How often should house be rewired?

Payless_2

My Mam's carer reckons that my Mam's fuse box is ancient and should probably be replaced. Dad used to deal with these things and Mam knows very little about them and it has never occurred to me to check it:o. However, it has since crossed my mind that it has been nearly 40 years since the house was rewired and that is probably why the fuse box is so old.

The carer's hubby is an electrician and she is going to get him to have a look at the box and wiring. I'm not suggesting that he will try to make work for himself and if he says that the wiring needs attention I will get quotes but how often should rewiring be carried out?

theGrinch

40 years is a long time. another to ask the question, is how often should the electrics be inspected and that is every 8 to 10 years.

Payless_2

theGrinch wrote: »

40 years is a long time. another to ask the question, is how often should the electrics be inspected and that is every 8 to 10 years.

Thanks. I doubt very much whether they've been inspected since then :eek:. My Dad was never one to spend money on things that he regarded as pointless . It's a good job that the carer is so observant.

CLAPTON

assuming the wires are covered in PVC there is nothing likely to be wrong with the wires

if they have fuses with bits of wire instead of circuit breakers then they are a bit of a pain if the fuses blows but still no reason to change .. perfectly safe

is the carer knowledgeable about electrics?

Payless_2

CLAPTON wrote: »

assuming the wires are covered in PVC there is nothing likely to be wrong with the wires

if they have fuses with bits of wire instead of circuit breakers then they are a bit of a pain if the fuses blows but still no reason to change .. perfectly safe

is the carer knowledgeable about electrics?

She reckons she's picked up a thing or two from her hubby. I think the main problem is that Mam has dementia and couldn't cope with fuses with bits of wire if they did blow.

Having said that, I doubt whether it would occur to her to check the fuses if her power went off anyway. Another thing is that her phone is cordless so she couldn't phone us either.

I really must stop doing what if thinking :rotfl:

googler

There's nothing intrinsically wrong with 40-year old wiring, as long as it hasn't been physically damaged by anything.

My parents' house was built in 1970, coincidentally 40 years ago, and fair enough, it had cartridge fuses instead of MCBs, but there was nothing wrong with it. It certainly didn't need all the wiring replaced because it was 'old' .....

The way you've described it here, the 'observant' carer is looking to make work for hubby, I fear.....

baldelectrician

From my professional experience you would probably be fine with a new consumer unit, upgrading bonding (earth to gas and water pipes) and testing

If there has been no bad diy or shady kitchen / bathroom companies doing electrical works all should be fine

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/SearchRegCo.asp?T=Construction
In England and Wales:
http://www.competentperson.co.uk

iamcornholio

Modern PVC wire would not normally require replacement.

However some PVC cables manufactured between 1965 and 1971 had a problem with the sheathing which de-plasticises and degrades - this shows as a green residue in sockets and switches - so a 40 year installation should at least be checked for this

Otherwise, just upgrade the CU and sockets/switches

Have a "Periodic Test" done and this will note any issues and put these into priority from essential to recommended/desirable to just not up to current standards but perfectly safe

Bear in mind that if the CU is upgraded to a modern trip unit, then when a bulb blows, all the lights will go out. If you mother may be worried by this, you need to think about some sort of back-up or auxiliary lighting

DVardysShadow

CLAPTON wrote: »

assuming the wires are covered in PVC there is nothing likely to be wrong with the wires

if they have fuses with bits of wire instead of circuit breakers then they are a bit of a pain if the fuses blows but still no reason to change .. perfectly safe

is the carer knowledgeable about electrics?

Beg to differ. Rewireable fuses are not always good at clearing faults and they do tend to tolerate long term overloads which warm up the wiring that bit more and cause the insulation to degrade.

It is possible on most consumer units of that era to upgrade to cartridge fuses or MCB's at small cost.

I am concerned more about a carer user her position to tout for her partner.

Payless_2

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Beg to differ. Rewireable fuses are not always good at clearing faults and they do tend to tolerate long term overloads which warm up the wiring that bit more and cause the insulation to degrade.

It is possible on most consumer units of that era to upgrade to cartridge fuses or MCB's at small cost.

I am concerned more about a carer user her position to tout for her partner.

Thank you all for your advice. I'll make sure that the wiring is tested.

DVardysShadow - That has occurred to me too. If he does check the wiring I'll ensure that Mam gets other quotes if he reckons that work needs to be done.

If she manages to get Mam to agree to him carrying out work without our knowledge I would report her to her agency. She does seem genuine though. She only noticed the fuse box because there was a power cut on Tuesday and she initially thought that it was just Mam's power that had gone off

Mankysteve

I wouldn't use your mum's careers partner. I also fell that it what she doing is immoral and very possible could loose her job. It one thing to suggest that electrics are checked it another to get her spouse involved persumely her husband will gain money for it.