When it comes to student accommodation, electricity is an essential provision. And making sure that the property provides safe electricals is one of the landlords many legal obligations. So when you notice hot sockets, discoloured sockets, or flickering lights, it has to be time for a rewire. And rewiring any property is never easy. But a HMO or residential property like student accommodation, can be even more awkward. Here at Walker Electrical, we are Preston’s leading electrical specialists, and we provide electrical solutions across a range of industry sectors, from industrial environments to the residential. As a result, we have produced this guide to preparing to rewire your student accommodation.
Planning
The first stage of your preparation should be to get in touch with a qualified and professional electrician that can help you plan out the major changes to your property. You will need to determine exactly which fittings each room needs including:
- smoke and fire alarms- crucial for student accommodation
- sockets- remember that students use a lot of sockets, and this leads to an overuse of extension cables. So you might want to think about adding in some additional sockets.
- light fixtures- consider mood lighting and task lighting too
You should also think about plans for the future. Now would be a good time to install any of the more advances electrical systems you might be interested in, like:
- speakers in every room
- a security system for the front door
- an Ethernet cable in every bedroom
Disruption
Rewiring is incredibly messy. These cables and wires run under the floor, through the ceiling, and through all your walls. So replacing the old wiring is a messy job that will involve pulling up carpets and drilling/channeling into walls. So to be prepared for this level of work, your tenants may need to move out for a period of time. In the case of most rewires, people opt to move out and leave the electricians to it. This may cause you additional expense, but it is your legal requirement to make sure that the property is safe.
For more information or advice about rewiring, or electrical solutions, get in touch with the professionals today, here at Walker Electrical.