Adice Please - Electrical, damp, boiler etc.

maybe_tomorrow_2

This could be a long one so fair do's to anyone who replies!

Ive viewed a house which I like however there are several financial risks I want to understand before I proceed any further.

Firstly, the current owneer has carried out some damp coursing. What sort iof things shout I be asking for if i decided to offe ron the house, e.g. proof of workmanship, guarantes etc etc?

Secondly, the property currently has an old fuse board. I appreciate this is relatively cheap to replace with a new consumer unit however I have also been told there is a risk if the current woring leaks current then this could continual fuse the new board. This would require an electrician to come and check where the leakage is in the house and repair it which could be a labour intensive task. Any adivice on avoiding/reducing this risk?

Lastly, the current boiler is a system boiler with the boiler unit in the kitchen and the hot water cylinder int he bathroom. I would prefer to instal a new combi boiler. Would this mean I would have to re-pipe any radiators/taps.shower etc that previously were fed off the HWC so that they now feed off the combi unit? Or could I remove the HWC completely and install some connections etc. Apologies, not explained that very well. Any adive, further information requests welcome.....

Many Thanks

Ionkontrol

For all three of those issues, to put your mind at rest, you will need to arrange a Gas Safe engineer to report on the heating, an Independent (cannot stress that enough) Damp Surveyor for the damp questions and a sparkie for the electrics.

Initially expensive, but could save you money in the long run.

fluffpot

Yes for the electrics I would strongly recommend a EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report). This is a full test and inspect of the electrical wiring and a written report with test results and recommendations (if any) for remedial work. You can use this report to get quotes from other electricians.

This will tell you if the cables are in bad condition and as such would trip the new fuse board. Any sparky worth his/her salt will do the testing before the fuse board change to check....

The EICR will take around a day depending on the property - it's worth spending the money as it might save you in the long run

maybe_tomorrow_2

Thats great. Thanks.

I'll look into getting some quotations for the gas and elec survey. Any ideas of a ball park figure I could expect for these?

blackshirtuk

with regards to swapping from system to combi boiler, radiators taps etc do not need to be touched only a little extra pipework from boiler to tank, or gas pipe to tank if its possible to put the boiler where the tank was.

I had this done nov 2011 for £2200.

jozbo

We were quoted £160 for an EICR from an electrician - we're in London