Electrician concerns for full rewire

mhuk01

I'm hoping to get some advice regarding ensuring a qualified electrician is doing a full rewire.
Last week we had an electrician come and fit some new light fittings.  As part of this they fitted a new consumer unit, as the old one was the same age as the house (around 30 years old).  However they have been unable to sign it off as safe, due to the state of the wiring in the house. 

Therefore they have advised a full rewire would be the best option.  We've owned the property for 2 years and have been made aware that the wiring in places is not of good standard before, so I am happy to go for the full rewire for peace of mind and to future proof the property.   However my concerns are with the qualification of the electrician.  They aren't registered with the NICEIC website, however their workmate is (albeit through a different company that he works for).  Is this how they will be able to sign off the work with building control?

I'm now looking into getting a couple of other quotes for the rewire work.  If I go with someone else, how would it work regarding the consumer unit having been fitted but not passing the test?  Will a different electrician be able to pass everything as part of doing a full rewire?

Many thanks for anyone with some advice on this!

Alter_ego

Presumably a full rewire would include rewiring the consumer unit?

FreeBear

mhuk01 said: They aren't registered with the NICEIC website, however their workmate is (albeit through a different company that he works for).  Is this how they will be able to sign off the work with building control?

NICEIC is just one certification scheme. There are others that can offer the same standard of work (NAPIT is just one). Do not be persuaded that you have to use an NICEIC registered contractor.

grumbler

30 yeas is a very short time even for a consumer unit, let alone for wiring if it was done correctly originally.

What exactly does "wiring in places is not of good standard" mean?  Can it not be corrected/improved 'in places" instead of full rewiring? Do you realise how messy full rewiring is and how much repairs you'll have to do after the electrician leaves?

Davesnave

We've used NAPIT people and they were fine. If it's a rewire, they'll go right back to the fitted consumer unit ,and so long as it's large enough and metal cased, that shouldn't be a problem.

David713

mhuk01 said:

Last week we had an electrician come and fit some new light fittings.  As part of this they fitted a new consumer unit, as the old one was the same age as the house (around 30 years old).  However they have been unable to sign it off as safe, due to the state of the wiring in the house. 

Is is legally permitted for an electrician to carry out work that needs signing off then refuse to certify it due to other problems in the property?

mhuk01

grumbler said:

30 yeas is a very short time even for a consumer unit, let alone for wiring if it was done correctly originally.

What exactly does "wiring in places is not of good standard" mean?  Can it not be corrected/improved 'in places" instead of full rewiring? Do you realise how messy full rewiring is and how much repairs you'll have to do after the electrician leaves?

Trust me, I'm aware of the devastation having a rewire will cause.   I'm also aware that the previous owners were DIY enthusiasts, which has meant things like the electric shower currently have no protection (despite having a RCD on the wall next to the old consumer unit, but not properly wired in!!)   When they took the old consumer unit off the wall, most of the cables behind had insulation stripped off with lots of bare cable rubbing up against the wall.  I'm no electrician but that doesn't seem safe by any means!

mhuk01

FreeBear said:

mhuk01 said: They aren't registered with the NICEIC website, however their workmate is (albeit through a different company that he works for).  Is this how they will be able to sign off the work with building control?

NICEIC is just one certification scheme. There are others that can offer the same standard of work (NAPIT is just one). Do not be persuaded that you have to use an NICEIC registered contractor.

Understood.   But is it all above board that the electrician I'm paying is having it signed off by his workmate, though a different company?  It all seems a bit messy, but is this a common practice and totally ok?

grumbler

mhuk01 said:

grumbler said:

30 yeas is a very short time even for a consumer unit, let alone for wiring if it was done correctly originally.

What exactly does "wiring in places is not of good standard" mean?  Can it not be corrected/improved 'in places" instead of full rewiring? Do you realise how messy full rewiring is and how much repairs you'll have to do after the electrician leaves?

 the electric shower currently have no protection (despite having a RCD on the wall next to the old consumer unit, but not properly wired in!!) 

I don't think that THIS problem requires full rewiring to solve.

 When they took the old consumer unit off the wall, most of the cables behind had insulation stripped off with lots of bare cable rubbing up against the wall.  I'm no electrician but that doesn't seem safe by any means!

Neither does this - if it's really a problem. Although wires don't 'rub', it's easy to add extra insulation locally.

mhuk01

David713 said:

mhuk01 said:

Last week we had an electrician come and fit some new light fittings.  As part of this they fitted a new consumer unit, as the old one was the same age as the house (around 30 years old).  However they have been unable to sign it off as safe, due to the state of the wiring in the house. 

Is is legally permitted for an electrician to carry out work that needs signing off then refuse to certify it due to other problems in the property?

Well their point is that they can't sign off the work as it is not safe, when they tested the new consumer unit.  When testing each circuit, the numbers were coming back as unsafe.  I guess whoever I get to do the full rewire (same electrician or different), would be removing the consumer unit anyway (hopefully being able to reuse it as part of the rewire, it's only been on the wall a week!)

mhuk01

grumbler said:

mhuk01 said:

grumbler said:

30 yeas is a very short time even for a consumer unit, let alone for wiring if it was done correctly originally.

What exactly does "wiring in places is not of good standard" mean?  Can it not be corrected/improved 'in places" instead of full rewiring? Do you realise how messy full rewiring is and how much repairs you'll have to do after the electrician leaves?

 the electric shower currently have no protection (despite having a RCD on the wall next to the old consumer unit, but not properly wired in!!) 

I don't think that THIS problem requires full rewiring to solve.

 When they took the old consumer unit off the wall, most of the cables behind had insulation stripped off with lots of bare cable rubbing up against the wall.  I'm no electrician but that doesn't seem safe by any means!

Neither does this - if it's really a problem. Although wires don't 'rub', it's easy to add extra insulation locally.

Does this look ok then?  It's what the wires looked like when removing the old consumer unit.


 With full respect, I'd much rather have a full rewire, where I can have extra sockets added and things done exactly to our specification, which will make it more worthwhile regarding the cost.   Plus of course the added benefit that we can sleep knowing the electrics are safe and will be for many years to come.   In other words I'm fully convinced a rewire is the way forward but just want to ensure I have an electrician that is registered with a scheme to avoid future issues.

You mentioned 30 years is far too soon to expect a full rewire - how long would be reasonable then?