My roof is alive.....

macman

Some confusion here. You shouldn't have cables running 'through the rafters', the 1st floor lighting cables will be on top of the loft floor, or beside the joists-nowhere near the rafters. The only exception I can think of is if there is a spur up to a loft light mounted on a rafter.
The power to that circuit can be switched off while the roof is repaired and made watertight. Once everything has dried out, it can be tested and any remedial work done.
If you are concerned in the meantime, then you can simply turn off the upstairs lighting circuit and use some lights plugged into the ring main instead.
The 'exposed wire' in the house sounds much more dangerous-if you know it is dangerous, then get it fixed!
The lighting circuit is only 5 or 6A, much less dangerous than the ring mains-and no-one is going to casually wander into the loft and touch a cable, are they?

Hobsons_Choice

Whether your fears are justified or not ceegee, I'd be exactly the same as you (in a panic). So my sympathies and I hope everything's fixed soon. Let us know how you get on.

ceegee

panchenlama wrote: »

couldn't have been a very good job on the roof if its shot only 25 years later...

There are some cracked tiles which have let the rain in. Under those tiles, the breathable membrane has disintegrated and the rain comes in. I hate this bit......the roof timbers are wet.:( There is a huge wet patch on the bathroom ceiling, which is growing all the time. I had some ventilation problems when the loft was insulated, but the insulation company came back and ventilated between the layers of felt/membrane.

Maybe it's a combination of things.....I could go on dithering and wondering until the roof collapses, but I am taking action by getting a surveyor in so that it can be sorted once and for all.:)

ceegee

macman wrote: »

Some confusion here. You shouldn't have cables running 'through the rafters', the 1st floor lighting cables will be on top of the loft floor, or beside the joists-nowhere near the rafters. The only exception I can think of is if there is a spur up to a loft light mounted on a rafter.
The power to that circuit can be switched off while the roof is repaired and made watertight. Once everything has dried out, it can be tested and any remedial work done.
If you are concerned in the meantime, then you can simply turn off the upstairs lighting circuit and use some lights plugged into the ring main instead.
The 'exposed wire' in the house sounds much more dangerous-if you know it is dangerous, then get it fixed!
The lighting circuit is only 5 or 6A, much less dangerous than the ring mains-and no-one is going to casually wander into the loft and touch a cable, are they?

There is a light. It is on a cable which I plug into a socket in the hall upstairs. It hangs over one of the roof timbers (wet, like everything else up there).

I can't turn off particular circuits as I don't know how....all I know is how to switch off the entire electricity supply.:( I have a prehistoric fuse box......probably the one from when the house was built in 1925.:o

The exposed wire is above a false ceiling in one of the cupboards under the stairs, so it won't be accidentally touched. I shall, of course, mention it to the surveyor as he won't be able to see it.

HappyMJ

ceegee wrote: »

There is a light. It is on a cable which I plug into a socket in the hall upstairs. It hangs over one of the roof timbers (wet, like everything else up there).

I can't turn off particular circuits as I don't know how....all I know is how to switch off the entire electricity supply.:( I have a prehistoric fuse box......probably the one from when the house was built in 1925.:o

The exposed wire is above a false ceiling in one of the cupboards under the stairs, so it won't be accidentally touched. I shall, of course, mention it to the surveyor as he won't be able to see it.

I thought you said the house was completely rewired 25 years ago. That would have included the consumer unit (fuse box) as well. How about some pictures? You did say you wanted to use this thread as a diary.

ceegee

Hobsons_Choice wrote: »

Whether your fears are justified or not ceegee, I'd be exactly the same as you (in a panic). So my sympathies and I hope everything's fixed soon. Let us know how you get on.

Thank you so much for understanding HC. It is a nightmare. Rain is forecast, too.:( I intend to keep this thread updated as replies and things may come up that are useful to others, as well as to me.

Whilst I have done a lot of work in the house myself, roofs and electrics are things I will not touch with a bargepole. Although a wooden bargepole might be quite useful for moving things about in the loft.:D

It's all dreadful.....I really wouldn't know how to go about it. This is why I am having the surveyor in and I am having him project manage the work, too. It may be expensive......it will probably take all of my savings plus some sort of loan from the Bank, but I want to know that my daughters and I are safe in our home.

ceegee

HappyMJ wrote: »

I thought you said the house was completely rewired 25 years ago. That would have included the consumer unit (fuse box) as well. How about some pictures? You did say you wanted to use this thread as a diary.

It was re-wired 25 years ago......by my ex-husband, who was not an electrician. The re-wiring did not include the fuse box.

It's all a right can of worms!

I can't do pictures as I am rubbish at technology. I haven't even got an avatar as I don't know how to do one!

ceegee

The surveyor is coming next Thursday morning. I can have a one hour consultation free of charge. Then, presumably, if we are both happy, we will arrange for the full survey to be done. When I have his initial prognostications, I shall post them here.

I shall post the nuts and bolts of the full survey, too, when I have it.

HappyMJ

ceegee wrote: »

It was re-wired 25 years ago......by my ex-husband, who was not an electrician. The re-wiring did not include the fuse box.

It's all a right can of worms!

I can't do pictures as I am rubbish at technology. I haven't even got an avatar as I don't know how to do one!

How about describing it then? Any words or numbers on the fuse box cover? What's the cover made of? Wood, plastic? How many fuses? What are they made of? Ceramic, plastic or something else. Quite interesting to me anyway. I doubt it's from 1925 it would have been replaced since then.

macman

ceegee wrote: »

There is a light. It is on a cable which I plug into a socket in the hall upstairs. It hangs over one of the roof timbers (wet, like everything else up there).

I can't turn off particular circuits as I don't know how....all I know is how to switch off the entire electricity supply.:( I have a prehistoric fuse box......probably the one from when the house was built in 1925.:o

The exposed wire is above a false ceiling in one of the cupboards under the stairs, so it won't be accidentally touched. I shall, of course, mention it to the surveyor as he won't be able to see it.

So unplug the light from the socket and don't use it! Once the roof has been made watertight and dried out then it should be fine.
A building surveyor will not be able to assess any electrical faults in your house, you just need an electrician. The circuits on your consumer unit should be clearly marked as to which circuit is which-your loft light is plugged into the upstairs ring main. Switching off the circuits in turn will easily identify which is which.
Frankly I can't see why you are wasting money on surveyors. Your house clearly needs reroofing after what sounds like years of leakage, end of story. Once it's made watertight, you can start on any other work.
If it's just localised cracked tiles, then replacing those will be all that is necessary-however it sounds as if you have left it so long that the problem is now more major.
The roof will not 'collapse', but it will just become more leaky and allow the rest of the structure underneath to deteriorate.