Reply With QuoteNot sure about total rewire but will certainly need up to date distribution and fuse boxes.
Just looking to tap into the considerable wisdom of the forum.
In the process of buying a house, built in the early 70s. Just had the Property Information Form through which states that no electrical work has been done since 2005, therefore no certificates.
I guess this means the electrics could be original. Does anyone have enough experience to know whether this would mean the house would certainly need a full rewire? Would it be modern enough that an electrician would assess it's safety or would they just automatically say it needs redoing?
Not sure about total rewire but will certainly need up to date distribution and fuse boxes.
wow timing wise... I'm going through some electrical works on a couple of Btls' to bring em up to compliance...Dunno if it's the same with owner occupied but my guess is you'll certainly need, want an electrical inspection and then I'd imagine recommendations would be made to you...Originally Posted by watchstudent
I suppose it depends what was done in 2005
It wouldn’t prevent the purchase as could be an opportunity to negotiate something into the purchase price - I think 2005 was pre wiring update so probably old colour cables
2005 is just the date that everything needed official safety certification so that is the question that is asked on the forms.
Are you renovating? Then rewire the whole thing, get it out of the way,get 6 doubles at the back of the tV,hardwired data,table lamps you can turn off at the light swich,outside power the whole 9 yards. Its horrendous disruption but a short sharp shock.
A short sharp shock is what I am looking to avoid...
Not to con fuse the issue , I think you can't really properly answer your question without getting a professional into the property. My current instinct is you'll require a rewire.
Having pre 2005 wiring colours isn’t a problem in itself, my bungalow was built in 1981 and following extensive work over recent years it niw has a mixture of old and new, electrician who worked for me on it was happy with it although in hindsight it would've been wise to rewire the lighting circuit, several bodges were found.
Can’t say whether a full rewire is justified but I would definitely want to change the consumer unit to a modern one featuring RCDs , purely on safety grounds. Biggest worry for me would be the likelihood that poor quality DIY work / modifications had been done over the years, it’s worth having a thorough electrical survey done at some point.
I had the consumer units changed in my house and a flat I owned, and also in dad's house to part 18 compliant ones about 4 years ago. The sparky did a full test of the wiring in all the properties which were all built in the 1960's, bought a few things up to date, changed all the sockets, light switches and light pendants in my house to modern matching ones and signed it all off, no fuss no drama.
I would rewire be on the safe side.
I'd get an EICR done. Make sure you get an electrician who's actually going to have a decent look though. You can get 'drive-by' EICRs similar to 'drive by' building surveys. Expect to pay a couple of hundred.
Are people living at the property currently?
If so, then it's likely to be fine for the time being.
Obviously if you are doing work, then that may well be the time to upgrade it etc.
As others have said if that is the situation, then it's well worth getting the infrastructure sorted thoroughly before getting to far in with all the rest of it.
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When you say "rewiring" then if the cabling is PVC sheathed it's unlikley that it needs replacing if it's not damaged. However, a modern CU would be a sensible improvement as would replacing the switch outlets if they are original, although that's a simple task. The potential issue is that as part of changing the CU the electrician must test every circuit & it's possible that he may find issues which would need to be rectified, often due to past bodges.
There's also the likelihood that you'll want more outlets in different positions & kitchens are a particular candidate if you add items like double ovens or an induction hob. These can be additions though & there's no intrinsic need to tear out all of the old wiring.
I'd say the vendor should either provide an EICR, which although will list a number of issues due to the age of the wiring doesn't neccessarily mean the place will instantly go up in flames, or you should deduct a few thousand pounds in anticipation that work will be required.
When my mum's house got sold in 2021, there were still a few 2-pin sockets dotted around the place and I'm pretty sure they were still live though I don't think any were still in use. I operated a bedside light from one of them until 1989.
I've just read that domestic use of unearthed plugs, other than shaver plugs, was "no longer allowed" in the UK after 1970.
I did my Electrition apprenticeship between 1974-1979, there was still a lot of the Black VIR (vulcanised insulated rubber) about, I doubt it would have survived that long, if it’s the grey PVC cable it should be ok but would need testing, if the consumer unit and any switchgear is original they will need changing to comply with current safety standards and regs. Does you survey include a basic condition report?
Please stop posting information like this. There is NO requirement to upgrade a CU just to comply with modern regulations. It's a wise move but it is not compulsory.
Get a EICR done buy someone on this website
https://www.competentperson.co.uk/
CUs of this era commonly contained asbestos and an electrician won't do any work on it
We had a full rewire done in our previous 1950s built property when we bought it in 1996 -no immediately visible problems but it turned out that it was a death trap following some additional work done under the previous owner. Our current property is a cheap-build 1970s - realisng the amount of extra socket work required I decided on a full rewire leaving me with peace of mind and only probably £750 dearer.
Crikey I’m assuming you mean the old Wylex fuse wire carriers, I’d never thought of that, I handled loads at the time
So a 1960’s-70’s wylex fuseboard is compliant then?
https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/guidance/a33.pdf
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
My Mother's (recently sold) house had one. Looked in it w/o thinking until my son pointed out the 'danger' - my Father would have changed many fuse wires over time (50+ years in the house) and in reality minimal exposure.
Asbestos and asbestos based products are generally ok as long as they are not cut/drilled or sawn - changing a fuse wire is very low risk.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Yes, appreciate this (though the form here is fibrous 'matting' rather than cement type that could be cut/drilled/sawn). We all probably used bunsen burner mats/gauze at schools too!
Thank you all for your thoughts and experience, seems like it isn't an automatic rewire (especially as we will probably only be in this house for 4-5 years) but seems a good idea to get it inspected.
plenty of appliances do not need an earth connection. They use a 3 pin plug but there is nothing connected to the earth pin on the plug..
Compliant with what? The current regulations, no. The regulations in place at the time it was installed , yes. There's no requirement to upgrade any item simply to comply with current regulations. The regulations aren't retrospective, although plenty of electricians would like you to think they are.
Would it be sensible to upgrade the CU? Probably yes, but it's not compulsory.
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