Above and beyond the standard sockets/swithes/lights/etc I have specified the following to the sparky:

> Ethernet point in upstairs office to router location in living room to hardwire laptop in.
> HDMI and mains chased from TV location on wall to where sky box/amp etc are going to live.
> Chasing speaker cable from home cinema amp to four corners of living room.
> TV Point in master bedroom.

Is there anything anyone can think of that I may have missed or that may be useful for the future while house is gutted?

Cheers
Nick

“HDMI and mains chased from TV location on wall to where sky box/amp etc are going to live.
> Chasing speaker cable from home cinema amp to four corners of living room.”

do not chase cables in. – get suitable conduit chased in – taking into account the size of the cable head – run cables through this.

anything else is madness.

Low amperage round-pin sockets in the four corners of the lounge so that all the table lamps are controlled by one wall switch.

Low voltage wiring parallel to all 240v lighting cables in case you ever dedide to go 12 volt/LED.

What about your security alarm? Can go wireless I suppose.

Good point thanks. I’ll double check with the sparky. I told him where the TV was going and where all the boxes are going so he may already be planning on doing this.. Hopefully!

Yep alarm is going in as well, forget to mention that.

HAdn’t consider the low voltage/LED route other than where I know we’re getting LED spots in the bathroom and loo. Cheers

If you are a hifi buff a dedicated main spur.

For Ethernet always double port. Nothing more annoying than one going down for what ever reason. I have also cabled to both my cupboards just in case – now I have a nas in one and a sonos running my bathroom speakers in the other – so well worthwhile.

“Low voltage wiring parallel to all 240v lighting cables in case you ever dedide to go 12 volt/LED.”

why bother ?

wire up for a betamax too incase that comes back into fashion….

What about a 240v outlet in the middle of the kitchen floor in case you want an island unit in the future? We’ve just done our kitchen and we treated ourselves to a pop-up 240v and USB charging tower:

I also got a few plugs for floorstanding lights run off light switches – not sure what they are called but they a like small 3 pin plugs.

I’d go for Ethernet and TV points in most bedrooms, probably all if it’s being done from scratch. Future kids, visitors etc.

Triple check where you want the sockets, we had our plastering finished yesterday after the rewire and thinking about it I would change the location of a couple of them.

It was hell getting it done so enjoy 😉

Wired smoke/CO alarms
Any dedicated circuits (eg boiler, outdoor socket, fridge) so one trip doesn’t take out the lot
New CU with additional circuits. Split load or full RCBO
More sockets, and some more

TBH I’d not bother with Ethernet. Wireless is pretty good and you can run wired through the mains with Homeplugs.

Also 240v is low voltage, 12v would be extra low (and I’d not bother)

Nooooo – ignore nickjb. If you have the opportunity for Ethernet, do it. You can send pretty much anything down it. Run two lengths of cable to the home office, just in case.

Homeplugs max out at about 70Mbps and play havoc with VDSL (BT Infinity) connections. 802.11AC wifi works well, but still not as reliable as Ethernet.

I’m liking that USB charging tower.

Presume you’ve got outside lights and external sockets (front and back)?

Presume you’ve got outside lights and external sockets (front and back)?

Oh yeah, definitely that.

And if we’re really going blue-sky thinking now, a 20ish amp feed to the garage so you can run a decent welding set. 3-phase for proper big-boys tools. 😀

Similar to what GlobalTi said, the previous owner of our house installed quite a few wall lights, which I’ve always thought were naff, however at bed time its much easier turning off 4 lights through a couple of switches at the door than several table / standard lamps.

Wiring for thermostat/programmer? Just had to run some for my nest and it was a pain concealing it.

These are the plugs you need for the switched light circuit; they’re a leftover from the pre-13A square pin days.

As above – wiring for stats. (Specify 5 core). Could also run ethernet to each stat. location as some of the internet controlled systems require this.

Ensure there’s enough two way lighting such that a light switch is available in situations where you can leave a room by a different exit to the one you come into.

Changeover switch? The chance to power the house from a generator should it be required. Run key lighting circuits separately along with a fridge/freezer socket so that essential items have power and the generator can cope.

Flexibility to fit PV.

Hard wired phone socket in bedroom. If there is a power failure during a fire and you’re trapped, you can still make a call.

Rich.

Also, when doing TV sockets, we run 3x coax from wherever a master outlet is likely to allow for Sky Plus and multiroom.

