electric rewiring advice needed

shelovestobuystuff · 28 November 2008 at 10:01AM

I bought a gorgeous chrome light fitting for my hall and when hubby went to fit it,after switching the power off at the wall and to the lighting circuit,he still got a shock.The box says to make sure the light is earthed but our hallway at least,as hubby discovered the hard way,has really old wiring and just the 2 wires,no earth.
My question is,as the house has mixed spec wiring,can he reroute the wiring for the hall light fitting to the next nearest earthed wiring circuit which is a plug socket rather than having to rewire all the lighting just for this one light?Or is there a way to join new spec onto old spec safely so he can do just a small section and make the light safe.

darkcloudi · 28 November 2008 at 10:22AM

shelovestobuystuff wrote: »

after switching the power off at the wall,he still got a shock.

You should have switched the electric at the main fuse box not just on the wall.

As for the earthing i'm not an electrician but there will be someone on the forums he may able to provide this advise.

Mutton_Geoff · 28 November 2008 at 11:12AM

You should be aware that your hubbies lack of knowledge of lighting circuits (there is usually a permanent live in the ceiling rose) could have actually killed him. Even a shock at the top of a ladder can cause severe injury if he fell off. One reason I never keep tools, especially screwdrivers, in my pockets when I'm working on electrics.

If you're that bothered, you could run an earth from anywhere into the ceiling rose but plenty of old houses have metal light fittings that are not earthed as until relatively recently, it wasn't a requirement on the presumption people didn't normally touch light fittings.

Around 16,000 people a year are killed by injury or poisoning. A fair percentage of those will be DIY related, so do be careful!

shelovestobuystuff · 28 November 2008 at 11:18AM

So we can fit the metal light to the non earthed wiring as long as he switches everything off properly at the mains while he does it ,and as long as no-one tries to swing from the chandalier it will be fine?

adaze · 28 November 2008 at 12:18PM

Basically yes. I don't know what the regs state now, but in the future if you have any electric work done it may be a requirement to run an earth (or rewire).

weekendwarrior · 28 November 2008 at 1:21PM

You cannot fit a light fitting that requires an earth wire to a circuit where there is no earth- it could be lethal.

Your husband is lucky he was not killed.

latecomer · 28 November 2008 at 1:23PM

:eek: If you husband doesn't have a basic understanding of household electrics it might be worth either getting someone in or at least spending a few hours in your local library.

ic · 28 November 2008 at 1:31PM

shelovestobuystuff wrote: »

So we can fit the metal light to the non earthed wiring as long as he switches everything off properly at the mains while he does it ,and as long as no-one tries to swing from the chandalier it will be fine?

No, the item must be earthed. Whilst hooking into another nearby earth should work, I doubt this is within the rules - you need to talk to an electrician.

Pacman_4 · 28 November 2008 at 11:18PM

several of us got pointed to this post from a DIY website we all use. having read what has been posted i felt i had to register and post a reply.

this is one of the situations where, without insult intended, i cannot for the life of me figure out why people think their life is worth the cost of a sparky to fit it for you. what you have posted is so outrageously dangerous it makes me cringe and i deal with it all day long. i am an electrician with 25 years experience.

what ever you do, do NOT connect that fitting without an earth.

without even seeing your house, i can already tell you by your post that your house is WAY out of date with wiring. your fusebox more than likely has rewireable fuses in it and you have no proper means of earth for safety. the chances are your gas has no earth on it and your waters earth may be useless nowadays.

for your own safety, get an electrician in to provide you some protection.

savcab · 29 November 2008 at 10:25AM

Pacman wrote: »

several of us got pointed to this post from a DIY website we all use. having read what has been posted i felt i had to register and post a reply.

this is one of the situations where, without insult intended, i cannot for the life of me figure out why people think their life is worth the cost of a sparky to fit it for you. what you have posted is so outrageously dangerous it makes me cringe and i deal with it all day long. i am an electrician with 25 years experience.

what ever you do, do NOT connect that fitting without an earth.

without even seeing your house, i can already tell you by your post that your house is WAY out of date with wiring. your fusebox more than likely has rewireable fuses in it and you have no proper means of earth for safety. the chances are your gas has no earth on it and your waters earth may be useless nowadays.

for your own safety, get an electrician in to provide you some protection.

Excellent post.

Please people the earth isnt there for show its there for safety. The whole light could become "LIVE" if a fault developed and there was no earth. I dont want to scare anyone but think about it for a moment. Light bulb goes out and you climb up your metal stepladder to change bulb even with the switch off it could still be live. You could be killed.

Im sorry to be so dramatic but if you dont know what your doing please please get the professionals in. Im an electrician and ive had a couple of electric shocks before and by god you know about it. Im really surprised that people can be so frivelous when it comes to electrics but when its gas its a definate no no. Atitudes have to change as electricity can kill.

Again im not getting at anyone but trying to advise here. A little knowledge can be dangerous. Better to be safe than sorry.

Also it sounds like the original poster should call out an electrician to give them some advice on what needs to be done. For about £100 - £150 you could get it inspected and get a report to tell you what is needed. It sounds like a rewire to me though.

baldelectrician · 29 November 2008 at 10:33AM

adaze wrote: »

Basically yes. I don't know what the regs state now, but in the future if you have any electric work done it may be a requirement to run an earth (or rewire).

In can not beleive you have just told someone to fit a light that requires an earth connection to a location without one.
This is dangerous advice and you should ask yourself if you are really compotent to give electrical advice. This type of installation (should your poor advice be followed) could lead to a light becoming live in the efewnt of a fault.

I'm glad I don't stay in a house wired by you.

The earth is requried for a reason on some fittings.

Back to the original post;
My question is,as the house has mixed spec wiring,can he reroute the wiring for the hall light fitting to the next nearest earthed wiring circuit which is a plug socket rather than having to rewire all the lighting just for this one light?

No.
The earth for the sockets should be just for the sockets. You would not be rewiring the lights just for the hall- you would be rewiring the lights beacuse they all need done (at least the ones with no earth)

You should use a competent person for the work, links below
In Scotland:
Individuals registered;
http://www.sbsa.gov.uk/register/ListAC.asp
Companies
http://www.sbsa.gov.uk/register/Sear...struction&ID=2
In England and Wales:
http://www.competentperson.co.uk

electric rewiring advice needed

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