Renovating a property requires a lot of skills, plans, preparation, and strategies. You have to work with many tradespeople, think about many different elements, and stick to schedules along the way. An area that many people don’t consider enough, though, is electrical factors.
If you’re planning to refresh your property in 2023, here are some key electrical matters you need to keep top of mind to reduce your overall costs and get work completed sooner.
Only Use Licensed and Experienced Electricians
Ensure you only use an electrician who’s adequately qualified and experienced with a license that’s up to date. While you might think you can do some electrical work yourself, doing any electricity-related tasks can be hazardous. Unless you have the proper training, you shouldn’t be touching live wires at any stage.
Note, too, that if you work on appliances or other electrical components in and around your home without being licensed, you could void your home insurance policies, not to mention product warranties. It’s much safer, then, to outsource tasks to electricians or other qualified contractors. They’re likely to get the job done much quicker than you would, too, and can help with advice on where to best position electrical items. In turn, even though you have to pay for their services, they will often save you money in the long run.
Create a Budget and a Timeline
Before making decisions about electrical factors, create a budget for any work you need to be done. This way, you’ll keep on track with your spending and won’t be so likely to outlay more than you can afford to pay or want to invest in this part of your renovation.
It’s also essential to develop a timeline for electrical work that you and your contractors can follow. Plan out what needs to be done in order of necessity and before other jobs so you can make the best use of your time or the people you hire. Creating a plan of attack will give you the information you need to pass on to other tradespeople, such as plasterers or painters who need to do tasks before or after electrical work is completed.
Consider the Different Types of Outlets and Updates Required for Different Parts of Your Home
The big thing that will help you best take care of your electrical needs is plotting out all the small and large jobs that need completing in every part of your home. For example, in any living zones of your property, you’ll want plenty of power points for electrical equipment such as TVs, gaming devices, sound systems, and the like, as well as lamps, chargers, vacuum cleaners, or other tools. You may want electrical cabling placed behind walls for entertainment devices, so you don’t have unsightly cables to look at, and you will likely want downlights or other lighting fixtures put in.
For the kitchen, on top of standard power points for a mixture of appliances, you’ll need wiring for things like your oven, hotplates, built-in coffee machine, dishwasher, etc. You need plenty of illumination in a kitchen, so ensure you get set up for fixtures such as downlights, hanging pendant lights, recessed or track lighting, motion-sensor lights in cupboards and pantries, etc.
Bathrooms need excellent lighting, too, for shaving, applying makeup, or doing one’s hair, so you’ll want multiple illumination spots here as well. Again, many people install downlights, plus directed spotlights and a combination exhaust fan/heater/light device. Bathrooms need at least a couple of plug points for electrical products like hair straighteners and dryers, too. In addition, you might want underfloor heating installed in your bathroom(s) and some wiring for heated towel rails.
Bedrooms depend on power points too, with double sockets on either side of the bed especially useful for plugging in bedside lamps, phone and watch chargers, electric blankets, and the like. It’s wise to have an electrician add power points to at least two separate walls in each bedroom of your home, too, so you can place a bed in more than one spot if you want a change over the years.
You may also require aerial and other connections for TVs if you want to watch shows in your bedroom, plus wiring for overhead and closet lighting and heating and cooling devices. You may wish to buy some rustic ceiling fans or more contemporary or other types of fans to help keep your bedroom cool, and install reverse-cycled air conditioning units for cold and hot air during the summer and winter months.
These are just some of the primary electrical considerations when renovating a property. Think about every part of your home, inside and out (including patios and garages), to determine your needs and make a checklist to ensure everything gets taken care of.
The more organized you are, the smoother the work will progress and the less it should cost you.
