Written by Gary Williams · NAPIT registered · Updated 10 September 2026
The signs that genuinely matter
Look at the fuse board first: rewireable fuses, a wooden back, or the absence of any RCD puts the installation decades out of date. Then look at the cable where it enters the board or at a light fitting — black rubber or fabric sheathing is a strong indicator, and if it's gone hard or crumbles when flexed it's a real hazard rather than a cosmetic one. Round-pin sockets, sockets set into the skirting, and a total absence of earth at lighting points all point the same way. Repeated tripping with no identifiable appliance cause is worth investigating properly.
The signs that get misdiagnosed
A few things get quoted as a rewire that usually aren't one. Not having enough sockets is an additions job, not a rewire. One circuit that trips is nearly always a faulty appliance, which unplugging things one at a time will identify in ten minutes. Flickering downlights are usually a mismatched driver rather than the wiring. And an old-looking board on sound circuits is a board change, not a rewire. If someone quotes a full rewire without having tested the circuits, ask what the insulation resistance readings were — if there aren't any, they don't know either.
What testing actually proves
An EICR measures insulation resistance and continuity on every circuit. Insulation resistance shows whether the cable's insulation is still doing its job — degraded rubber sheathing shows up here clearly and unambiguously. Continuity confirms the earthing and bonding are intact and correctly sized. Between them, these readings answer the question definitively, circuit by circuit, which is why an EICR before committing to a rewire is worthwhile: it either confirms the work or saves you most of the cost.
Rewire vs consumer unit upgrade
This is the decision that matters financially, and the split is usually clean. If the circuits test sound and the only problem is a board with no RCD protection, a modern consumer unit with RCBOs brings the whole installation up to current standards in a day. If insulation resistance is failing across several circuits, a new board on failing cable is money wasted — the board can't fix the cable. We see the first case constantly on 1950s–70s estate housing around Chatham, Walderslade and Lordswood, and the second on Victorian and pre-war stock in Gillingham, Chatham town centre and older parts of Maidstone.
Partial rewires are a real option
It's not binary. It's common to find the upstairs lighting and downstairs ring test perfectly well while the kitchen circuit and an old immersion supply are failing — in which case replacing those circuits plus a new board is the proportionate answer. A partial rewire is properly tested and certified exactly like a full one. Anyone who tells you it's all or nothing is either not testing or not looking.
If you're buying a property
A homebuyer's survey will typically flag the electrics as 'recommend further investigation' regardless of condition, because the surveyor isn't testing anything. That isn't a rewire diagnosis. If the price of the property is turning on it, get an EICR before exchange — it costs a fraction of a rewire and gives you either a genuine negotiating position with coded evidence, or the reassurance that the installation is fine.
What it will cost at your property
We don’t publish blanket prices, because the factors above move the figure too much for a headline number to be honest. What we will do is come and look, then give you a written, itemised quote with nothing hidden in it — free, and with no obligation.