Implications of house I was buying (likely to withdraw) failing an electrical inspection?

MobileSaver

MrCheeseman said:

 including that the roof was over 60 years old and would need replacing

Chandler85 said:

Virtually every house I have seen a survey for needs the owner to plan for a new roof. Slate and stone roofs have lasted for hundreds of years in the past.

^ This.

I've lost track of the number of people who have told me my 100 year old slate roof will need replacing soon; a roofer has professionally inspected it inside and out and reported that, bar a couple of loose slates, the roof should last for decades yet.

AdrianC

MrCheeseman said:

Thanks for the feedback. I did speak to the electrician - the jist of what he said was that the electrics were a bit higgledy piggledy, as if there'd been a bunch of short term fixes done but left in place.

But I suspect you knew that already from the state of the rest of the place, right?

Top tip for future reference. A quick glance at the fusebox/consumer unit will tell you a fair bit.
If it's this sort of thing, with rewireable fuses, it's bloody ancient...


This is what you'd expect in anything that last had major electrical work this side of... ooh, the 80s or so.

One dangerous issue, for example, was that there was a circuit that, when off, had 12V or so still going through it. As far as potentially dangerous issues go, examples are "overcrowded breakers", "some breakers prove not to be on a ring", "cooking isolator is loose in cupboard", "garage breaker coupled with other cable".

That all sounds pretty much par for the course for an older install.
Yes, rewiring would be a good plan. Apart from anything else, I bet there aren't half as many sockets and lights as you're going to want.
No, nobody's going to die in a hurry.

This is my first house so maybe withdrawing is a kneejerk reaction, and I do like the house and where it is. As for the cost, the electrician said you could chase individual issues but you might find more and the only way of making sure it's all sorted is a rewire. He doesn't do rewires (he's just one guy) nor does he recommend people so he's no vested interest in saying that. As for the £7000, the guy estimated £5000 and I added £2000 for redecorating because they'll have to tear bits of the walls out.

So you've randomly added 40% to the rewiring quote simply because you don't much fancy getting the paintbrushes out...? You're going to find home ownership bloody expensive all round with that attitude...

As for the asbestos, I'm maybe being a bit paranoid there - the house buying survey didn't suggest an asbestos survey, just said the disused flue would probably contain asbestos.

Any house built before about the 80s "probably" contains some asbestos somewhere.

I'm still waiting on the gas inspection - there's no recent boiler certificate, so not sure how that'll go.

Again, a quick glance will tell you roughly how ancient it is.

Things that can be quickly spotted, like ancient electrics and boilers, have usually already been taken into account in the valuation of the property, because they tend to go along with paisley carpets, avocado bathroom suites, ancient kitchen units, and a vague smell of cabbage.

gwynlas

You need to decide if you are proceeding or not as survey and subsequent inspections will be similar if you are buying anything over twenty years old. Phone a number of electricans for rewirw quotes once you have decided how many outlets you would need. Walls might have to be chased and repaired/redecorated but older properties might need walls reskimmed anyway.

eidand

the electrics part is not something I would pull our over. If the house satisfies your criteria in terms of size, location and price then buy it and sort out the issues yourself, at least you know they're done properly. 

MrCheeseman

davidmcn said:

 you presumably knew you were looking at an older property and there'd be modernisation needed. It's not reasonable to expect a property to get a squeaky-clean electrical report unless it's just been built or rewired.

I didn't expect 100% but I didn't figure on the electrics being quite so ramshackle,

AdrianC said:

So you've randomly added 40% to the rewiring quote simply because you don't much fancy getting the paintbrushes out...? You're going to find home ownership bloody expensive all round with that attitude...

I honestly couldn't visualise how much damage a rewire would do. Looking at pictures it's a bit less traumatic than I thought, so I might give it a go myself. Truth is, I've not got a lot of confidence in myself when it comes to DIYing, since this is my first house purchase.

