Every Maltese household eventually declares war on the extension lead octopus behind the TV. Adding sockets is one of the most requested electrical jobs on the island — and one where a few decisions made before the electrician arrives determine both the price and how the wall looks afterwards.
Surface or chased?
The first fork in the road:
- Surface-mounted (cable in trunking, socket on the wall face) is quicker and cheaper — €40 to €90 per point — and entirely reversible. In garages, offices and rentals it is often the right call.
- Chased (cable buried in the wall, flush socket) looks like it was always there, but cutting Maltese masonry, plastering and repainting takes the price to €70 to €150 per point and adds dust and drying time.
A middle path many electricians suggest: chase the visible rooms, surface-mount the utility spaces.
What the electrician will ask
- How many points, in which rooms, at what height? Walk the house with masking tape and mark every position before asking for quotes.
- What will each socket run? Heaters, AC units, ovens and EV chargers may need their own circuit rather than a spur off an existing one — an EV charger always does.
- What is the existing circuit already carrying? There is a limit to how much can be added to one ring or radial. Sometimes the honest answer is a new circuit from the board.
- Is there space in the distribution board? A full board turns a €60 job into a board-upgrade conversation — better to know before work starts.
- Who makes good? Plastering is usually the electrician's; final painting rarely is. Line up a painter or handyman for after.
The USB and smart-home question
Sockets with built-in USB-C are a modest premium and remove half the chargers from your life. If you run smart-home gear, mention it — neutral-at-the-switch and deeper back boxes are trivial during installation and annoying to retrofit.
Getting quotes that match
Send the same marked-up list to several electricians: room, position, surface or chased, and what it will power. Post it once on Qabbad's electrician page with photos of the rooms and your board, and approved electricians covering your locality reply with per-point pricing you can actually compare. Rates in context are in our electrician price guide.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to add a socket in Malta?
Surface-mounted points typically cost €40 to €90; chased-in flush points €70 to €150 including plastering but usually excluding paint. Multiple points in one visit bring the per-point price down.
Can I add a socket by spurring off an existing one?
Often yes, within limits an electrician will check — circuits have finite capacity and some appliances deserve dedicated circuits. It is the electrician's call after seeing what the circuit already feeds.
Do I need to repaint after chasing?
The chase gets plastered flush, but the paint patch rarely matches aged wall colour exactly. Budget for repainting the affected wall — or the room, if it has been a few years anyway.