Whether you need a new consumer unit or a full rewire is decided by the condition of the cable behind your walls, not by the age of the board on the wall. If the circuits test sound, replacing the board is a job in the region of £600 to £1,000. If the wiring itself has deteriorated across most circuits, no new board will fix that, and you are looking at a rewire nearer £4,000 to £6,000 for a three-bedroom semi. A consumer unit — the modern fuse board — is the box that distributes and protects the circuits. A rewire replaces the cable running to every socket, switch and light, and fits a new board as part of the job. Very different amounts of money and disruption, which is why it is worth knowing which one you are being sold. Do I need a new consumer unit or a full rewire? In most Nottingham houses, a new consumer unit. Full rewires are less common than the number of quotes for them suggests. The board is the part that visibly dates — a rewirable fuse board with fuse wire in the carriers looks alarming and usually is worth replacing — but the cable behind the plaster is frequently in better condition than the board in front of it. The reverse case is the one that costs people money: a smart new board fitted onto tired wiring, covering the underlying problem rather than solving it. What actually decides which job you need? Testing, not a visual opinion. An electrician measures the condition of the cable insulation circuit by circuit, along with the earthing arrangement and how the circuits behave under fault conditions. Those readings separate the two jobs, and nothing about the look of the board tells you what they will say. Age is a poor guide on its own. A 1930s house in Ruddington rewired in 2005 may test perfectly, while a 1990s house whose circuits have been extended piecemeal may not. What matters is the cable that is actually installed. What does each job cost in Nottingham? These are Somo Electrical's own ranges for the work we have costed properly. They are not national averages and they are not quotes — the property decides the number, and nobody can give you a real one without looking at the installation. What the testing finds The job that follows What it involves Somo's price Board is outdated, damaged or short of protection; circuits test sound Consumer unit replacement New board, protective devices, full test of the existing circuits, Electrical Installation Certificate £600 – £1,000 Board needs replacing and one or two circuits fall short Board replacement plus targeted circuit work The board, then those circuits repaired or re-run rather than the whole house Priced from the test results Cable has deteriorated across most circuits Full rewire All cabling, accessories and a new board — the point at which repairs stop being economic £4,000 – £6,000 for a 3-bed semi You do not know yet Inspection first Full inspection and test of the installation, with a coded written report £170 – £250, rental property Property age, access, the number of circuits and whether plaster has to be chased all move these. A rewire on an empty house is a different job from one worked around a family and their furniture. What happens if a board replacement uncovers bad wiring? It happens often enough that it belongs in the conversation before the job starts. Existing circuits are tested as part of a proper board replacement, and that testing sometimes finds one that will not pass. Usually it is a single circuit and it is dealt with; occasionally it is enough of them to change the recommendation. So ask two questions when you take the quote: what happens to the price if a circuit fails on the day, and will you be shown the readings. The answer you do not want is silence followed by a mid-job phone call. How do you find out which one you need before committing? Pay for an Electrical Installation Condition Report first. An EICR inspects and tests the whole installation and gives you a written report with every fault coded by seriousness, so the decision is made on measurements rather than on a sales pitch. Our guide to what C1, C2, C3 and FI mean covers how to read one, and how long an EICR takes covers the visit itself. A report also makes second opinions meaningful. Two electricians quoting from the same coded observations are answering the same question, which is not true of two people who have each had a look at the board. When is a rewire genuinely the better answer? When the repairs stop being worth the money. If a house needs a new board, several circuits re-run and additional sockets because there are four extension leads per room, and a kitchen or a full redecoration is coming anyway, paying twice to open the same walls makes no sense. It is a judgement call, and it should rest on what the report found rather than on one line at the bottom of a quote. A report that leads straight to a rewire with no supporting observations is worth a second opinion. Our guide to house rewire costs in Nottingham sets out what the job involves. Both jobs are work for a qualified, registered electrician, and both end with a certificate you should keep — it is what a buyer's solicitor asks for years later. Nothing here is an instruction to open a consumer unit or work on a circuit. Building Regulations guidance is published on GOV.UK, Electrical Safety First publishes plain-English advice for householders, and BS 7671, the UK wiring standard, is published by the IET. Frequently asked questions Can I just replace the consumer unit without rewiring? Usually yes, provided the existing circuits test sound. That is the common outcome. The condition of the cable is established by testing as part of the job, so a board replacement is not a way of avoiding the question — it is how the question gets answered. If circuits fail, the electrician should show you the readings and price the remedy separately. Does an old fuse board mean my house needs rewiring? No. Age alone does not condemn an installation. An old board on sound cable is a board replacement, not a rewire. Plenty of Nottingham houses with dated-looking boards have wiring that tests perfectly well, and plenty of newer-looking installations have circuits that have been extended without much thought. Testing settles it either way. Is it cheaper to rewire at the same time as other building work? Almost always, because the cost of a rewire is substantially in the chasing, lifting and making good rather than the cable. If floors are coming up or a kitchen is being replaced, a rewire done at that point avoids paying twice to open the same walls. Mention any planned work when you ask for a price. How do I check the electrician quoting is registered? Ask for the scheme and the registration number, then check it on that scheme's public register rather than taking a logo on a van or a website at face value. Somo Electrical is registered with NAPIT, registration number 33320. Our guide to what electricians charge in Nottingham covers the other questions worth asking before you book. My landlord's EICR failed — does that mean a rewire? Not usually. An unsatisfactory report means something has been coded as dangerous or potentially dangerous, and most of those are individual items rather than whole-installation failures. A rewire is indicated when the observations point at the cable throughout rather than at specific accessories or at the board. The coded report tells you which of those you have. Finding out which one you need Somo Electrical is a NAPIT-registered electrical contractor, registration number 33320, carrying out consumer unit and fuse board upgrades , rewiring and electrical testing and inspection across Nottingham, including Ruddington . If you have been told you need a rewire and want the reasoning checked first, we will test the installation and tell you what it actually needs — including when the answer is that the board is fine and nothing needs doing. Call 07733 666004 or use our online quote form . Prices are Somo Electrical's own ranges for the jobs listed, set by the business owner, and are not national averages and not quotes. Regulatory detail on Building Regulations and landlord duties is published on GOV.UK and was not independently verified on 22 September 2026, because those sources were unreachable from the environment this post was drafted in; no regulatory interval, duty or penalty figure is stated above for that reason. Not legal advice.