Electrician advice please

Homebuyer278

I am in the process of buying a house and this is the fuse box, can you tell from the picture if this needs a full re wire ASAP or could it be left a while? I know it’s hard to tell from a picture but this is before I can get an electrician out to inspect, I’m just looking for general advice, and the possible cost of a full rewrire of a 2 bed house (5 rooms)
if any one can help/advise that would be appreciated as I’m not sure what I’m looking at 

rob7475

There's no RCD or MCBO in that consumer unit. I'm not sure if they can be added to that unit or not. If you want to add RCD protection, you may get away with a new consumer unit if the rest of the wiring is in good condition.

It's probably fine to live with for a bit but I wouldn't start any other renovations on the house until you've had it checked. If you do end up needing a rewire, get that done before any other jobs as it'll be disruptive.

Veteransaver

Is it a particularly small house? You only seem to have 3 ways / circuits. Assume 1 lighting, 1 ring and maybe a cooker circuit.
But yes no RCD, doesn't make it dangerous but it could be worth a more modern consumer unit and possibly a rewire to future proof it, and a rewire shouldn't be too expensive for that few circuits.
Does your lighting circuit have earthing?

Homebuyer278

rob7475 said:

There's no RCD or MCBO in that consumer unit. I'm not sure if they can be added to that unit or not. If you want to add RCD protection, you may get away with a new consumer unit if the rest of the wiring is in good condition.

It's probably fine to live with for a bit but I wouldn't start any other renovations on the house until you've had it checked. If you do end up needing a rewire, get that done before any other jobs as it'll be disruptive.

Thanks, I did want to install a new kitchen. I will look into everything you’ve mentioned first. 

Homebuyer278

Veteransaver said:

Is it a particularly small house? You only seem to have 3 ways / circuits. Assume 1 lighting, 1 ring and maybe a cooker circuit.
But yes no RCD, doesn't make it dangerous but it could be worth a more modern consumer unit and possibly a rewire to future proof it, and a rewire shouldn't be too expensive for that few circuits.
Does your lighting circuit have earthing?

It’s an 1880 2 bed cottage. I’m not sure on much at the moment as I’m in the early stages or purchasing the property and this came up on the survey. The surveyor didn’t mention anything about the lighting circuit 

gray1h

You are unable to access the condition of the house wiring from the picture, these areas tend to be upgraded occaisionally so the wiring at a glance looks new (such as the wiring from the meter) but as for the actual wiring to your sockets and lights you are unable to access from that area. You could turn off the power and remove one of the sockets and look at the wiring at that point you will be able to make a judgement depending on the color of the wiring and its composition. Remember that the live wires used to be brown and are now red and have been for some time and look for an earth wire to the socket. If the outer coating is grey and the live is red and you have an earth then there is a good chance you can live with it for a bit otherwise I would recommend a check and possible rewire.

rob7475

gray1h said:

Remember that the live wires used to be brown and are now red and have been for some time and look for an earth wire to the socket. If the outer coating is grey and the live is red and you have an earth then there is a good chance you can live with it for a bit otherwise I would recommend a check and possible rewire.

That's the wrong way round. Wiring was red and black up until around 2004 when it changed to brown and blue.

BarelySentientAI

That's pretty modern compared to most.

Albermarle

rob7475 said:

gray1h said:

Remember that the live wires used to be brown and are now red and have been for some time and look for an earth wire to the socket. If the outer coating is grey and the live is red and you have an earth then there is a good chance you can live with it for a bit otherwise I would recommend a check and possible rewire.

That's the wrong way round. Wiring was red and black up until around 2004 when it changed to brown and blue.

Yes and if the wiring is red and black, it is still OK as long as it is in good condition.
However as it is a small house and ideally needs a new consumer unit and maybe new wiring for a new kitchen, then it maybe is a good time for a rewire.

Veteransaver

BarelySentientAI said:

That's pretty modern compared to most.

The lower. single way box looks like a wylex fuseboard from the early/mid 70s! It's would have originally had fuse wires but has been "upgraded" to a plug in MCB

BarelySentientAI

Veteransaver said:

BarelySentientAI said:

That's pretty modern compared to most.

The lower. single way box looks like a wylex fuseboard from the early/mid 70s! It's would have originally had fuse wires but has been "upgraded" to a plug in MCB

Correct.

It looks like a 70s rewire that's then had the CU & bits redone again in the early 90s to me.

More modern than a lot of installations that I come across.