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What's the relevance of the loft here? As it happens, I am the top (first) floor flat, and I have full demise of the loft. Would be curious to know what you were thinking about the loft - I do have longer-term plans to do a loft extension. Should I get the sparky to include loft power supply now? I wonder if they can feed wiring up there so it's ready for a loft extension in a few years. That's good to know - thanks! Cheers for the reply Dave. Reassuring to know I might be able to work with what I have - presumably that will be a bit cheaper than a whole re-wire. Cheers Tony. Just so I understand what you mean... if I have a socket in the bedroom, how will I know whether to a) replace the socket with a shiny new socket b) replace the socket AND wiring from the socket back to the main circuit? I'm trying to get my head around how these decisions are made - so I can at least know what I'm chatting to the sparky about and feel a bit more prepared.

Hi all, Before I put out for quotes on electrical work, I'm keen to better understand the work that is needed on my newly purchased home. It's an old 2-bedroom flat (950 sq ft) which hasn't been renovated in 50+ years. It does have an NICEIC certificate for the installation of 'new ccu new feeds for heaters gas bond' from 2019. I've attached a copy of the certificate with the names/address blacked out. I've attached a photo of the CCU. The flat currently has electric radiators which I'm ripping out (putting in gas central heating). The flat has very old-fashioned sockets and light switches in every room which need replacing. The rooms have quite poor socket coverage - I want to increase this, too. Living room - add 2/3 sockets Bedroom - add 2 socket Bedroom - add 1 socket Bathroom - add shaving socket (bathroom also being ripped out) Kitchen/diner - add 4 sockets (kitchen also being ripped out) Is it possible to tell from the above whether or not a whole re-wire is required, or whether I can just replace the sockets/switches and branch off some new sockets? Unfortunately I don't have a photo of the sockets/switches - they look 'OK' to me, just very old fashioned style. I appreciate this question makes me seem like a muppet - any information to make me less of a muppet would be massively appreciated! NICEIC Electrical Cert (REDACTED).pdf

That's a great idea - I'll do that for sure. Thanks for the response, appreciate that a lot.

Yeh, I'll do that. I think the current owner didn't do the work, though. I'll see what I can find out from the current owner. I'll also see what local architects might offer for bespoke plans based off the neighbour's public documents. In regards to the type of work, is an architect essential (vs. an architectural technologist vs. structural engineer)? I'm not clear on the differences and whether all 3 could do what I require here.

Hi folks, I'm in the process of buying a first floor flat in SW London. It's a Victorian end-of-terrace house, about 950 sq ft, and it needs complete renovation. I'm planning to do a loft extension at the same time - to get everything done up front, before moving in, while it's an uninhabited building site. When I say 'complete renovation' I mean it needs: Loft extension (1x ensuite bedroom, likely a Mansard extension) 1x wall knocked down between kitchen and dining room Gas central heating throughout (i.e. boiler, piping, radiators in every room) Electrics (*) 1x bathroom completely replaced 1x kitchen completely replaced 1x functional fireplace removed and replaced with decorative fireplace 2x disused (boarded up) fireplaces uncovered and replaced with decorative fireplaces Re-plastering Painting *I'm not sure what is needed from an electrical perspective since I have a "domestic electrical installation certificate" from NICEIC dated 2019 (which is reassuring) but there are hardly any sockets in the rooms and all the switches are very, very old looking. The consumer unit looks brand new, though. Bearing in mind that I am a COMPLETE beginner, this is pretty scary/terrifying/exciting. You'll probably see a lot of posts from me in due course. To begin with, I'm looking for help with a couple of questions around design and planning. 1. The neighbour submitted a successful planning permission application for the same extension in 2017. I have downloaded the application, including very useful technical drawings of the planned extension. Is it possible to re-use these to save me some money? (We have the same house, albeit mirror image). I'm wondering if it is possible to get bespoke versions created at a discount since the work has already been 'done' by the original architect / architectural technician / structural engineer. Also, which of these 3 professions is best suited to my needs? I struggle to understand the difference between them. 2. I know that in London, getting a loft extension has become 'productized' in that you can buy such extensions as packages from dedicated loft extension companies. However, since I'm looking for a loft extension AND an entire renovation of the underlying house, should I steer clear of these dedicated companies and go for another type of building company? I'm keen to keep the whole job centralized to one contractor organization, who then liases with all the subcontractors on my behalf. Any suggestions on where to look? 3. Are the neighbours' plans (from the planning website) sufficient to get a realistic 'quote' for my property, even if I don't end up using them and need to get my own designs made up. I'm keen to start the process of getting quotes immediately while the house purchase is processing. Massive thanks for any input! I'll be sure to respond back.