House Rewiring in Ireland: The Complete 2026 Guide

Rewiring is one of the biggest electrical jobs your home will ever need, and for most houses it only happens once in a generation. If your property hasn't been rewired in decades, the cabling, fuse board and earthing may no longer be safe for the way we use electricity today: showers, heat pumps, EV chargers, induction hobs and a socket in every corner.

This guide walks you through everything a homeowner in Dublin and across Ireland needs to know in 2026, how to tell if you need a rewire, the wiring rules your installation must meet, exactly what the work involves, the certification you're legally entitled to, and how to pick an electrician you can trust. We've left cost out on purpose: it varies so much from house to house that any figure online is close to meaningless. The only honest price is one based on a proper look at your home.

Do you actually need a rewire?

Not every old house needs a full rewire, and a good electrician will never tell you to spend more than you have to. But certain signs are strong indicators that your wiring has reached the end of its safe life. If you recognise several of these, it's worth getting an inspection.

• An old fuse board with rewireable (wire) fuses instead of modern circuit breakers and RCDs
• No RCD protection, the device that cuts power in a fraction of a second to protect against shocks
• Rubber, fabric (cloth) or lead-insulated cabling, often visible in the attic or under floorboards
• Sockets mounted on or just above the skirting board, a near-certain marker of 1950s to 1970s wiring
• Light switches set unusually high on the wall, or round-pin sockets anywhere in the house
• Fuses that blow or breakers that trip again and again
• Sockets or switches that are warm, discoloured, buzzing, crackling or scorched
• A faint burning smell with no obvious source, especially near sockets
• Too few sockets, so the house runs on extension leads and adaptors
• You're renovating, extending, or converting an attic, the ideal time to rewire
• You're buying or selling and the wiring is clearly original to an older property

How old is too old?

As a rough guide, fixed wiring has a serviceable life of around 25 to 30 years, though it depends heavily on the cable type, how the house has been used, and any work done since.

Cabling from roughly the 1960s and 70s is the biggest concern. Older rubber-insulated cable (often called VIR) and fabric- or lead-sheathed cable becomes brittle with age. The insulation hardens, cracks and crumbles, and many of these installations have little or no proper earthing. Modern PVC cable is far more durable, but even a newer-looking fuse board fitted to old cable behind the walls doesn't make the underlying installation safe.

The rules: what is I.S. 10101?

All fixed electrical work in Ireland must comply with I.S. 10101, the National Rules for Electrical Installations. Introduced in 2020, it replaced the long-standing ET 101 rules and brought Irish wiring practice into line with the latest European standards and technology, from EV charging to energy efficiency.

For a home being rewired in 2026, the most important things I.S. 10101 means in practice are:

• A modern consumer unit (fuse board) with an isolation switch and RCD/RCBO protection on circuits
• RCD protection on lighting circuits in the home, not just sockets, a key change from older installations
• Surge protection (an SPD) fitted in the board as standard, unless a risk assessment justifies leaving it out
• Arc Fault Detection Devices (AFDDs) recommended in higher-risk locations, which detect dangerous arcing that can start fires
• Distribution boards manufactured to the current I.S. EN 61439 standard
• Proper earthing and bonding throughout, tested and recorded

Who is legally allowed to rewire your house?

In Ireland, most domestic electrical work, including a rewire, must by law be carried out by a Safe Electric Registered Electrical Contractor (REC). Safe Electric is the national regulatory scheme, operated by RECI, that controls who can legally carry out and certify electrical work.

When the job is finished, your contractor is legally required to give you a Completion Certificate. This confirms the installation has been tested and meets Irish safety standards. It isn't just paperwork: you'll need it for your home insurance, for a mortgage, and when you come to sell or rent the property. Without it, the work isn't properly recognised.

Full rewire or partial rewire?

A full rewire replaces all of the cabling, the consumer unit, and the accessories (sockets, switches and light fittings) throughout the property. It's the right call when the whole installation is dated or unsafe.

A partial rewire updates only part of the house, perhaps an extension, a kitchen, or circuits that have been altered over the years, while leaving sound, modern wiring in place. Sometimes the honest answer is that you don't need a rewire at all, just a board upgrade or some remedial work. A proper survey is what tells the three apart, and we'll always recommend the smallest job that makes your home safe.

The rewire process, step by step

A rewire follows a well-worn sequence. Knowing the stages helps you plan around the work and understand what's happening in your home.

