If you are thinking of rewiring your home, you may be asking yourself what the benefits are and how much it will cost. It’s good practice to rewire your house if it is more than 50 years old.  Your electrical wiring may need updating, especially if you are thinking of selling your home.

In this guide, you’ll gain more clarity on the reasons, benefits, and costs of rewiring your home.

Why Should I Rewire My Home?

If you are buying a home that was built a couple of decades ago, you might also want to consider updating the electrical wiring in the house. Over the years, the standard household power has changed significantly. 60 amps would have been enough years ago, but modern homes now require up to 200 amps to run HD televisions, computers, home automation devices, deep freezers, and air conditioners, along with other appliances, gadgets and gizmos.

Rewiring a home will also involve replacing worn out wires. Warning signs such as dimming lights, frequently blown fuses, frequent burning smells and electrical shocks tell you it is time for an update.

However, rewiring your home is not one of those home repairs that you can handle yourself. It’s messy and very technical work that requires the help of an expert electrician. You and your home will be safer if you get a professional to handle it.

What the Job Entails

The first step to rewiring a property is finding a qualified electrician. Electrical repairs and installations can be dangerous and should only ever be handled by a qualified professional. You can find expert home electricians in London using our database.

First, an expert electrician will conduct an electrical assessment of your home. This is vital as it helps them understand what work needs to be done.

Some homes will not need full rewiring: they will just require a few updates here and there. The full electrical assessment will reveal what work needs to be done. Some of the inspections carried out will include testing devices, inspecting the fuse board, switches and sockets, and checking the polarity of your electrical installations.

Once the inspection is done, your electrician will decide whether to carry out a total rewiring of your property.

The Benefits of Rewiring Your Home

There are a number of reasons to consider rewiring your home:

Safety: Outdated electrical wiring means that some of the wires may be damaged. This increases the likelihood of an electrical fire. An electrician will review your wiring to ensure fire accidents are not a potential hazard. Old wiring is also more likely to cause electrical shocks. Homes with such wiring problems see frequent cases of fuses blowing.

Convenience: Having your home rewired is a chance for customisation, as you’ll be able to choose where you want your power points. Many older homes have few power outlets and they are not always installed at the most convenience points. You will also get to incorporate modern switches in your newly rewired home.

Value: Rewiring a home will add value, as it reduces the risk that a homeowner will experience electrical problems for some time. Potential buyers will likely ask if your home has been rewired and, if it has not, they are well within their rights to request a cut in your selling price.

Materials Needed

Materials required for rewiring a house include electrical wires, mains power and power cable connectors, adhesive tape, junction boxes, double sockets, and fuse boards. The amount of materials needed will depend on the size of your home and condition of your current electrical system. This will impact the amount of money you can expect to pay.

The Cost of Rewiring Your Home

Just like the amount of money spent on materials is dependent on the size of the home, the total cost of rewiring a property is also dependent on its size. The extent of the job and the experience of the electrician you are working with will also affect the cost you can expect to pay. You may receive a variety of quotes. Every electrician’s quote will be a reflection of their professional references and how many years experience they possess. The hourly cost for rewiring a property can range anywhere between £15 and £80.

Average hourly and daily rates for electricians:

Are you looking for a qualified electrician near you? HaMuch can help! We list vetted, professional tradesmen on our platform, allowing you to search our extensive list of electrical wiring companies and electricians in London at your own convenience. We are transparent and upfront in pricing, meaning you won’t receive any nasty surprises.

A garden wall doesn’t just offer privacy and protect your home’s boundaries — it can be beautiful and put your home in the spotlight too! Building a wall offers many more benefits besides, including added security and various possibilities for visibility and wind protection.

If you are thinking of building a garden wall, there are some considerations you need to make in advance. These include how big you want it to be, the materials you would like to use and the cost of the job. Ideally and for a clean finish, the architecture should also match the house and its current surroundings.

What the Job Entails

The first step to building your garden wall is to find yourself a handyman, as this is a huge job that requires the help of experts. At HaMuch, we can help you find quality, reliable bricklayer services in London, allowing you to pick the tradesman who is a perfect fit for your needs and requirements.

The next step is to build a foundation where the wall will sit. Every garden wall needs a foundation and it must be sufficiently deep and wide. The last thing you want to do is endanger the stability of your garden wall by building one with a shallow foundation. Not only will it undoubtedly cost you more in the long run, but it could also pose a threat to your family and any pets.

When measuring the foundation, one good tip to keep in mind is that the depth and width will always depend on the weight, height, and width of the wall itself.

Other Costs to Consider before Building a Garden Wall

Before going ahead with the building work, you may need to get permission from your local authority for the work to be carried out. If your wall is one metre or less in height, you shouldn’t have any problems. If higher than a metre, you may need a permit, which will bump up your overall budget.

Keep in mind that the garden wall should run along the edge of the property — you should calculate in advance the minimum distance it will be to any neighbouring properties or pavements. Again, there may be a strict set of rules by your local authority that you need to follow — so it’s always best to check beforehand.

Garden Wall Building Materials

Various materials can be used for building a garden wall, including natural stone, sandstone and limestone. You can expect to pay anything from £800 to £2500 for materials to build a wall that is one metre high by four metres long. This, of course, will depend on your preferred material.

