Preparing Your Home for Rewire Day
A little preparation the evening before makes a big difference to how smoothly your one-day rewire goes. This page tells homeowners, landlords and tenants exactly what to do: cover it, clear it, and make the house as small as possible.
How do I prepare my house for a rewire?
The day before we arrive: clear every worktop and surface, stack your belongings on beds and sofas or in front of radiators where we will not be working, and cover everything with the plastic sheeting we deliver. Take pictures off the walls and clear access to the consumer unit, meter and loft hatch. The aim is to make each room as small and simple as possible so our engineers can get straight to the walls, ceilings and floors.
Why Preparation Matters
We rewire a whole house in a single day. That only works when our team can reach every wall, ceiling and floor edge without moving your belongings first.
A Faster Day
Every minute spent shifting furniture or clearing worktops is a minute not spent wiring. A prepared house lets six engineers start at once and finish on time.
Your Belongings Stay Clean
Chasing walls creates fine plaster and brick dust that gets everywhere. Anything under plastic sheeting comes out exactly as you left it.
Less to Clean Afterwards
We industrially vacuum and wipe down before we leave. The fewer exposed surfaces there are, the quicker your home is back to normal.
Make the House as Small and Simple as Possible
Our engineers work along the walls, up into the ceilings and down through the floors. They do not need the middle of the room. So the trick is to pull everything away from the walls and into the centre, stack it, and cover it.
- →Put things on sofas. Cushions, lamps, ornaments, boxes, plants: pile them onto the sofa, then sheet the whole lot.
- →Put things on beds. Bedside tables, clothes, toys and anything from the floor go onto the bed. Cover with plastic.
- →Stack in front of radiators. We do not chase behind a radiator, so the wall space in front of one is safe to fill with boxes and furniture.
- →Use rooms we are not working in. If a room is not being rewired, such as a conservatory or garage, move as much as you can into it.
- →Leave the walls and skirting clear. Nothing should be touching a wall except a radiator, a fitted kitchen unit, or a wardrobe too heavy to move.
What a Prepared Home Looks Like
Real rooms, photographed the morning we arrived. Belongings pulled to the middle, sheeted over, and the walls left clear.
The Day-Before Checklist
Work through the house room by room the evening before we arrive. Most homes take one to two hours.
Kitchen
- ✓ Move everything off the worktops: kettle, toaster, microwave, knife blocks, utensil pots
- ✓ Empty the cupboards and drawers nearest to sockets and the cooker switch
- ✓ Cover the hob, oven, fridge freezer and washing machine with plastic sheeting
- ✓ Keep the fridge and freezer doors shut all day; they will hold their temperature
- ✓ Clear the floor and pull free-standing appliances slightly away from the wall if you can
Living & Dining Rooms
- ✓ Pull sofas, tables and units into the middle of the room, away from every wall
- ✓ Stack cushions, lamps, ornaments and boxes onto the sofa, then sheet the whole pile
- ✓ Cover the TV, games consoles, sound system and any electronics
- ✓ Take pictures, mirrors, clocks and wall shelves down and lay them flat under a sheet
- ✓ Roll up rugs and clear the floor edges along the skirting boards
Bedrooms
- ✓ Move beds away from the walls, or pull them to the centre of the room
- ✓ Put bedside tables, lamps, clothes and toys on top of the bed and cover it
- ✓ Empty the tops of wardrobes and chests of drawers
- ✓ Take down wall-mounted TVs, mirrors and pictures
- ✓ Clear the floor under windows and along the skirting
Hallway, Stairs & Landing
- ✓ Clear the hallway completely: coats, shoes, pushchairs, bikes
- ✓ Empty the cupboard under the stairs and the meter or consumer unit cupboard
- ✓ Take down pictures on the stairs and landing walls
- ✓ Keep the route from the front door to every room clear for carrying cable and tools
Loft & Ceilings
- ✓ Clear a path from the loft hatch across the loft; we run lighting cables from up here
- ✓ Move stored boxes away from the edges of the loft and off the ceiling joists
- ✓ Make sure the hatch opens fully and nothing is stacked underneath it
- ✓ Take down any ceiling pendants or shades you want to keep and reuse
Bathroom & Utility
- ✓ Clear windowsills, shelves and the top of the cistern
- ✓ Put toiletries and towels in a box or bag and cover the bath and basin
- ✓ Cover the washing machine and tumble dryer with sheeting
- ✓ Clear around the electric shower isolator and the extractor fan
What You Do, What We Do
Preparation is a shared job. Here is where the line sits.
