House rewiring

A woman just told me she had her house rewired because it hadn't been done for 30 years. Have you ever bothered? I mean if it works, why not just leave it? Wire doesn't rot.

Reply to
Uncle Peter
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The copper wire might not but the insulation around it certainly does - especially if there is some ozone about. Take a look at what happens to Post Office rubber bands after a year or so and then worry about it!

If you are still on prehistoric round pin plugs and wire fuses then it is probably time for a rewiring by now.

There is also the risk of rodents sharpening their teeth on your wiring with accumulating damage until they bridge live and neutral. But that can happen to modern wiring sometimes if you are very unlucky.

Reply to
Martin Brown

What ozone source are you referring to?

That might apply to flex, but my house wiring (twin and earth etc) doesn't seem to go the same way.

Nope, 1979 wiring. Wire fuses and square 13A sockets. I prefer wire fuses as they aren't over-sensitive. The only circuit beakers I got (plug in type in place of the consumer unit fuses) was for the lighting circuits, as a blown halogen bulb could damage a PIR sensor before the fuse blew.

I've had rodents in the house a few times, but they've never gone for wires, only things like cushions and poly bags. If they did it should blow a fuse, or the rat.

Reply to
Uncle Peter

30 years seems short time for a rewire unless there is also a major refurb going on.
Reply to
ARW

I've always heard 25-30 years stated as the recommended rewiring schedule. She was refurbishing the house BECAUSE it had just been rewired, leaving a mess.

Reply to
Uncle Peter

You might find sockets are a bit thin on the ground by modern standards, and "consumer units" have changed and improved; fuse wire is a bit dated to my mind. Any "trip units" can deteriorate with age. More powerful electric showers are now available, needing circuits > 30 amp.

Reply to
newshound

Don't listen to small talk.

Reply to
ARW

Even Electrical Safety First doesn't push such nonsense. They state explicitly[1] "There are no set guidelines as to when a property should be rewired. Just because your wiring's old, it doesn't mean it's unsafe. Many factors can affect the wear and tear of your electrical installation, including the materials used and how your property has been used." And that's from a charity who generally lose no opportunity to get people to spend more money on electricians[2].

[1]
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[2] which is not to say that's anything other than a very laudable purpose in life :)
Reply to
Robin

Adapters and 4 way strips suit me just fine. Or a couple of extra sockets can be added without changing the whole house.

It performs precisely the same function.

Why would I want that? The original electric showers work just fine. There is no need for more power. If I did want one, that's one wire to the CU, not the whole house needing redone.

Reply to
Uncle Peter

It appears she did. And when I said I had fuses she was horrified.

Reply to
Uncle Peter

I've just had some fuses replaced with trip switches on a house I'm letting out. It makes life an awful lot simpler.

Reply to
GB

I should have said that the trip switches are just a plug in replacement, so it's very easy to do.

Reply to
GB

It would depend on how comprehensive the original installation was. If it were very basic, it might just be easier to start again if you want a fairly sophisticated setup. But if it was well designed and installed using quality materials, I'd certainly not expect it to *need* replacing. The installation here is basically more than 30 years old done by myself. But has been extended over the years, and a new CU fitted.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Why can't you move the meters yourself? If it's anything like mine, there's a 100A fuse before the meter, which you can pull out while you move the meter.

Reply to
Uncle Peter

Why is it simpler? Fuses hardly ever blow, unlike some breakers....

Reply to
Uncle Peter

I'm in Scotland and I fitted an extractor on a thermostat for the attic, as I was getting stuff like paint etc drying out up there. Plus I used to have computers running up there which kinda didn't like hot summer days.

Reply to
Uncle Peter

See if you can work it out.

Reply to
GB

It isn't simpler, that's the answer.

Reply to
Uncle Peter

30 years ago was 1984. PVC insulation was around 20 odd years before that

- and well before the change to metric cable around '70. Also I'd not be sure rubber bands use the same rubber as used for cable insulation. Car tyres don't self destruct in a year either.

Eh? The 13 amp final ring system dates from just after WW2 - and most new installations used it shortly afterwards. Obviously round pin sockets were still around till much later - but I doubt were used in any new installation 30 years ago. Wire fuses are different.

It could well be *more* likely with PVC than rubber.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)" writes

Yeah, going by the history of this house, and the fittings used (it was sold in the late 60's and was largely unchanged since the 20-30's by the sounds of it) most of our installation probably dates from circa 1970 or so. Obviously with additions/modification over the years

The cable all seems sound, CPC on the lighting circuits, we even seem to have a reasonable number of sockets (but no fixed lighting in the sitting room for some reason). There have a been a couple of faults, down to some dodgy wiring in the back of sockets, and I put in a new CU a few years ago. I find that I am gradually replacing the switches and sockets as they are either knackered or just look pretty scruffy once a room is redecorated.

But basically it's fine

Reply to
Chris French

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