How to tell it is time for a replacement
- aluminium wiring - a standard from the 1960s-1980s; aluminium "flows" at connections, which loosen and heat up over time;
- sockets without a grounding pin (no protective conductor) - today's household appliances and consumer electronics require grounding;
- two-wire installation with a "borrowed neutral" - a common practice in pre-war tenement houses that makes it impossible to correctly install an RCD;
- screw-in fuses instead of circuit breakers, no RCD, crumbling insulation;
- recurring faults that are "invisible" - before you start guessing, see what the measurements show.
The scale of this issue in our region is enormous. For example: according to the Wałbrzych housing stock management programme for 2024-2028, over 90% of buildings owned entirely by the municipality were built before 1945 (the data concerns the municipal stock, not the entire city - but it illustrates the age of the local buildings well). The city centres of Świdnica, Świebodzice and Dzierżoniów look very similar.
All at once or in stages?
Replacing "all at once" is the cheapest per point and the best option when the flat is already due for a general renovation or is temporarily empty. However, in an inhabited property, staging works brilliantly - provided that the stages are arranged in the correct order:
- Stage 1: consumer unit and power supply to the property - a new distribution board with RCDs and proper protection immediately increases the safety of the rest of the installation;
- Stage 2: kitchen and bathroom - rooms with water and the largest appliances (induction hob, washing machine, boiler); this is usually combined with the renovation of these rooms;
- Stage 3: rooms - one by one, in line with renovations and budget.
We finish each stage with measurements and documentation, so at any given moment it is clear what is already new and what is still waiting. Such a plan can be implemented over years without living on a construction site.
How we work in an inhabited flat
Chasing and cutting always mean dust - but there is a difference between a renovation and a disaster: we protect furniture and floors with foil, work room by room, and the power in the rest of the flat works every evening. In a tenement house, there is also cooperation with the manager - from approvals to the condition of risers and WLZ (why this is important, we write in a separate guide on WLZ). How such work looks on a large scale, you can see in the case study of modernisation of a tenement house from 1920 - 48 units.
Not sure where to start? Start with a diagnosis with measurements and a stage plan with a quote for each one individually - then you make decisions based on numbers, not fear. Larger works can be spread into 0% instalments (PayU instalments). Book a diagnosis.
