House Rewiring concern.

dandelionclock30

Hi advise needed, Following an electricians visit for a light problem(it wouldnt turn off), my Mum has been informed that the house needs rewiring. The current wiring was done when the house was built in 1960. My Mum was unaware that it needed to be redone after 25 years and in the 1980s had other things to contend with.
So the electrician is returning to do an assessment a give an estimate. I know roughly it will be over 2k for the house.
The main problem is the redecoration, do you have to have all the kitchen and the bathroom retiled as well as decorating?. I mean we can redo all the rooms regarding painting etc but we cant do tiling and flooring and affording all that is as well as the rewiring is going to be difficult.
So what I would like to know is how bad is it regarding wrecking your home. My Mum has been virtually on the verge of tears all morning with the thought of it.
Has anybody any experience of this please?

tea_lover

First thing you should do is get another electrician in, to see if they agree with the extent of the work that needs doing. NEVER rely on just one person for this.

Beckyy

As above. Always, always get a totally different second opinion and quote.

TBagpuss

I agree with getting a secnd opinion. When the elctrician comes round, ifthey recommend rewiring, you can ask them what will be involved - they will have a better idea having seen the house and will be able to tell you what the option are . For instance, it may that they would say it is better to remove some tiles to put a channel for the wires, but that they could alternatively put the cables above the wall surface and then cover / box them in afterwards.

You might also find it help to post on the 'in my home' section of the forum rather than relationships and families...

FBaby

I would definitely get a second opinion, maybe even a third or fourth. I had to get my house all rewired. This came following a mortgage assessment (and was part of the agreement). The electrician that came quoted £2000 (strangely the exact same amount!). We manage to get a friend of a friend who is a registered electrician, did it all in one day, actually did extra bits too, including changing a huge neon light in the kitchen, all for £500.

Mojisola

dandelionclock30 wrote: »

Hi advise needed, Following an electricians visit for a light problem(it wouldnt turn off), my Mum has been informed that the house needs rewiring. The current wiring was done when the house was built in 1960. My Mum was unaware that it needed to be redone after 25 years and in the 1980s had other things to contend with.

Is this what the electrician told her?

I've just sold my parents' house, built in the early 60s. It still has the original wiring, although the fuse box has been replaced, and no-one has queried the wiring.

dandelionclock30

Yeah he said it should have been done in the 1980s after 25 years or so.
She is not having any problems with the electrics apart from that light I mentioned.

stebiz

I think it just needs making safe. Mine was done in the 1960's and I'm in the middle of having mine upgraded. He could for instance just do the lights or just the sockets or just the kitchen. Doesn't all need doing in one go.

tea_lover

There is no set timescale on when rewiring should be done. Obviously materials and regulations have both changed a lot since the 1960s, but unless your mum is making changes to the wiring (or having problems with it) there's not necessarily a need for rewiring.

£2000 is an average price for a 2-3 bed house, and it's likely that other quotes would be in this region. But please check if there's actually any need for this work before setting off.

DigForVictory

+1 for get more quotes, and ask them how they'd avoid damage to the tiling etc.
(whilst trying to avoid trunking in the kitchen as it's a grease magnet, unbeautiful & possibly quite unnecessary.)
Dry your mum's tears with more, better quality, information!

Mojisola

dandelionclock30 wrote: »

Following an electricians visit for a light problem(it wouldnt turn off), my Mum has been informed that the house needs rewiring.

I wouldn't mention rewiring until the other electricians have looked at the problem and given their remedy. If they all say the house needs rewiring, that's the time to ask for details about how they will do it but it may be a fault that easy to fix.