How can i tell if i need to rewire before i buy a house?

nimbo

Hiya,

i have been looking at houses, some of which aren't in the best of states, and i was wondering if any one might know how i can tell if the house needs rewiring??? (i am a bit of a clutz, and have heard that i can take a plug off the wall, and scrape back some wire to check if it is earthed, but this may cause problems as i obviously don't own the house...)

is there a type of fuse box that i would not be able to wire any new plug points into, or that immediately screams [EMAIL="I@M"]I'M[/EMAIL] GONNA CVOST LOADS TO SORT OUT!!!!...

many thanks,
Nimbo

ormus

this photo is a simple guide to the typical old and new type fuse box.
if its the new type, you "should" be ok.
not guaranteed though!

Wickedkitten

Look to see if the sockets are flush in a wall or if they are mounted either on the wall or on a skirting board. If it's the latter then you more than likely will need one.

zfrl

We knew our house needed rewiring the sockets had round pins!

LandyAndy

zfrl wrote: »

We knew our house needed rewiring the sockets had round pins!

When I bought my first house, in 1980, it still had round pin sockets and plugged into every one was a 12 inch 'extension' lead with a round pin plug on one end and a sqaure pin socket on the other.:rotfl:

We had it rewired straight away. The wiring was about 45 years old and in an horrific state.

elsien

Just replacing the fuse box doesn't mean the rest of the house has been rewired though, (or not in my case, anyway.) Do you have any knowledgeable friends/acquaintances who might give the place a quick once over for the price of a pint?

ormus

my first house had a fuse box like this!

run for the hills, ma.

Mojisola

elsien wrote: »

Just replacing the fuse box doesn't mean the rest of the house has been rewired though

I second this. Several members of my family have had the new fuse boxes installed - for safety - but the wiring hasn't been changed.

dmxdave

ormus wrote: »

this photo is a simple guide to the typical old and new type fuse box.
if its the new type, you "should" be ok.
not guaranteed though!

Hope it doesn't look too much like the "BEFORE" one :rotfl:

amersall

nimbo wrote: »

Hiya,

i have been looking at houses, some of which aren't in the best of states, and i was wondering if any one might know how i can tell if the house needs rewiring??? (i am a bit of a clutz, and have heard that i can take a plug off the wall, and scrape back some wire to check if it is earthed, but this may cause problems as i obviously don't own the house...)

is there a type of fuse box that i would not be able to wire any new plug points into, or that immediately screams I'M GONNA CVOST LOADS TO SORT OUT!!!!...

many thanks,
Nimbo

all the responses you have had are right.when i purchased my house it had a new fuse box but not rewired! look under the sink on the metal pipes if it has a green and yellow cable this means it is earthed so possibly been rewired allso my bathroom radiator is the same with this wire, we only found out ours was not rewired when we came to fit a ceiling fan in the kitchen there was no earth wire.how old is the property? does the previous owner know if it has been rewired? hope this helps

thebaldwindowfitter

I bought a house for renting out it had all new light fittings kitchen ,shower,all chrome switches and sockets plus consumer box and i presumed it had been rewired at some point and all the walls had been reskimmed and painted .had an electrical safety done for letting out only to find the house had never been rewired