Electrical Questions

amihohu

Hi All,

Following on from my pestering solicitor thread, I have now had an electrical report back (that I have been trying to get for 4 weeks), except it's not what we expected at all!

Our surveyor essentially said the fuse box looked old and knackered so would probably need replacing, and that it would be prudent to get the wiring checked, since the vendor doesn't know when it was last rewired (50's house, she has been there 7 years, guess she either didn't ask the previous owners or has forgotten). So fine we though, new fuse box, no problem, and we'll pay for an electrician to go around to check the wiring. We are already paying 7k over asking price, so if it does turn out it needs a complete rewire, this is obviously something we'd like to find out.

Cue me talking to the estate agent about organising an electrician to visit, but much to my surprise, the estate agent said that the vendor had arranged for an electrican to do a full inspection of the electrics (and I specified the wiring was what we were concerned about). Except that he didn't do a full inspection... 4 weeks later we get the report, and it basically says 'yeah the fuse box is knackered' and didn't look at the wiring at all, argghhh!!!

WWYD? Just wing it and expect to perhaps have to pay out for wiring, or sort yet another electrician (most seemed to have 3 week lead times) to do an actual report on the wiring?

HouseBuyer77

Did they say anything about the wiring at all? An electrician should be able to tell what the insulation is (new style PVC or old style rubber) and tell you the size of the conductors or at least give a guess which tells you the current carrying capacity. Of course there's still more to know which requires the full test but if its modern wiring of suitable ratings then you may be happy without. If it's old wiring or unsuitable ratings then you'll need something done

A full rewire is expensive and disruptive so best to know what you're getting in to. That they got an electricians report but not an EICR is a little suspicious though maybe they were just trying to do things cheaply. What precisely did the report say? It must have given some details.

Is it an actual fuse box or a modern consumer unit?

amihohu

The info from the electrician is basically just a quote to replace the old fusebox, no mention of anything else, so completely useless really, given we already knew it was old.

kinger101

Well, the estate agent could have been more helpful, and let you arrange for you own electrician to inspect the property. But you have very little chance of negotiating the price downward unless it needs an immediate rewiring for safety reasons or loss of power. Older houses tend to have old wiring and fuse boxes. The comment by the surveyor was fairly standard.

Personally, I'd just have checked all the light switches when I was round there, and then wait until I'm in get someone to look at it. And then only do what was necessary.

Hoploz

Do you have the report? I would contact the person who did the quote/report and ask them what they inspected and what the condition of the rest of the place was.

G_M

amihohu wrote: »

/...... we get the report, and it basically says 'yeah the fuse box is knackered'

I don't think so.

What does it actually say about the fuse box? Or does it not say anything about the current fuse box but just give a price for replacement?

I ask because the age/type of existing fuse box can give clues about the wiring. If it's a 1950s fuse box you can guarantee it's 1950s wiring........

And does it describe it as a 'fuse box'? Or 'consumer unit'? That in itself is a clue!

amihohu

It just shows a quote for 'replace distribution boards for one new unit equipped with RCD devices in accordance with BS7671 2011' and then a price and waffle about how to contact the electrician etc, one single quote page basically and a bit noting that it is dated and they recommend changing it, the same as the surveyor said, but no further details at all.

kinger101

If you want to know the condition of the electrics, just contract you own electrical survey. You can't rely on anything provided by the vendor. It's not their responsibility, and the contractual relationship needs to be between you and the electrician conducting the survey.

If the wiring is old though, they're going to focus on the replacement costs. It's will be around £2-£4K on a three bed semi. But if the fuse box look old when you viewed the property, I don't see where you have room to negotiate price; if I were the vendor, I'd be telling you that would have been obvious on a viewing.

ReadingTim

"Old" does not necessarily mean "knackered" - the survey will have identified that due to the age the wiring doesn't meet current standards - in the same way a classic car doesn't have airbags. It doesn't mean the car does't go, or the wiring doesn't work. It's not a cause for concern, shouldn't delay your purchase, and shouldn't be something you can expect a reduction in price for, or the vendor to arrange for the work to be done prior to purchase - you could only expect that if a real safety risk was identified, which it hasn't.

Suggest you carry on and buy the place. If, after than, you find needing other electrical work done (more plug sockets for example), remain worried and/or are feeling rich and worried, then think about getting the work done.