House rewire - or not? (long)

IME with old installs you'll' probably find 2 or 3 accessories that need replacing, generally the rest are fine. Look for switches that sit half way, when they should be physically unable to, and any socket that gets hot under load needs replacing.

I cant see any need for a partial rewire tbh. A new CU would give rcd protection, which lots of houses dont have, and address the earth conductor size. But on 6k pa?

NT

Reply to
NT
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He's already got the new CU - just not got all the circuits on it yet IIUC.

Reply to
John Rumm

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Just keep rewiring a section at a time observing good wiring practices etc. And in a couple of years it'll all be done. Wiring isn't that difficult a job and it is quite fun.

BTW what's all this about being mid 70s?????

Am approaching 76 and currently painting outside of my single storey

72 by 37 foot house. Presently got the edge of the roof and two foot soffit overhang on it's third and finish coat of paint using a home made ladder modified for suitable height for this job. Don't expect any trouble with re-staining the rest of the outside walls which are clapboard. IIRC this is fourth time have painted in some 39 years? But am sort of conscious this will likely be last time I will paint this house myself? Take my time because after a few hours up and down ladders the old knees do get a bit sore; wearing boots to support ankles is a good tip. . Then on to the windows, which have done an excellent job since we (two carpenters and myself) built this house in 1970 (When I was 36). The windows will involve removing some 50 pieces/metal-frames each with glass, averaging about 30 inches high by 24 to 30 inches wide. And four sections of sliding glass doors to the deck. Cleaning and painting the window boxes, cleaning every window glass and reinstalling them.

Still pleased with many/most of the decisions made when we built this, our second house. Maintaining it ourselves. Low to the ground one can reach just about everything outside from step ladder. Main floor is level, with no steps, one set of stairs to full in ground basement. Electric heating with individual room thermostats (less than $100 maintenance since built, no rain gutters (the 2 foot overhangs keep water away). Front door recessed out of wind. No windows in the garage, originally a car-port, until we enclosed it into the garage and a storeroom for small business, facing the prevailing westerly wind. But next year will have to do some work on that most exposed west wall; since it was built only as outer wall for the carport suspect we do not have any insulation or any interior vapour barrier so may need to rebuild it a portion of its 35 length, by some 10 foot high, at a time. After get the sail boat adjacent to the wall restored and moved out of the way.

Planted lots of trees which even in winter without leaves provide some wind shelter. Only had to shovel snow off the low and low sloping roof twice in 39 years, it normally blows away! Windows not too large which conserves heat loss. Might add a porch (outside in the recessed area, sort of out of the wind); because the front door which opens into the hallway, even with the original storm door outside it is still a bit drafty. Need a little bit of work around the garage door and repaint it again.

Having fun!

Reply to
stan

No. They are 1.5v and very large.

That is a lantern battery of some sort.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

Good for you Stan! Chap next door was up on the 2-storey roof, repairing the flashing around the chimney stack and chacking other things, at the age of 73. I'm still wondering why I built a shed for £200 more than buying one, with lots of treatment on it, all stainless steel fasteners, Onduline roof and strong frame and cladding - it'll last at least 50 years with some maintenance and I'm 62! Still, if I can be using it in 2060...

Reply to
PeterC

Those batteries were useful for doorbells, odd circuits etc because they were easy to connect to wires. Back in the days when the bell and battery did not live all together in a pretty plastic case.

In my youth I built a 2 valve radio with separate HT and LT batteries but I cannot remember the voltage of the valve heaters or the battery used. Some years later in the lab in the EMI apprentice training place I moved on to building an FM tuner on a chassis made of bent tin plate.

Now I am feeling seriously old :-(

Reply to
Invisible Man

typically heaters were all 1.5v. BIG collections of cells.

two pin polarised plug in the top.

HT was a variety..hearing aids with micro valves as low as 15v or 22.5v. I've seen 45v HT batteries, but 90v was the usual value for the direct heated normal sized valves.

Only built one valve thing..and that didn't work well, so I moved to trannies as soon as they came out.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

..snip..

Yes I remember now

90v it was
Reply to
Invisible Man

Indeed. In the 50s and 60s I lived in houses where the bell battery was conveniently (ha!) situated in the attic.

I remember bell batteries with brass screw terminals, which pre-dated the plastic screw terminals mentioned above. I also had a grid bias battery where the voltage could be varied between 1.5 and 9v.

John

Reply to
John J Armstrong

Originals were 2v from an "accumulator", a single lead acid cell which required transporting to the local garage weekly. Post war portables were

1.5volt, or sometimes wired in series from a 6v?? battery.

Early sets had 150 volt batteries, with tappings from lower voltages for use when the battery was new, and for low power stages. To boost things the tapping was increased as the battery aged. The batteries were expensive, often replaced with a "battery eliminator. A 9volt (tapped) grid bias battery was also required.

The 90volt battery was for post war (50s) portable sets, usually with a frame aerial.

Reply to
<me9

My father-in-law was up on the roof adjusting the TV aerial at the age of

70 - three weeks after being diagnosed with stomach cancer and two weeks before he died!

SteveW

Reply to
Steve Walker

At least he didn't do a Rod Hull...

Reply to
Andrew Gabriel

I suppose that if you are going to go on the roof, doing it while you're terminally ill is the best time! He didn't actually know that it was terminal at that point though, he'd been offered treatment, but deteriorated too much before they could start - the scans had reported a 1" tumor, but it turned out to be 8-1/2"

SteveW

Reply to
Steve Walker

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