If you plan on rewiring your home, you will need to consider the overall cost first. Rewiring your home will cost quite a bit, especially if you want quality work. If you are thinking of making do with whatever you come across, consider that electrical failures or faults cause 40% of all residential fires in Australia due to overloading the system or degrading wiring.
Rewiring your home can include anything from replacing old wiring or changing faulty outlets. However, some rewiring jobs vary so greatly that it is impossible to develop a ballpark figure. But if you still need a number to work with, on average, you will need to spend anywhere between $3000 and $7500 to rewire a mid-sized home.
What to Expect from Rewiring your Home?
Rewiring any home is a big project. It involves removing old wiring and replacing them with safer and newer ones. Apart from replacing wiring, the task could also involve upgrading switches, power points, sockets, etc.
Benefits of Rewiring your Home
Rewiring your home may seem costly and time-consuming, but it does have several benefits, such as :
Safety
If the wiring in your home is degrading, and if you do not want a fire hazard, it is a good idea to rewire your home. This way, you will not have to worry about putting your family in peril.
Increase in Home Value
Rewiring your home is an investment that will pay off in the long run. Moreover, it is an upgrade that will improve your standard of living, especially if you plan to automate your home. Most importantly, if you plan to sell, having new wiring will be a great selling point to ensure you sell your home at your asking price.
When to Rewire your Home?
Are you unable to determine whether your home needs rewiring? Here are a couple of factors to consider to make an informed decision :
- Fuses blow more often than not
- Light bulbs need to be replaced often
- Your home is decades old
- Power outlets cause sparks
- Wall outlets cause minor shocks
- Circuit breakers are tripping, and so on.
Cost of Rewiring in Australia
The cost of rewiring your home will depend on the following factors:
- Size of your home
- Where your home is located
- Materials required
- Electrician’s wages
- Wiring’s accessibility
Some aspects of rewiring your home have a fixed cost, such as:
- Power point, switch, or single outlet for $65 to $120
- Copper wiring for $600 to $700; it could cost more for bigger homes
- Switchboard for $700 to $1000
If you do not want your entire house rewired, then small wiring jobs could cost you the following:
- $100 for light sockets
- $60 for finding faults
- $120 for a damaged cable repair
- $100 for a light switch replacement
- $90 for inverter rewiring
Bigger homes require more materials and labour; hence they cost more to rewire.
- $1500 to $5000 for a 2 Bedroom Home
- $4000 to $8000 for a 3 Bedroom Home
- $10000 to $12000 for a 4 Bedroom Home
As for the cost of labour, the average hourly rate for electricians are as follows:
- $35 to $80/hour – New South Wales
- $70/hour – Queensland
- $75/hour – South Australia
- $79/hour – Tasmania
- $65/hour – Victoria
- $86/hour – Western Australia
Just like the cost of rewiring your home depends on how extensive the job is, the same applies to the duration required to rewire your home.
Now that you have a better idea about rewiring costs in Australia, make the most of this information to get the type of work you want within your budget without compromising quality.