Potentially buying a flat that could need re wiring ..

another_casualty

Okay . Some of you may have seen my other post about boiler being located under the window in the small bedroom of a 2 bed flat .

Now , the estate agent may be trying to pull the wool over my eyes and gloss over things . I was going to go tomorrow and view the flat and check that faulty electrics have been fixed .
However, on the report the wires are coloured red and black .
That seems to me that the flat will have to be re wired .
I will be taking a local electrician when I can get one .

The flat is nice , in the perfect location for me & I got it for ( their solicitor says) £20k off asking price because of electrics .

The flat is a house conversion split into 4 flats .
The conversion was done approx 2000.
After recwiring , I'd have to get a plasterer in to clean up the mess.

How much does recwiring cost in Dorset ? £4000?
Do I have to get freeholders permission ? I'd be a leaseholder .

One. Poster on my Othet thread advised me to walk away .
I'm not sure , as price is good and it's where I wanna be.

Your thoughts ?
Thanks

Doozergirl

Black and red doesn't necessarily need rewiring. You just need a trusty electrician to run a full check on the electrics.

I'd ask them to confirm it's safe by providing a certificate, rather than ask them to look for a rewire, if you see what I mean. You don't want to feed them the job but you do want to know where problems are.

It would always be prudent to have the electrics checked in any property when you're purchasing it.

Risteard

Doozergirl wrote: »

I'd ask them to confirm it's safe by providing a certificate...

I don't mean to be pernickety but a certificate cannot be provided. A certificate is only for installation work which has been carried out. An Electrical Installation Condition Report is what is required. This does not actually certify anything - it merely provides a report on the condition of the installation within the remit of the agreed limitations upon that inspection and testing.

Doozergirl wrote: »

It would always be prudent to have the electrics checked in any property when you're purchasing it.

Agreed. I would also ensure that the contractor is an NICEIC Approved Contractor.

another_casualty

Thanks folks
I'm doing sensible things for s change . The Dodgy position of the gas boiler has been checked , and passed.
Now I'm getting electrician in to check electrics .

That's the thing with older properties. You always have to keep your eye out for things .

FreeBear

Doozergirl wrote: »

Black and red doesn't necessarily need rewiring.

Brown/Blue wiring was introduced in 2004, and Red/Black was permitted up until 2006. If the earth wire is solid green as apposed to green/yellow, then this would date the installation to pre 1977.

In all likely hood, the flats were rewired when the conversion took place, so probably doesn't require a rewire.

One thing to look for though - Check to see if the consumer unit uses circuit breakers (MCBs) or fuses - If it is fuses, they can be very expensive to replace when they blow and you don't really want a fuse for a shower circuit.

another_casualty

Thanks again
Consumer unit is plastic:eek:
It is tnc-s

Your thoughts ?

alumende27

another_casualty wrote: »

Thanks again
Consumer unit is plastic:eek:

Plastic consumer units were normal on installations right up until, er, last year.

another_casualty wrote: »

It is tnc-s

One of the common standard earthing methods.

another_casualty

Thanks . Maybe not as bad .
I hope it's not fuses and fuse wire . I'll find that out later on today.
Can't see anything on docs .

another_casualty

After a horrendous night of little / no sleep, my mobile is ringing while being charged On the other sided of the room . Nearly broke my neck.
Talk about getting,out of bed the wrong side..

So, it's the electrician I left an email with last night .

The conclusion is : because the wires are covered in p v c the flat does not need re wiring .

Thanks

Risteard

FreeBear wrote: »

If it is fuses, they can be very expensive to replace when they blow and you don't really want a fuse for a shower circuit.

Cartridge fuses or fuse wire are certainly not expensive to replace. Also, why would you not want a fuse for a shower circuit? So long as it is RCD protected there is absolutely no problem with fuses providing the overcurrent protection.

Risteard

another_casualty wrote: »

The conclusion is : because the wires are covered in p v c the flat does not need re wiring .

Forgive me for stating this, but it doesn't sound like you had an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) commissioned. The installation would need to be looked into in a lot more detail, including detailed inspections and also supplemented by electrical testing to ascertain the condition of the wiring. Certainly you wouldn't just assume that it is fine because it's PVC - it may or may not be OK.