Electrics - what kind of inspection?

dj1471

I'm currently buying a house and want to get the electrics checked, but I'm not sure whether to get a visual inspection (which some electricians are offering for free) or a full test to BS7671.

My surveyor described the consumer unit as "old", which is super-helpful. But then he also described the boiler as being "of some age" when in fact it's less than a year old...

I've no idea how old the existing electrics are (and there's no point asking the vendor because their standard answer is "don't know"). The property has had an extension (relatively recent, maybe 90s) and loft-conversion (older; maybe 80s).

Can I do my own visual inspection to determine whether a full test is worthwhile, or should I just go for a full test?

G_M

Why not?

Use google to find photos of various consumer units/fuse boxes of various ages so you know what you're looking at.

Likewise with plug sockets/switches etc.

If there's an electric cooker, or emmersion heater for water, these should be on seperate circuits, so look for seperate fuses/trip switches on the CU (hopefully they'll be helpfully labelled. )

Of course, without actually disconnecting stuff which I don't advise, you can't be sure that the wiring (usually hidden) is not ancient even if the CU is modern, though you could ask - often face to face the seller will be more forthcoming than in writing via solicitors.

Likewise with the boiler. Turn on the hot tap. Does hot water come out and is the boiler the source of the heat? Ask for the central heating to be switched on. Does the boiler fire up and the rads get hot?

If there;'s a CO alarm (why not take you own with you to test?), does it go off if the boiler is on?

Not as good as a full professional test/report, but not rocket science either!

dj1471

In case anyone is interested, I found some more guidance on performing a visual inspection on Electrical Safety First, they also have a smartphone app you can work through as you do the inspection which is pretty useful. Just working through it from memory I was able to establish that in at least one room the electrics are not up to current regs and could be 50 years old!

I also discovered that several local electricians offer a free visual inspection to house purchasers so I've arranged for one to give me a professional opinion - if work is obviously required it'll save me the £100 a full inspection would have cost