A home a few decades old often still has fuses, too few sockets, poor earthing and — almost always — no diagrams. A sale or a renovation brings that to the surface. The good news: you do not necessarily have to open up every wall to make progress.
Start with an inventory
Switch off, open the board and map every circuit: which breaker or fuse feeds which room? Note the cable cross-section per circuit and count the points. That inventory is the basis of your future single-line diagram — you simply draw it as you measure.
What comes first?
- Proper earthing and a main equipotential bond.
- Residual-current protection, with 30 mA for wet and higher-risk circuits.
- Replacing damaged or undersized wiring.
- The bathroom, where the zone rules are strictest.
Reconstructing the diagrams
For an existing installation you draw reality, not the design. Work circuit by circuit: draw them in the single-line diagram, mark the points on the floor plan and verify as you go. What you discover during that exercise — a socket without earth, a circuit serving two floors — is exactly what the inspector would otherwise find.
Related reading
How Voltuno helps
Recording an existing installation goes fastest when you can copy and renumber circuits. With Voltuno you draw a correct single-line diagram, position diagram and matching bill of materials in minutes, straight from your browser. The software is built around AREI requirements, so you work faster and walk into the inspection with a clear, complete file.
Please note: this article is a general explanation and not legal advice. Always consult the official, consolidated AREI text (FPS Economy) for the exact obligations and article references.
