Electrics

helping_hubby

It turns out none of our lights are earthed. Electrician who came to quote last night said he charges about £65 per light to be rewired...thats about £650 And he says we HAVE to have our fuse box replaced to current standards or he can't do any work on our house (is this true?). I reckon that's another £300 - 350. We also want new plugs and old plugs doubled, I've got in my head about £500 for the lot, and a cooker switch added. Not sure what that will be. So I'm probably looking at £1500 +.

Would you guys agree that getting the electrics sorted and up to date is important? My reasoning is it's holding us back from continuing with decorating because there's going to be new holes in the walls for the new plug sockets. So I'd rather get it done now and sacrifice something else so at least we can get on with getting a plasterer and painting.

jackieb

I definitely think it's worth sorting your electrics out. I know it's something you can't see but I feel easier now it's done. We moved into this house 6 weeks ago, and got a new fusebox yesterday, amongst some other things. The electrician didn't say he would have had to have a new fusebox before doing the work though, although I suppose it makes it easier if there is one. I was scared a fuse blew and I had to change a fusewire.

I asked for a rough price for the fusebox and he said about £175 plus the fitting. Fitting the new box didn't take long - about an hour i'd say.

toffeegirl

I'm with jackieb on this one - bite the bullet and get the electrics sorted once and for all.

Electrics are essentially the neural network of your house ... its no use spending lots of time and money making it look pretty if the underlying services are not up to scratch.....

I had an electrician in during June to put new wiring in our kitchen and decided to bite the bullet and get a new consumer unit in at the same time. During his testing of the electrics, he confirmed that none of my lights were earthed either plus there were some other issues with part of the wiring downstairs... so getting him back in to complete a rewire is now top of my priority list....

But do get a couple more quotes.....

Bungarm2001

Definitely get a couple more quotes and get each electrician to explain carefully exactly what it is that he wants to do and why.

Domestic electrics and how they work is shrouded in mystery for the average home owner with no experience, and unfortunately, I hate to say this, but many electricians like it that way for obvious reasons.

Before I get slated, not all of 'em are dishonest, but it is very hard to sort out the ones that aren't liable to take advantage of a homeowner with lack of knowledge.

My advice to you would be have a good search on the internet for details about domestic wiring and how it works. Failing that, go to the library and get a good book, one aimed at a DIY'er. At least then with a bit of knowledge behind you, you might find it easier to sort out a decent tradesperson.

Incidently, one way of cutting costs is to do all the dirty work for him i.e. chasing out walls, lifting floorbaords etc Ask each one if he would be prepared to work with you like this.

Wherryman

helping_hubby wrote: »

Would you guys agree that getting the electrics sorted and up to date is important?.

Yes certainly, an up to date consumer unit with an RCCD could be a life saver.

helping_hubby wrote: »

It turns out none of our lights are earthed.

It turns out that 75% of my lights aren't earthed either, and my guess that applies to most of the houses in the UK, the earth wire goes into my ceiling roses and stops there, most ordinary domestic pendant lights aren't designed to be earthed, are they?

I would ask some friends if they can recommend a ‘good’ electrician so you can get some more quotes.

helping_hubby

Thank you.

This was the 2nd electrician. The first one said the same things. He gave a quote of £1100 over the phone (this was on the assumption that we would knock the holes in the walls for the sockets and the wiring would go under the floor boards which we would lift up and drill holes ready for the wires), but we've not been able to get hold of him to send us a written quote...or to even talk to him again. I dont think he wants the job.

I have a number for a third electrician now who is a friend of my boss. Will give him a go.

Regarding the earthing. I believe if plastic fittings are used, it's OK not to have the lights earthed. But the electrician took a light off and the back box was metal, and he said that's not right.

We had wanted chrome fittings (in a year or 2 when we can afford them), so earthing would definitely need to be done for these.

adaze

helping_hubby wrote: »

Regarding the earthing. I believe if plastic fittings are used, it's OK not to have the lights earthed.

:eek: I'm not an electricain but that sounds scary! IMO there should be the equivalent of twin and earth, i.e. phase (live), neutral and earth throughout. If the box is plastic then you are right you wouldn't have an additonal earth to the box but you would still need an earth going back to the CU.

Akom

I used to be an electrician and would recommend having your lights rewired. However if you dont have the money for now then only buy lights that are 'double insulated'. These fittings do not need an earth.

The easiest way to tell if it's double insulated is to look at the rating plate which is a sticker on the fitting with all its information on it eg voltage, amp, serial No etc. If there is a square with a smaller square inside it that means it's double insulated and doesn't require an earth.

This is the same for all electrical appliances. Have a look at your hairdryer or even your mobile phone charger for the little boxes mention.

amcluesent

>Would you guys agree that getting the electrics sorted and up to date is important?<

Not really. Standards get gold-plated every few years to ensure a steady supply of work for the trade who can make a song and dance about 'Part P', but there's millions of houses build to the prior standards and working quite happily.

If you went to a garage and they refused to change the tyres until a new engine was fitted, you'd know they were having a laugh!

matbe

As from the 1st july the 17th edition regulations came into force This means virtually any new circuit in a home needs an rcd
this is probably why he said you need a new consumer unit
the price seems reasonable to me

also it does make sense to get the electrics sorted now before you decorate if he is genuine and you get a certificate

the work would be covered for 10 years and if you sold you would be ok

kimosaaby

That is the only question you need to answer: Was it built correctly according to the regulations at the time?
If you just want a few sockets doubled paying for a complete re-wire seems like overkill.
Getting an estimate over the phone is no good at all - it's like a mechanic diagnosing a broken down car while he's in the garage and the car is still at the roadside Difficult to do with any accuracy: Although I do know a company in Lowestoft who will do a complete re-wire for fixed prices depending on size of property and no nonsense about you having to pull the floors up and drill holes for them either!
I would suggest a new consumer unit ( aka 'fuse box' ) because the extra earth leakage breakers are useful and it stops you having to remember to plug in a stand-alone RCD every time you plug in the strimmer.
When we bought our latest house I got an electrical survey done which resulted in thousands being spent but I knew some of the other bodgery in the house so needed peace of mind.
Good luck finding a good electrician.