Looks like what I'm going to do is wait for the gas inspection, then go to the estate agent and try and knock some money off. I'm at an advantage in that I'm not in a chain myself, so I can back off if need be.

FreeBear

MrCheeseman said: I didn't expect 100% but I didn't figure on the electrics being quite so ramshackle,

AdrianC said:

So you've randomly added 40% to the rewiring quote simply because you don't much fancy getting the paintbrushes out...? You're going to find home ownership bloody expensive all round with that attitude...

I honestly couldn't visualise how much damage a rewire would do. Looking at pictures it's a bit less traumatic than I thought, so I might give it a go myself. Truth is, I've not got a lot of confidence in myself when it comes to DIYing, since this is my first house purchase.

Even a competent DIYer should not attempt to rewire a house. Some parts need specialised test equipment, and it all needs to be compliant with current regulations. Replacing the consumer unit and/or major changes to wiring needs building regs approval - It is unlikely you could meet the requirements for testing, so would never get the work signed off. Please, leave it to a qualified electrician that can provide all the necessary paperwork.

That said, under the guidance of the electrician, you could do the "first fix" - i.e. Chasing out & fitting back boxes & conduit, preparing the area ready for cables to be pulled through. Once the electrical work has been completed, you are then free to make good on any damage.

Durban

FreeBear said:

MrCheeseman said: I didn't expect 100% but I didn't figure on the electrics being quite so ramshackle,

AdrianC said:

So you've randomly added 40% to the rewiring quote simply because you don't much fancy getting the paintbrushes out...? You're going to find home ownership bloody expensive all round with that attitude...

I honestly couldn't visualise how much damage a rewire would do. Looking at pictures it's a bit less traumatic than I thought, so I might give it a go myself. Truth is, I've not got a lot of confidence in myself when it comes to DIYing, since this is my first house purchase.

If a competent DIYer should not attempt to rewire a house. Some parts need specialised test equipment, and it all needs to be compliant with current regulations. Replacing the consumer unit and/or major changes to wiring needs building regs approval - It is unlikely you could meet the requirements for testing, so would never get the work signed off. Please, leave it to a qualified electrician that can provide all the necessary paperwork.

That said, under the guidance of the electrician, you could do the "first fix" - i.e. Chasing out & fitting back boxes & conduit, preparing the area ready for cables to be pulled through. Once the electrical work has been completed, you are then free to make good on any damage.

I think that the OP is saying that they would do the redecorating themselves afterwards , not rewire the house

MrCheeseman

Durban said:

I think that the OP is saying that they would do the redecorating themselves afterwards , not rewire the house

Yes. I don't have a lot of confidence in my decorating skills, but I'd give it a go knowing I can always get it professionally done later, maybe practicing on small built. The electrics would *definitely* be done by a professional. I've fired off requests for two quotes, so I'll see how that goes.

AnotherJoe

It's highly unlikely there's asbestos in the plaster on the walls and very likely there's asbestos in the ceilings

seven-day-weekend

MobileSaver said:

MrCheeseman said:

 including that the roof was over 60 years old and would need replacing

Chandler85 said:

Virtually every house I have seen a survey for needs the owner to plan for a new roof. Slate and stone roofs have lasted for hundreds of years in the past.

^ This.

I've lost track of the number of people who have told me my 100 year old slate roof will need replacing soon; a roofer has professionally inspected it inside and out and reported that, bar a couple of loose slates, the roof should last for decades yet.

Some friends of ours bought a house thirty years ago and were told the roof would need replacing 'urgently'.  They had a few tiles fixed because that's all they could afford.  The roof is still fine and they have done nothing else to it.

To @MrCheeseman , all the things you mention are fixable.  It depends if you want to do it or not.  The only way you will find a house that needs absolutely nothing doing to it is to buy new or almost new (and even then you might not like the colour of the paint).

I understand you are nervous, but believe what other people say, these things are not big issues.