Rewiring your home not only eliminates electrical hazards but also improves the functional efficiency of your house’s electricity. A slight mistake in electrical connection could lead to a costly disaster.
This is why people must ensure all electrical lines are well-fixed. Until recently, things like microwaves, air conditioners, and hair dryers weren’t widely available so electricity needs were not that intense.
If you want to install such appliances, it would be necessary for you to upgrade your house’s electric. There is a lot of work to be done during the rewiring of your home.
Factors like the accessibility of walls, floors, ceilings and attic and the amount of redecoration required should be considered.
Plan Your Inventory Perfectly
Every homeowner has typical electricity requirements. List the appliances you use and identify the electricity consumption of all these appliances. Once you are done, plan on how you will rewire your house to meet the power demands of all the electrical items listed.
In inventory planning, you must also include new additions that will be needed in your new electrical lines. Inventory planning helps to rewire the house in a manner that would make every appliance be well-supplied with electricity.
Hire a Professional
Even the smallest hitch in electrical connection could cause a detrimental electrical disaster. For this reason, hire a professional electrician for a house rewire.
A professional electrician knows the correct wires to use, the allowed number of outlets and other electrical standards. The experienced professional can also advise you on the best rewiring materials to use and provide you with a electrical safety certificate.
Make Minimal and Necessary Demolitions
Old houses that have existing wiring typically don’t need a lot of demolition work for the rewire. You can just use the existing holes for your new wires and switches except for places where you need to add new connections.
Drill holes for the cables only where necessary because too much drilling and demolition could compromise the strength of your walls.
New wiring may also not fit in the old holes so in such a situation, try to expand the old holes if you can. You will need to drill new holes if the old house doesn’t have sufficient holes. When you begin drilling new holes, you should be careful not to damage the existing plumbing or wiring.
This is very important because tampering with piping or wiring might end up costing you more. Therefore, it is important to make sure that the location of your new hole is carefully chosen using a pipe finder.
If you don;t have one, you should drill a small hole first to make sure that you aren’t near any wiring or piping. For convenience, drill new holes in an area that would not require any extension of the wiring.
Replace Your Old Electrical Panel
Rewiring alone may not be enough if your service equipment is in bad shape or form. Consider replacing your main electrical panel and subpanels to ensure you restore complete efficiency.
The main panel is the backbone of all electrical lines so if it is bad shape, malfunctioning will be common. Replacing panels is good especially if your electrical lines contain fuses instead of circuit breakers.
Rewiring your old house is a demanding task and for this reason, you need to have a comprehensive plan of action. Gather all the materials you will need in the whole process so that you don’t stop until your house is fully rewired.
Find a professional electrician who will actualise your plan and test the functioning of your electricity before providing you with an electrical safety certificate. After you are done, do all the redecoration required to restore your house’s elegance.