How much does it cost to rewire a house?
A full rewire of a three bedroom house in Gauteng usually falls in the range below, including a new DB board and a Certificate of Compliance at the end. If that is more than you want to spend at once, we also rewire room by room, one circuit at a time, and the house keeps its power throughout.
Booked call-outs from R750Emergencies from R2,500
What this costs
| Work | Price |
|---|---|
| Full rewire, three-bedroom houseEvery circuit replaced, new DB board, finished with a Certificate of Compliance. | R30,000 – R70,000 |
| Room by room, per circuitSpread over months instead of all at once. The house keeps power throughout. | from R4,500 |
These are ranges, not quotes. Where your job falls in the range depends on what we find on site. We are not VAT registered, so there is no VAT to add. The price you are quoted is the price you pay.
Call-out rates
A booked visit goes into the next open slot. An emergency call-out is a separate priority service. Both are paid with a 50% deposit online, and the balance after inspection and your agreement.
| Time | Booked visit | Emergency call-out |
|---|---|---|
| Day07:00 – 18:00 | R750 | R2,500 |
| Night18:00 – 07:00 | R1,200 | R3,500 |
What moves the price
Number of points
Every plug, light and switch is a point, and the count matters more than the floor area. Adding points while the walls are open costs far less than coming back for them later.
How hard the walls are
Chasing brick is slow work. Face brick, concrete and tiled walls are slower still, and plaster has to be made good afterwards.
Ceiling access
A roof space you can move around in is quick. A flat concrete roof with no access means most of the cable goes in the walls instead.
Whether you stay in the house
Working around a family living there takes longer than an empty house, because each room has to be left usable at the end of the day.
The DB board
A full rewire almost always needs a new board, because the old one will not have enough ways or the right protection.
How long it takes
One to two weeks for a three bedroom house, sequenced so the house keeps power overnight. Room by room work is a day or two per circuit.
Included
- New wiring on every circuit, in conduit
- A new DB board with breakers, earth leakage and labelling
- Plaster made good where walls were chased
- A Certificate of Compliance for the whole installation at the end
Not included
- Painting after the plasterwork
- New light fittings, plug covers or switches beyond the standard white ones
- Lifting and relaying tiled or wooden floors where cable has to pass under them
Questions
Can I rewire a bit at a time?
Yes, and for a lot of households that is the sensible way to do it. We take one circuit at a time, starting with whichever is worst, and the rest of the house carries on as normal. The certificate comes at the end, once the last circuit is done.
Why do some quotes come in at half this?
Usually because the wiring is not in conduit, a new board is not included, or the job does not end in a certificate. A rewire with no CoC is not finished work, and you find that out when you try to sell the house.
How do I know my house needs rewiring and not just repairs?
Rubber or cloth insulated cable, no earth on the plug circuits, black wire going into the lights, and breakers that keep tripping on circuits that test fine are the usual signs. Many Johannesburg homes built before 1980 are still on original wiring. We test first and tell you if repairs will do, because repairs are far cheaper.
Do we have to move out?
No. We work room by room and leave each one safe and usable at the end of the day. The power stays on overnight.
Is there VAT on top?
No. We are not VAT registered, so the price you are quoted is the price you pay.
Related services
- House rewiringOld or unsafe wiring replaced room by room, finished with a CoC.
- What a DB board costsWhat a new board costs, and what the number of circuits does to the price.
- What a CoC costsWhat the inspection and certificate cost, and why repairs are priced separately.
- Electrician in JohannesburgCall-outs, repairs and CoCs across Johannesburg.
We cover Johannesburg, Sandton, Randburg, Roodepoort, Soweto, Midrand, Centurion, Pretoria, East Rand (Ekurhuleni), West Rand. Areas we cover
Need an electrician?
Book a day, night or emergency call-out online, or message us on WhatsApp.