than two-storey because every upper circuit has to traverse two floors of floorboards.
Typical rewire durations by property
Real averages from our recent Nottingham jobs.
| Property | Empty / occupied | Working days |
|---|---|---|
| 1-bed flat | Empty | 4–5 |
| 1-bed flat | Occupied | 5–6 |
| 2-bed terrace (modern) | Empty | 6–7 |
| 2-bed terrace (Victorian) | Occupied | 9–11 |
| 3-bed semi | Empty | 7–8 |
| 3-bed semi | Occupied | 8–12 |
| 4-bed detached | Either | 12–16 |
| 5-bed+ / period | Either | 16–22 |
Living through it — what to plan for
Power is on every evening, on the new consumer unit by day 7, and stable throughout the second half of the job. Most families plan to eat out or use the microwave only on days 1, 7 and 8 (when the kitchen circuit is being worked on or the board is being changed).
Internet usually stays up — we isolate routers carefully and reinstate them every evening. Working from home is feasible from day 2 onwards if you're flexible about which room you work from.
Pets and small children: the dustiest days are 1–4 of the strip-out. Cats and dogs find drilling and chasing unsettling. If you can park them with a relative or neighbour for those days everyone's happier.
Decorating after a rewire is the owner's responsibility (or extra cost if booked through us). Most owners use the rewire as the trigger for redecorating ground-floor rooms anyway.
For the full service overview, see our Domestic rewire in Nottingham page, or browse all domestic electrical services.
Joshua Richardson & Benjamin Clurow
Co-Directors, JBRC Ltd · 30+ combined years (per Checkatrade)
Joshua Richardson and Benjamin Clurow are the joint co-founders and named directors of JBRC Ltd, a Nottingham-based electrical contractor (Companies House #17015285). The business is NICEIC Approved and a NICEIC Part-P Domestic Installer, working across Nottingham, Derbyshire and Leicestershire on domestic rewires, EICRs, EV charger installs, commercial fit-outs and three-phase work.
- NICEIC Approved Contractor
- NICEIC Part-P Domestic Installer
- Co-Directors, JBRC Ltd (Companies House #17015285)
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