The Evening Before — You
- ✓ Clear worktops, surfaces and floors
- ✓ Stack belongings onto beds, sofas and in front of radiators
- ✓ Cover furniture and appliances with the sheeting we delivered
- ✓ Take pictures and mirrors off the walls
- ✓ Clear the loft hatch, under-stairs cupboard and consumer unit
- ✓ Arrange pets, children and parking for the day
On the Day — Manchester Compliance
- ✓ Deliver plastic sheeting before rewire day
- ✓ Lay dust sheets and floor protection through the house
- ✓ Isolate the supply safely and complete first and second fix
- ✓ Test, certify and restore power before we leave
- ✓ Industrially vacuum and wipe down every room
- ✓ Send the plasterer on day 2-3 to make good
Practical Things for the Day Itself
Small details that make rewire day easier for everyone in the house.
No Power All Day
The electricity is off from when we arrive until we test at the end of the day. Charge phones and laptops the night before, and plan cold meals or eat out.
Pets & Young Children
Doors are open, floors are up and tools are everywhere. Please arrange for pets and small children to be elsewhere for the day if you possibly can.
Parking for the Team
We arrive with several vans carrying cable, boards and tools. Leave the drive or the space outside the house free so we can unload straight in.
Keys & Access
Be there to let us in at the agreed time, or leave keys with a neighbour or in a key safe. Tell us in advance about alarms, locked rooms or awkward gates.
Fittings You Want to Keep
If there is a light fitting, socket faceplate or pendant you want reused, take it down or point it out to the team lead when they arrive.
Walk Round With Us
Give us five minutes at the start to walk the house with you. Confirm socket positions, light switches and anything you have changed since the survey.
Rewiring a Tenanted Property?
Send your tenant a link to this page as soon as the rewire date is booked. It sets out exactly what they need to do, so the property is ready when our team arrives and the job finishes in one day. For void properties, clear the rooms of anything left behind and let us know how we collect keys.
Preparation Questions We Get Asked
Do I need to move out during the rewire?
No. Because we complete the rewire in one day, most customers stay at home or go to work and come back to a finished job. There will be no power during the day, so plan meals and hot drinks around that.
Do I need to empty the loft?
Not completely, but we do need to get into it and move around. Clear a path from the hatch and move anything that sits directly on the ceiling joists near the edges of the loft, where lighting cables run.
What about the fridge and freezer?
Leave them where they are and keep the doors shut. A closed fridge freezer holds its temperature well for the working day. We reconnect and power everything back up before we leave.
Who provides the plastic sheeting?
We do. Plastic sheeting is delivered to your property before rewire day so you can cover furniture and appliances the evening before we arrive. We also lay our own dust sheets and floor protection on the day.
Do I need to take pictures and mirrors off the walls?
Yes, please. We chase cables into the walls, and vibration can knock wall-hung items down. Take pictures, mirrors, clocks and shelves off and lay them flat somewhere covered.
What if I cannot move a heavy item?
Do not risk it. Fitted wardrobes, pianos, American fridge freezers and the like can stay put. Cover them with sheeting and tell the team lead when they arrive; we will work around them.
Not Sure About Something?
If you have a question about preparing your property, or you would like to book a free rewire survey, give us a call. We would rather answer a question the day before than lose time on the day.