Investigated survey issues-how to renegotiate

Mardle

Loulibell said:

youth_leader said:

The woodworm in the loft is easily treated by spraying, some timber might need replacing.  

Was your damp survey by a company that sells DPC's etc?  Peter Cox?  I think there would be a DPC in a 1930's property, did they say there was one present and it had failed?  

What did the EICR actually say about the rewire?  Did they say it was dangerous?  

The woodworm is treatable without replacing timbers which is good. 

The survey was done by a company that does in fact do the treatments and DPC. They said there didn’t appear to be one present. It was British Damp Proofing. I avoided Peter Cox because their website had been copied and pasted from Rentokil. 

It failed miserably on most things. Earthing, switches, main supply, circuit board. There was some areas for real concern. Recommended that the supplier visit the property to check/replace supply and a retest needed to see if it is as bad or if that’s affecting the readings. Though he has suggested a rewire is most likely necessary. 

BIB this would worry me. 

RAS

Almost all second-hand properties in the UK fail to meet the 18th IEE which came into force in 2018. Most are perfectly safe to live in but the cable specs and number of sockets will be below modern standards. 

What isn't good is earthing, main supply and circuit board. But those could be sorted out without major upheaval and you'd then have a supply that's safe to use for several/many years. Albeit that in an ideal world you might want to update the entire system, it may not be necessary.

Frankly, if I was the owner, I'd want to get the supplier in to check those items just for my own safety.

Loulibell

RAS said:

Almost all second-hand properties in the UK fail to meet the 18th IEE which came into force in 2018. Most are perfectly safe to live in but the cable specs and number of sockets will be below modern standards. 

What isn't good is earthing, main supply and circuit board. But those could be sorted out without major upheaval and you'd then have a supply that's safe to use for several/many years. Albeit that in an ideal world you might want to update the entire system, it may not be necessary.

Frankly, if I was the owner, I'd want to get the supplier in to check those items just for my own safety.

The electrician I used had said that I should tell the estate agent sharpish, and wasn’t sure who’s responsibility it was but I assumed it was hers, but they’ve been notified. I agree, I’d want it checking too!

Loulibell

Mardle said:

Loulibell

It failed miserably on most things. Earthing, switches, main supply, circuit board. There was some areas for real concern. Recommended that the supplier visit the property to check/replace supply and a retest needed to see if it is as bad or if that’s affecting the readings. Though he has suggested a rewire is most likely necessary. 

BIB this would worry me. 

Not sure what you mean by BIB, sorry 😬 can you explain please? 

stuart45

Loulibell said:

Mardle said:

Loulibell

It failed miserably on most things. Earthing, switches, main supply, circuit board. There was some areas for real concern. Recommended that the supplier visit the property to check/replace supply and a retest needed to see if it is as bad or if that’s affecting the readings. Though he has suggested a rewire is most likely necessary. 

BIB this would worry me. 

Not sure what you mean by BIB, sorry 😬 can you explain please? 

Bit in Bold.

Noneforit999

RAS said:

Almost all second-hand properties in the UK fail to meet the 18th IEE which came into force in 2018. Most are perfectly safe to live in but the cable specs and number of sockets will be below modern standards. 

What isn't good is earthing, main supply and circuit board. But those could be sorted out without major upheaval and you'd then have a supply that's safe to use for several/many years. Albeit that in an ideal world you might want to update the entire system, it may not be necessary.

Frankly, if I was the owner, I'd want to get the supplier in to check those items just for my own safety.

Agree with this, the supply issue and earthing needs to be sorted as its a safety issue but on what grounds is a full rewire needed?

The earthing will depend on the cabling, if the cables that make up the circuits have earthing conductors in them (even if they are not used), an electrician will be able to get the earthing working.

It might just be a case of getting the supply sorted, replacing the consumer unit and having the circuits earthed. If the cables are of suitable size and they have earthing conductors, I wouldn't be rushing into a rewire unless there were actual issues with the circuits themselves.

Rewires are quite an upheaval, not to mention the cost these days. 

Loulibell

Noneforit999 said:

Agree with this, the supply issue and earthing needs to be sorted as its a safety issue but on what grounds is a full rewire needed?

The earthing will depend on the cabling, if the cables that make up the circuits have earthing conductors in them (even if they are not used), an electrician will be able to get the earthing working.

It might just be a case of getting the supply sorted, replacing the consumer unit and having the circuits earthed. If the cables are of suitable size and they have earthing conductors, I wouldn't be rushing into a rewire unless there were actual issues with the circuits themselves.

Rewires are quite an upheaval, not to mention the cost these days. 

To be fair, he did mention that once the supply is checked/replaced he would suggest a retest to determine how much it was affecting readings. 

youth_leader

I hope the electricity board can come quickly Loulibell, if it was my house I'd be nervous to find out it wasn't earthed correctly.