Regardless of whether you opt for a small natural stone wall to compensate for height in the garden, an entire property enclosure with a sandstone wall or a wall of carved limestone, the end result is, in any case, a gem. Here are a few benefits of each option:

Sandstone Wall

Sandstone is an eye-catcher with its stunning reddish colour. The untreated stones tend to be of different sizes, which adds to its rustic flare. Sandstone creates a stable wall, which means less decomposition and maintenance work in the long run.

Natural Stone

A natural stone wall will compliment any environment and offers an aesthetic appeal. However, this option can prevent light from entering the garden. If you enjoy growing plants, you may find a natural stone wall will block out essential light. Some plants also like to benefit from the heat that radiates from a precast stone wall when it is too cool.

Precast Stone

Of course, your wall doesn’t have to made from natural stone at all. Precast stones are available in a wide selection of various finishes. Usually, these stones are manufactured specifically to look similar to natural stones. Thin adhesive layers of mortar are normally used in these types of stone, ensuring that the individual stones hold well and the wall does not break.

The Cost of Building a Garden Wall: Labour & Materials

Building a garden wall comes with various costs, from creating the foundation to the materials to the labour costs. The table below outlines the rough cost you could expect to pay for a one metre by four metre wall.

Labour Costs:

How Quickly Can A Garden Wall Be Built?

How quickly the job takes will all depend the size of your desired wall and the experience of your bricklayer. It can take an average of three to four days to dig the foundation and lay the bricks. However, a qualified bricklayer can most likely get the job done faster.

Are you looking to build a garden wall in your home? HaMuch offers a comprehensive list of fully vetted, qualified and reliable bricklayers in London, allowing you to pick the right person for the job. Get your quote today!

With the summer sun comes brighter, longer days — the perfect time to implement new inspirations and ideas in your home. Whether you have just purchased a brand new home or you are thinking of renovating your current one, chances are at some point your walls will need an overhaul. This may include re-plastering the wall, and painting or adding new wallpaper.

While it may not be noticeable, minor defects arise through the everyday use of your walls, and heat and condensation are two major contributing factors of deterioration. Renovation, therefore, is necessary not just for aesthetic purposes, but also to improve the overall health of your living space. In this guide, you will find valuable tips on skimming a wall, the costs involved and the best materials to use.

Should I Skim a Wall Myself?

With a little skill and experience, home improvements can be done yourself. However, this requires much planning, time and effort — and a lot can go wrong. Such tasks are best left to the experts, who have the long-term skill and experience to get the job done effectively and produce the perfect finish. There are plenty of plasterers in London and all over the UK that are available to help at an affordable price. However, if you’re set on giving it a go yourself, check out our top tips for a job well done.

What Is the Best Material to Skim a Wall?

Choosing the correct plaster is essential for a long-lasting, healthy wall. Before renovating your home, your plasterer will most likely ask which room in the house the wall in question is in. The plaster that you’ll need to use will depend on the surface of the wall itself — if the wrong plaster is used, you risk being threatened by mould.

Due to their moisture-regulating properties, gypsum-based adhesive plasters are best for indoor use. For wetter rooms such as bathrooms, it is better to resort to lime cement-based plasters. Using a gypsum-based plaster in your bathroom could cause mould due to regular high levels of condensation. If you’re being plagued by mould, it’s a good idea to get rid of it before plastering your walls.

Both types of plaster are available as ready mixes, which only have to be mixed with water.

How to Skim Coat a Wall

To skim a wall, you will first need a shovel. This should be made from stainless steel, or else the plaster may cause rust spots. A shovel is used to raise the plaster and to work around the areas on windows and door frames. A sponge board is also needed to felt the plaster surface during the setting process.

To create the right consistency for your plaster mix, apply water in the middle of the dry plaster. The plaster will then need to be mixed under high pressure while using the shovel. At this stage, the mixing must be done very quickly to avoid the plaster drying up.

Now it’s time to prepare your wall! The preparatory work must be done carefully to save you a lot of work later on. Before applying the plaster mixture, remove any dirt and loose particles from your wall. When plastering an old building wall, it’s also important to first use a brush to wet the surface so that the plaster will last longer.

When applying the plaster to your wall, begin by using a cleaning gauge to apply the plaster evenly. Once dried, any stains and bumps can be finished with sandpaper.

If you are planning to paint your wall or add wallpaper, you should only do this when the plaster has fully dried and hardened. It is critical to follow the manufacturer’s instructions for your chosen plaster, because the materials used can affect the drying process.

How Much Does It Cost to Skim a Wall? Labour Costs and Materials

Like most handyman jobs, the cost of skimming a wall will depend on how big the job is. There will likely be a minimum cost per job, which you can see outlined in the table below.

You can also check out Hamuch.com, where you will find an extensive list of experienced plastering companies in London. Our database of experienced plasterers also includes regularly updated hourly and daily prices, allowing you get an accurate estimate for the job you need.

Are you looking for a plasterer in London for your wall-skimming needs? We only list fully vetted and qualified traders, giving you peace of mind that any job you need will be completed to a high standard and at a competitive cost. Find a tradesman in your area and get an instant quote today!