Any advice on rewires?

[HappyHippyDad]

I have perhaps done 6 rewires now. They are hard work and I wonder if there are ways to make them easier as I have another 2 much larger ones (3 and 4 storey houses) coming up.

I typically take around 2 weeks for a 3 bed house. This is working flat out (by myself) everyday including one or 2 Saturdays and I feel that is a little longer than most of you would take, or is it about right?

I have just bought the metabo mfe40 wall chaser and hopefully that will speed things up. Are there any tips for using chasers? I'm guessing they just make nice neat notches either side of the chase which you then remove with an SDS chisel? Do you always then use oval conduit which you secure to the wall with the oval conduit holders or is there a quicker way?

Cheers all and hope you are having a relaxing Saturday!

Ps.. I'm awaiting the arrival of the triple blade for the metabo, anyone use it yet? Does it actually take out the middle of the chase well?
pps.. What size conduit do you generally use for 1mm, 2.5mm, 6mm, ring etc etc?

 

[Baddegg]

Do you use 20mm or 25mm oval conduit for 2 x 2.5mm twin &E baddegg?

20mm mate....it is tight but it goes...to be fair though if you are using your metabo then 20 or 25 won’t make much difference...

 

[Zerax]

I use the cheap Erbauer chaser which gives a perfect width chase for 25mm oval conduit from Toolstation.... just needs a little tap with a block of wood to snug it into the back of the chase... no need for fixings before plastering.

 

[LewisM]

Oh and add £1500 on to the price if the punter doesnt want to vacate during the work....occupied rewires are a massive pain in the ---

Think I'd rather starve then do occupied rewires.

 

[GBDamo]

Always worth checking with mortar, cinder and concrete block as quite often you can get a reasonable fixing by going straight in with a standard screw and impact driver, just don't over tighten.

Useful for holding oval until filled, positioning trunking, not so much for mounting a DB.

 

[Dustydazzler]

Oh and add £1500 on to the price if the punter doesnt want to vacate during the work....occupied rewires are a massive pain in the ---

I wont even do them anymore ...

 

[Zerax]

Think I'd rather starve then do occupied rewires.

Same here... or listen to the entire back catalogue of Des O'Connor !

 

[Micktw68]

Think I'd rather starve then do occupied rewires.

After this week with trying to move their rubbish about and stopping the dog escaping so would I.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Because the rest of the install is below The boards and clipped direct T&E you’d end up with junction boxes at every drop to a point. Very rare to have a Domestic completely run in conduit .

Only in the UK no one else uses T&E, very rare outside the UK to have domestic "not" run in conduit, mostly flexible plastic though.

 

[Mike Johnson]

I often use a cable stand when pulling wires, but because of the use of single's I need a big stand to take five cable reels at times and that is b****y heavy and also cumbersome in place's. Below image is the one I have, but not fully loaded.

 

[Micktw68]

Only in the UK no one else uses T&E, very rare outside the UK to have domestic "not" run in conduit, mostly flexible plastic though.

ROI?

 

[Mike Johnson]

ROI = Return on Investment? Hmmm

 

[Mike Johnson]

And if you meant Republic of Ireland their regs changed in 2013, and the last chance to use the old stuff was a couple of years later.
The new regs issue in question was IS 201-4:2013.
Also the CPC is insulated and the same cross-section as the L and N, not reduced like the UK.
But I suppose it could still be classed as T&E but nothing like the UK version and has to be in Conduit.

 

[bigspark17]

I find it peculiar that so many chase and box before wiring? You cant alaways get the cable down where you want it might be a joist or an enexpected obstruction above.
@happyhippydad isnt there someone in your local community like a semi retired person that could just give you a day help here and there when needed? These jobs arent designed for one man teams, get it done pay your help and spend your evenings/weeknds with yoir family.
Im sure your apprehensive about getting help in but i have all sorts of people helping me from my local community and its great.

 

[suffolkspark]

I always try to smash in all the cables before doing and chasing and boxing, I find the Bosch spade bits with threaded tip best for drilling joists quickly, and use wall dogs in plasterboard, woodscrews straight in blocks, red plugs and inch screws for everything else, I dont cap or oval, I make sure my chaser is set deep enough that no plasterer should be dipping his tip in and touching my cables, and just clip them neat. Dont do lived in rewires. Use good white wiring accessories like click or hamilton so you dont have to fold or twist ends like on hager with square terminals, wagos for neutrals in switches. Jcc gu10 downlights again pushfit terminals. And rcbo boards.

All little things saving time really do add up.

 

[Dustydazzler]

I don’t think I have ever done a full complete rewire on my own , except when it was an empty property and I had several weeks to complete the job.
Normally you would rope at least some help in to get the job completed in 4-5 days. Mash out the chasing and boxes on day 1 , so you can crack on with wiring days 2 and 3. Second fix day 4.
testing day 5. Job done...