I think this is a very sensible idea. It wouldn't take much to rig up temporary sockets and lights, with exposed cabling. We did this with our current house, and lived with it for several months. RCD everything, and tape down cables (hint - lots of gaffer tape and cable ties required).
Then you can take your time rewiring.
I completely concur, far better spending the time doing something to help a hopeless case than messing around pointlessly with something that could end in the *death* of a member of the family. It shouldn't take two people long to run a temporary system, certainly no longer than a day I suspect, neatness doesn't enter into it (what ever your sister says...) as and when the sub-surface job is done later any hole in walls etc. can be made good before any redecoration.
I'm not sure about that, but certainly anytime post war.
The bit I cut up (up the thread a bit) was stamped "BRITISH INSULATED CALLENDERS CABLES", and a quick google shows BICC was formed June 1945, so it looks like lead sheath was still in use post WW2.
I'd guess that at least third to a half of all the houses in the country still have lead-sheathed paper or PBJ insulated service cables. The supply industry doesn't seem to be in any hurry to replace them.
someone else commented on such cables being replaced on the Sutton streetlights last year. I guess the difference is if they blow up underground they don't really do much damage, whereas in a house they can be a real fire hazard. So no real drive (other than presumably leakage) to replace those underground. It is sounding like they are more common that I'd have thought given some of the postings on this thread! not that this is a good thing of course!! amazing they actually keep going this long, despite the obvious dangers. Matt
But the ends of these tend to be sealed?
Yes (hopefully). For street cables I think most failures are the result of water getting in due to faulty sealing of joints or mechanical damage.
This discussion has been about lead wiring.
Another type of cable sometimes used c. 50 years ago for ring mains consisted of a copper sheath, a ceramic insulator and then the live and neutral leads inside that, cased I thinkk in rubber. The whole about
1/3 inch in diameter. while lead cable was used for lighting in our house, this copper/ceramic cable was used for the ringmain power crcuits in our old house. I think it was installed in the late 50s for my parents.What we saw by 2000 was increasing incidents of short circuits (via the copper exterior) and blown fuses. Eventually whole circuits became unusable. Regular slight movements, duw to floor boards & joists flexing as people moved about, had caused the ceramic to crumble. then maybe some damp penetrated and shorts were the result.
This was eventually one of the final things that led us to persuade widowed mother in her late 80s that the house was no longer safe for her, poor lady. The week after a major furniture moving exercise which obiously disturbed floor boards even more, the entire kitchen circuit packed up.
So in 2000 we took over and had to replace the lot immediately.
Of course if you have to live with it for a short while, the advice about not disturbing it applies to this just as for the lead cables.
So, Matt, do you have any cable like that in your ring mains?
David H-S
MICC cable ?
I think you are describing MICC (Mineral Insulated Copper Covered) cable, or Pyro to use one of the trade names.
It lasts forever providing the ends are sealed against any moisture ingress and the copper sheath doesn't get punctured. I guess frequent movement could cause work-hardening and eventual fracture of the copper sheath.
The insulation is magnesium oxide, which is hygroscopic (will absorb water from the air given the chance), hence the need to make sure the cable ends are well made.
MICC will survive being heated up to just short of copper's melting point, and you can hammer a piece almost flat and it will still be fine (providing you don't puncture the sheath), as the conductors and compressed magnesium oxide all deform in exactly the same proportion. Indeed, the stuff is all initially made much thicker, and taken down to the required final thickness by running it through pressure rollers. It is still used today in situations where any of its outstanding physical properties are required, but it is expensive and installing it is a rather more specialist task. This and its tendancy to absorb water into the insulation are its weak points. Also, it doesn't handle voltage spikes from inductive load switching well -- this isn't an issue today, but it was a problem when fluorescent lamps first started appearing and fast-break switches were still around (which were required for earlier DC circuits).
You've not understood MICC cable. The insulator is already a powder so can't crumble.
If it was properly installed, it must have been damaged in some way and let moisture in - that's the only thing that eventually kills it.
A totally different and longer lasting product than lead sheathed - and indeed one which is still very much in use for hazardous applications.
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