Full Rewiring & Plumbing
Running new electrics and plumbing through solid walls, lath-and-plaster ceilings or timber floors needs a different approach to a standard new-build first fix. Our electricians and plumbers are used to working within listed building constraints, routing services with minimal disruption to original fabric, and making good with lime rather than gypsum where it matters. This is construction work in the fullest sense, first fix electrics and plumbing usually happen early in a heritage build programme, before any decorative restoration finishes go on.
What Is Full Rewiring & Plumbing?
Full rewiring covers replacement of a property's entire electrical installation, consumer unit, circuits, sockets, lighting, typically necessary in period properties still running on older wiring systems that no longer meet current safety standards. Plumbing work covers everything from full system replacement to sensitive re-routing of pipework as part of a wider refurbishment, both carried out with the same consideration for the building's original fabric as our other heritage trades.
Why It Matters
In a standard new-build, first fix electrics and plumbing are chased through stud walls and suspended ceilings with little consequence. In a period property, the same approach chases through solid lime plaster, lath-and-plaster ceilings, or original floorboards, causing damage that's expensive and sometimes impossible to put right invisibly. Getting the routing plan right before work starts, and using electricians and plumbers who understand what they're chasing through, is the difference between a rewire that's invisible once finished and one that leaves visible scars across original surfaces.
Lime Heritage Restorations proudly serves clients across London and the Home Counties, including Chelsea, Kensington & Notting Hill, Richmond upon Thames, Wimbledon, Hampstead & Highgate, and Greenwich.
In addition to our work across the capital, we regularly work further afield, delivering heritage restoration and full house refurbishment in Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire.
Whether you're restoring a listed building or undertaking a complete heritage refurbishment, we bring expert craftsmanship, breathable materials, and conservation-sensitive finishes to every project we take on.
First Fix Construction Work, Done the Heritage Way
Rewiring and plumbing are construction trades, not restoration ones, but on a period property they still need heritage-trained handling. First fix work happens early in a build programme, before any lime plastering or decorative restoration goes over the top, so routing decisions made now determine how much of the original fabric survives the wider construction process.
What to Know Before You Start.
Modern electrical components and heating systems throughout, but installation methods and making-good chosen specifically for period construction, lime plaster for patch repairs, careful routing around structural timber, and where required, surface-mounted or period-appropriate fittings rather than standard modern hardware in visible locations.
Rewiring itself rarely needs listed building consent, but the process of chasing through walls and ceilings to route it can, particularly where it affects decorative plasterwork, cornicing, or other features considered part of a listed building's special interest. We flag this at survey stage if your specific routing plan is likely to raise it.
A full rewire typically takes 1-3 weeks for an average-sized property, depending on how much chasing through original fabric is required versus using existing routes; plumbing timelines vary more widely depending on scope. We coordinate both with other trades happening at the same time to avoid redundant disruption to finished surfaces.
Electricians and plumbers who haven't worked on period property tend to default to the fastest route through a wall, which is often the most damaging one. Ours are used to planning routes around what's worth preserving, even where it takes longer, because redoing a section of decorative plaster is a false economy compared to routing around it in the first place. All electrical work is certified and comes with a written Electrical Installation Certificate; plumbing work is guaranteed against workmanship defects. Our electricians and plumbers are fully insured and qualified to current regulations, in addition to their heritage-specific routing experience.
Frequently asked questions
Not if it's planned properly, we route cabling to avoid decorative plasterwork wherever possible, and where a route genuinely can't avoid it, we'll flag that at survey stage rather than discovering it mid-job.
Yes, on completion of any electrical work, along with the standard certification required for building control and insurance purposes.
Yes, this is exactly the kind of sequencing that goes wrong when trades are managed separately. We plan first-fix services before plastering starts so nothing gets chased into a finish that's just been completed.
Yes, particularly in a larger property, we can phase a rewire room by room or floor by floor if that suits your timeline or budget better than a single continuous project.
It depends on the condition and age of what's there, an EICR survey will identify what can safely be retained versus what needs replacing, and we'll always recommend based on that assessment rather than defaulting to a full rewire unnecessarily.