Power in the loft for lighting and TV boosters.

Wiring for heated mirrors in the bathroom

30mA differential circuit breakers for the lighting ring, the socket ring and the specific kitchen circuits if you use an electric hob and oven. Some suitably rated current overload circuit breakers for permanently wired circuits to immersion heater, door bell, ventilation system etc. Separate circuits for outside lighting and sockets and circuits for any outbuildings or sheds.

Having lived in France I’d wire the place radially rather than with rings and thus combine the British advantage of fused plugs and the continental advantage of suitably breakers on circuits and differential breakers on everything.

If you get all of the above wired in, I pity the next owner when they come to put a random shelf up!

Having just done ours, most of the above and also:

Doorbell wiring.
Ethernet socket (or two) by telly.
Cupboard/understairs lighting
Wiring for under-cabinet kitchen lighting
We have a switch by the telly so just one there, in a single box but with an aerial and RJ45 connection together.
Any extra lights going in? We changed our hall lighting from one central pendant to two evenly spaced ones, much better.

Think about where the sockets/switches are. Then go over it with the electrician, make sure they understand/mark the walls. I also stuck a note by each door listing what had to go in each room. Going over it with them they also suggested a few tweaks and changes that were all good advice – ask your expert!

I think our local laws are based on Euro handicapped laws and mean you have to put sockets and switches at certain heights etc. You probably have similar laws too but how anyone would prove it’s a new socket rather than a straight swap for an old one I don’t know.

And most importantly of all….a socket for the Christmas tree lights!

Thanks for the advice all. First fix now done with a few additions from up there ^^^. (not all mind as on a budget!)

No doubt I’ll figure out I need an extra socket or two somewhere immediately after the plasterer finishes…

The electrician did mention the laws on heights of sockets and light switches at the outset, which say the light switches go very low and the sockets very high! However, they can just write “height at customer request” on the bulding regs documentation (I think) and put them at whatever height you want.

“The electrician did mention the laws on heights of sockets and light switches at the outset, which say the light switches go very low and the sockets very high! However, they can just write “height at customer request” on the bulding regs documentation (I think) and put them at whatever height you want.”

is he building you a new build ?

“height at customer request”

not supposed to.

A complete (or even substantial) rewire has to be completely up to date with regs, including socket and switch heights, as if it were a new build.

that is true stoner but the height requirement falls under part M – the accessibility which does not apply to a retrofit rewires – not part P which does.

certainly my rewire never got the sockets lifted and sockets dropped…..

do regs even apply in the northern wastelands where you are?

As I understand it, it doesnt matter if the regs are P or M, the rewire is a substantial piece of work and so it all comes into play where practicable.

thankfully not to the extent they do down south.

as was pointed out to me when i asked.

Part M docs section 0 says – if your house doesnt already comply to part M – you cant make it worse than it is by way of works – but your under no obligation to update the whole house to part M – i havnt checked but i believe part P is the opposite – ie the whole circuit being worked on must be brought up to current code.

Hmm, my recent rewire (in tropical southern climes) I was asked what height I wanted sockets etc.

The lightswitches have all ended up relatively low, but not crazy low, they’re all the same though which is a massive improvement.

Sockets are “socket height” in my book, maybe a foot off the ground? I think new regs would have them higher, but how I wanted them was apparently fine (though wouldn’t have been on a new build).

I believe its in between 450mm and 1200mm. If the sparky had put all my sockets at 450mm and all my light switches at 1200mm I would NOT have been happy!

We need the part P building regs documentation as the mortgage company have 2K of our money on retention until the re-wire is done.

do regs even apply in the northern wastelands where you are?

Its a lawless wasteland indeed 😯

Had a full rewire as part of extensive building works last year.
All sockets were fitted at 500mm (at my request)

I also specified the following;

2 x LAN points in each of the 4 bedrooms (one is used as an office)

Lots of double sockets (3 underneath the TV etc)

lighting in each loft space/storage cupboard

Hardwired fire/smoke/heat detection with CO detector (mounted next to the boiler) linked in, this also has a remote test/hush control panel so you don’t have to stand on a chair to reset it if you burn the dinner.

thats just over in logieview its lawless 😉

make sure you get a CU with enough spare ways

get him to fit an isolation (REC2S)

use RCBO protection on all circuits (cost more but much easier to wire and doesn’t trip whole house on a fault)

get all earthing bonding upgraded if required.