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Free Diagnostic Tool
Answer 9 simple questions about your home's electrical system and get an instant, professional recommendation — whether you need a full rewire, an inspection, or if your wiring looks fine.
Rewire Checker
Free Diagnostic Tool
Answer 9 simple questions about your home's electrical system. Our checker will assess the warning signs and recommend whether you need a rewire, an inspection, or if everything looks fine.
Takes less than 2 minutes — no personal details required
How It Works
Quick, straightforward questions about your wiring age, fuse board type, symptoms like flickering lights, and your last inspection date.
Your answers are scored against common warning signs. The tool categorises your wiring as looking good, worth investigating, or likely needing a rewire.
Based on your result, we recommend the right next step — whether that's a periodic inspection, an instant cost estimate, or simply a clean bill of health.
Warning Signs
If any of these apply to your home, it's worth running our checker or booking a professional inspection.
Persistent flickering across multiple rooms suggests loose connections or deteriorating wiring.
Frequently tripping circuit breakers indicate overloaded circuits or underlying faults.
A burning or plasticky smell near sockets or switches is a serious warning sign.
Sockets or switches that feel warm when not in use point to wiring problems behind the wall.
Common Questions
The Rewire Checker is a screening tool based on the 9 most common indicators of ageing or deteriorating wiring — things like the age of your home, the type of fuse board you have, visible cable insulation, and symptoms like flickering lights or tripping breakers. It gives you a general indication of whether your wiring may need attention, but it's not a substitute for a hands-on inspection. Think of it as a starting point. If the checker flags concerns, the next step is a professional EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) carried out by a Safe Electric registered electrician, which involves testing every circuit in your home.
Not necessarily — plenty of homes from the 1990s have wiring that's still in good condition. But wiring has a practical lifespan of 25 to 40 years depending on the materials used and how the home has been maintained. Homes built before 1980 are far more likely to have rubber- or fabric-insulated wiring, which degrades over time and can become a fire risk. If your home was built before 2000 and has never had any significant electrical work done, we'd strongly recommend at least an inspection to check the condition of the cables, earthing, and consumer unit. It might turn out to be fine — or you might catch a problem before it becomes dangerous.
A full house rewire in Dublin typically costs between €7,000 and €25,000, depending on property size, age, and complexity. A standard 3-bed semi-detached usually falls between €12,000 and €13,000, which includes all new wiring, a modern consumer unit with RCD protection, plastering, painting, and Safe Electric certification. Older period homes with lath-and-plaster walls tend to sit at the higher end due to the additional care needed during chasing. Our Instant Rewire Estimator gives you a detailed price range specific to your home — no signup, no obligation.
The warning signs we see most often are: a fuse board that still uses rewirable fuses rather than MCBs, circuit breakers or RCDs that trip frequently without an obvious cause, lights that flicker or dim when you turn on another appliance, sockets or switches that feel warm to the touch, a faint burning smell near outlets, visible rubber- or fabric-insulated cables (common in pre-1980 homes), and two-pin sockets without an earth. If you're experiencing any of these, it doesn't guarantee you need a full rewire — but it does mean you should have a professional take a look. Our Rewire Checker covers all of these indicators.
If your result suggests a rewire is likely needed, you have two options. The quickest is to use our Instant Rewire Estimator — it asks a few questions about your property and gives you a realistic price range in under a minute. The more thorough option is to book a free site survey, where one of our electricians will visit your home, inspect the wiring, and provide a formal written quote with no obligation. Either way, you'll know exactly what's involved and what it will cost before you commit to anything.
You can, though most people find it more comfortable to stay elsewhere for the duration. During a rewire, the electricity will be off in different sections throughout each day, and there's dust from chasing channels into walls — even with extraction tools. If you do stay, we'll make sure you have power to essentials like the fridge and at least one socket by the end of each working day. For a standard 3-bed house, the work typically takes 5 to 7 working days. Some families stay with relatives for the week, others treat it as a chance to take a short break.
Yes — there are two main grants. The Housing Aid for Older People Grant covers up to 100% of rewiring costs (up to €10,700) for homeowners aged 66 or over. The Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant covers up to €50,000 (€70,000 for derelict properties) with no age requirement — the property must have been vacant for 2+ years. Both require you to apply and be approved before any work starts. Use our Grant Checker tool to see which grants you may qualify for, or call 01 963 6636 and we'll walk you through the options.
Get a realistic price range in under 60 seconds with our free Instant Estimator, or book a no-obligation site visit with one of our Safe Electric certified electricians.