Cannot afford repairs and unsure of options

trwil

Sorry for such a slow reply

The boiler was replaced 18 months ago, the piping in the house is about 40-45 years old though (all seems to be copper) except for new copper put in when i did the bathroom 5 years ago.

The plumber suggested the copper in other parts of the house is nearing its life expectancy (i dont know if that is true to be honest).  We did have a leak in one of our stop cocks but i got that fixed recently.

The flat roof is not leaking, i checked for dampness after the last heavy rain and couldnt find any... it is ponding however (small puddles on top of part of the roof that take a couple of days to go- mostly on the part where we have bay windows. )
 I cant see any rot in the wooden panelling beneath them

The most urgent is the wiring. The wiring looks to be pvc but it is an old fuse style box. Nothing has ever blown and no issues but we were advised by the electrician that the old fuse box is unsafe and that if we had a fire as a result the insurance wouldnt cover it.

I did try to get a new consumer unit put in (5 or 6 hundred for one is no issue), but the electrician advised the whole house would need to be rewired ... 

I am getting a second electrician over next week to see if we REALLY need to rewire the whole house.

I would prefer not to move if we can just get these repairs done really. 

Thanks

trwil

Oh, and i work and i am 60 but my income isnt particularly high (1900 net monthly) and i am the only one in the house who works.

Ectophile

I would get a second opinion on the electrics.  PVC wiring seems to last forever, provided that it hasn't been mucked about with too much, chewed by vermin, overheated or dissolved by contact with polystyrene insulation.

There are a few problem types of PVC wiring.  Lighting circuits from the early 1960's may have no earth.  Aluminium cable was a bad idea when it was tried in the 1970s.  And some cable leaks toxic "green goo" from the ends.

If you haven't got any of those problems, then replacing the consumer unit (fusebox) and fixing any specific problems may be enough.  A complete rewire is very messy and very expensive.

elsien

Nearing the end of its life expectancy can mean a multitude of sins. 
The survey said that about my ceilings, and 20 years later they've not fallen down yet.
You don't necessarily need to have everything done in one go. I had my ancient fuse wire box replaced - my house does have further electrical issues that need sorting but one step at a time. 

Marmaduke123

You seem to be plagued with tradesman telling you things are nearing the end of their life!

If I were you, I would take it all with a large pinch of salt, and just proceed one step at a time. It does sound as if  replacing your old fusebox with a modern consumer unit would be sensible. 

trwil

Ectophile said:

I would get a second opinion on the electrics.  PVC wiring seems to last forever, provided that it hasn't been mucked about with too much, chewed by vermin, overheated or dissolved by contact with polystyrene insulation.

There are a few problem types of PVC wiring.  Lighting circuits from the early 1960's may have no earth.  Aluminium cable was a bad idea when it was tried in the 1970s.  And some cable leaks toxic "green goo" from the ends.

If you haven't got any of those problems, then replacing the consumer unit (fusebox) and fixing any specific problems may be enough.  A complete rewire is very messy and very expensive.

I had the downstairs toilet replastered recently so i saw the exposed wiring around the lighting as i had a new light put in... , it is definitely copper core wiring, and the coating seems to be pvc

I am happy to get a new consumer unit put in, i am just balking at the cost and destruction of a complete rewire, i have had to have a fuse changed once in total on our ancient fusebox

I would never go with british gas due to their prices (and they bodged the combi boiler 20 years ago hooking it to a water tank in the loft!) but is it worth getting them in to do a report on the electrics?. It is hard to know who to trust

trwil

elsien said:

Nearing the end of its life expectancy can mean a multitude of sins. 
The survey said that about my ceilings, and 20 years later they've not fallen down yet.
You don't necessarily need to have everything done in one go. I had my ancient fuse wire box replaced - my house does have further electrical issues that need sorting but one step at a time. 

I have no idea how long copper lasts to be honest, i had another plumber in for a routine gas safety check on friday evening and he said copper lasts 75 years! and that he has seen copper piping 100 years old still going strong!. He said the idea that 40 year old copper is end of life is nonsense, so who do i believe?

The downstairs toilet is on very old copper piping, its old imperial, the plumber had to use a universal coupling to fix the stopcock

The rest of the piping seems to be metric sizing and a bit less old.

FreeBear

trwil said: I have no idea how long copper lasts to be honest,

There was some low quality copper being used in the late 1970s, early 1980s that started to fail after about 25 years. Pinholes would appear, and it was prone to heavy oxidisation. If you have thick imperial sized pipes, they should last a lifetime, as should most modern metric pipe.

Bendy_House

trwil said

I had the downstairs toilet replastered recently so i saw the exposed wiring around the lighting as i had a new light put in... , it is definitely copper core wiring, and the coating seems to be pvc

I am happy to get a new consumer unit put in.

Was this single-strand copper wire, or multi-stranded?

bengalknights

There are some councils that have discretionary home repair grants or where they do emergency work for you.

Have you enquired to see if your council has this and if you can use it?