• Survey & design: we assess the property, agree the number and position of sockets, switches and lights, and give you a clear quote before anything begins.
• First fix: the most disruptive stage. We lift floorboards, chase channels into walls for cable routes, run new cabling back to the board, and fit the back boxes. There's dust at this point, and we use dust sheets throughout.
• Making good & plastering: the chased walls are filled and plastered, then left to dry for a day or two before decorating.
• Second fix: far tidier. We fit the new consumer unit, all the sockets, switches and light fittings, and connect fixed items like the cooker, shower and immersion.
• Testing & certification: the whole installation is tested to I.S. 10101 and you receive your Safe Electric Completion Certificate.
• Final clean: we clear up and leave your home as we found it, only safer.

Can you live in the house during a rewire?

In most cases, yes. We work room by room and plan the job so you keep power and lighting where you need them as much as possible, though there will be short periods with the power off to parts of the house while we work.

The honest part: first fix is dusty and a little disruptive, and some rooms will be out of action for a day at a time. We protect your floors and furniture, keep mess to a minimum, and tidy as we go, but a proper clean once we're finished is always worth it. For larger or empty properties, it's often quicker and cleaner to do the work while no one's living there, and we'll talk through the best approach with you.

How long does a rewire take?

Timescales depend on the size of the property, how many points you're adding, and whether the house is occupied. A smaller home or apartment can be done in a few days; a larger house takes longer, with the plastering stage adding a little drying time in between. We'll give you a realistic, day-by-day timeline as part of your quote so there are no surprises.

What does a rewire cost?

There's no honest one-size-fits-all figure, which is why we don't quote prices online. The cost of a rewire depends on the size and age of the property, the number of sockets, switches and lights, whether it's a full or partial rewire, the state of the existing wiring, and the making-good and decorating involved afterwards.

What we can promise is how we price: we visit, look properly at your home, and give you one clear quote covering the work, the new consumer unit, testing and your certificate, no creeping extras. If a partial rewire or simple remedial work will do the job, that's what we'll quote for.

Future-proofing while the walls are open

A rewire is the one time the walls and floors are open, so it's the smart moment to prepare your home for the next 20 years. Worth considering while we're there:

• A dedicated circuit (or the groundwork) for a home EV charger, there's an SEAI grant available for eligible homes
• Capacity for a heat pump, electric shower or induction hob
• Plenty more sockets, USB outlets and well-placed switches
• Mains-powered, interlinked smoke and heat alarms brought up to the current standard
• Data cabling to the rooms where you work and stream, done while the walls are open
• LED downlights, zoning and dimming, and smart controls if you want them
• Outdoor sockets and garden or security lighting
• Surge and arc-fault protection built into the new board

Is there a grant for rewiring?

Mostly no, and anyone who tells you otherwise is stretching it. SEAI energy grants cover things like insulation, heat pumps and solar, not rewiring on its own. But there are two honest exceptions worth knowing about.

The first is the Housing Aid for Older People Grant, a means-tested local authority grant for essential repairs to the homes of older people, and rewiring is one of the works it explicitly covers. The application needs written confirmation from an electrician about the condition of the existing wiring, which is exactly what our survey provides. If you're applying for a parent's home, we're happy to help with that paperwork.

The second is indirect: if you're doing a full deep retrofit through an SEAI One Stop Shop, rewiring is often bundled into the wider project alongside the grant-aided energy upgrades, because a heat pump, ventilation and solar all put new demands on the electrical installation. And if you're adding a home EV charger during the rewire, the SEAI home charger grant can apply to that part.

Landlords: what the law expects of your wiring

If you rent out a property, the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations require the electrical installation to be safe and in good repair, and in practice that means holding a current periodic inspection report from a registered electrician, renewed every five years.

An ageing installation that fails inspection needs remedial work or a rewire before it's compliant. We inspect, report and, where needed, quote for putting things right, so you have the paperwork your obligations, your insurer and the RTB expect.

How to choose the right electrician

A rewire is too important to hand to the cheapest quote from someone you can't verify. Before you commit, make sure your electrician ticks these boxes:

• Registered with Safe Electric (RECI), check the register yourself
• Fully insured, and happy to confirm it
• Gives you a clear, written quote after seeing the property
• Explains the work in plain English and doesn't use scare tactics
• Commits in writing to issuing your Completion Certificate
• Can point to real local experience and is happy to be contacted

Thinking about a rewire? Talk to us

Gerard Wynne Electrical has been rewiring homes across Dublin for over 40 years. We're registered with Safe Electric, fully insured, and we certify every job to I.S. 10101. If you've spotted any of the warning signs in this guide, or you're renovating, buying or selling, get in touch for a free, no-pressure survey and a clear quote.