Do these actually need doing?

kiki*_2

Hehe I did think it sounded wrong when I typed it! Thanks for the correction

DVardysShadow

kiki* wrote: »

Ooh I see! Any idea of cost? I'm waiting for the man to get back to me but he said it would need 10m of copper?

penguingirl wrote: »

but the kit to do our shower pipes (both hot and cold before and after the pump) was probably about a tenner. We just got earthing wire (can't remember how thick we needed it) and cable ties from screwfix and it was a 5 minute job.

10 mm^2, cost ~£1/metre, say £2/metre. and 2 bonding clamps say £1 each plus fixing

tyllwyd

About the fuse box - is it an actual fuse box with fuses in it that blow if there is a problem or does it have circuit breakers, which are like big switches that turn off? (very technical explanation there!) Because a modern consumer unit with circuit breakers would be safer and it is much easier to turn the power back on if it does trip out, so replacing that would be money well spent.

DVardysShadow

tyllwyd wrote: »

About the fuse box - is it an actual fuse box with fuses in it that blow if there is a problem or does it have circuit breakers, which are like big switches that turn off? (very technical explanation there!) Because a modern consumer unit with circuit breakers would be safer and it is much easier to turn the power back on if it does trip out, so replacing that would be money well spent.

There all fuses are designed to blow, but there are 2 types, rewire-able and cartridge. Caridge fuses are fine, the blowing is confined within a sealed ceramic or glass cartridge

Slinky

Not that I'm a technical person, but I'd agree the most urgent of the list is the bonding, particularly if' you're worried about some of the standards of the electrical work that's been done before. Where it's been done in our house, you see a piece of green & yellow plastic covered wire sticking through the wall and clamped to a copper water pipe behind the basin.

Thousands of homes have battery operated smoke alarms, check it regularly and you'll be fine. We had a new consumer unit installed 4 years ago when we had our extension done. I'm pretty sure it's mounted on to the old wooden board that was there before.

Sugared-frog

If you decide to get the work done on the fuse board then consider whether you intend to extend or whether it meets your needs and upgrade accordingly. Or wait till you are about to do that and then do it at the same time.

GDB2222

kiki* wrote: »

Are these things unsafe though?? Of they are I'll happily do them. If not then I'll stick as I am!

I wouldn't get the board behind the fuses changed, myself, but I would get the water pipes earth bonded. The point about those is that they can become live if a live electric cable frays or comes in contact with the pipe for other reasons. An earth cable makes it safe.

missile

kiki* wrote: »

Hi there,

We moved into our first house in September, since then I started to suspect some of the electrics as being a bit dodgy. They were added on by the last owner. So I got an electrician out to have a look.

Have been told there are several things wrong but I don't know how urgent they are or if it's just not up to current requirements. Any advice would be helpful.

1. Water needs bonding

2. Fuse boards are backed onto wood so need changing

3. Smoke alarm is only battery powered

4. No co2 alarm fitted

None of those items would concern me. However, if you were concerned enough to get an electrician to quote then for YOUR piece of mind get the work done. However, get at least three quotes.

kiki*_2

missile wrote: »

None of those items would concern me. However, if you were concerned enough to get an electrician to quote then for YOUR piece of mind get the work done. However, get at least three quotes.

We were concerned because the bathroom where the old owners had put spot lights, kept flickering. They had also put spot lights in the bedroom on a dimmer switch which got hot! So we thought that was odd. We know nothing about electrics though so for peice of mind got in a friend of a friend who is an electrician.

Also the wiring from the elec fire has just been added to a double socket. Not knowing much meant we thought these were a little dodgy.

However he wasn't too bothered by the fire or bedroom! Bathroom needs and enclosed light apparently.

Owain_Moneysaver

Many modern fuseboards/consumer units are mounted on wood and that is acceptable as all the 'gubbins' is fully enclosed in the non-combustible consumer unit case.

But some old fuseboards (Wylex, may be others) had wooden frames and no backing internally. Apart from being dangerous in themselves (I had one that went on fire) they are a sign the wiring is well old and due for replacement. The wooden backed Wylex boards don't have terminals that will accept 16mm earth wire for the main bonding, so can't be made compliant with current regulations.

Older boxes were made with no back, and a wooden frame. Any example like this should be replaced. The wooden frame is flammable, and since fuseboxes are often mounted on wooden boards, the backless types are dry kindling waiting to be set on fire. This is not an exaggeration either - consider that a short circuit will cause a rewireable fuse to vaporise, spraying molten copper from the fuseholder. Source

If it's an open back fuseboard mounted on wood or other combustible surface than in Periodic Inspection Report terms it's a Code C1 - Danger Present.