Conflicting advice from electricians -who to trust?

Mae16

Good morning. I'm very confused about how to move forward with a rewire in a house I recently bought after different advice from contractors. I don't want to make the wrong decisions with something as safety critical as electrics, but have no idea who is right and don't want to be taken for a ride. 

I had an EICR a few weeks ago. I was told it was a fail and a complete rewire was required. However I have not been provided with the certificate to see details and the contractor claims it is common practice not to bother with a fail and I don't need it (yes I have paid in full). They also quoted for the job, but didn't have good availability. 

I have since had three further quotes. Two electricians just ran with the full rewire (one has quoted, one o haven't heard from again). However the third had a good look in the fuse box and some sockets. They say that the wiring for the lighting and kitchen is relatively new and would pass inspection, so I do not need a complete rewire. Though their quote is by far the most expensive, they can start soon (I am still paying rent elsewhere until I can get this sorted) and I would have less damage to repair. But can I really believe that this is the right option if I've been verbally told that the inspection was a fail on every point?

I could get yet another quote, but after four I feel I'll potentially just add to my confusion. Some people have been more thorough than others- two told me that my water supply isn't bonded and the dining room floor would need digging up to remedy this, but another found the point at which it was- the cable simply needs upgrading. Who on earth do I know who to trust with my new home? I'm not an expert and I need to be able to trust that the professional knows what they are doing. 

Bigphil1474

They should provide you with the inspection report, absolutely. How else do you know what they did in their examination, and what needs doing to the installation? Sounds very dodgy. (The house we are buying had their installation examined, it failed, they got the work done, it passed - we were sent copies of the report for the fail and then for the pass from the same electrician).

Were any of them registered electricians - I would tend to look for NICEIC registered but we do have a family friend leccy who is very good thank god.

Mae16

Thanks. Yes, they are all NICEIC registered. I don't know how else to try to get the certificate without saying I will have no choice but to leave a bad review, but even that would not  necessarily work and could make it worse. Bigphil1474 said:

They should provide you with the inspection report, absolutely. How else do you know what they did in their examination, and what needs doing to the installation? Sounds very dodgy. (The house we are buying had their installation examined, it failed, they got the work done, it passed - we were sent copies of the report for the fail and then for the pass from the same electrician).

Were any of them registered electricians - I would tend to look for NICEIC registered but we do have a family friend leccy who is very good thank god

rob7475

Did you pay for the EICR - if so, you're entitled to the report showing what the issues are and the reasons for failure.

Can you post a picture of your fuse box / consumer unit. If you are happy to remove a couple of faceplates from sockets to take pictures of the wiring behind, that would help us to give you an idea of the age of your electrics

Mae16

rob7475 said:

Did you pay for the EICR - if so, you're entitled to the report showing what the issues are and the reasons for failure.

Can you post a picture of your fuse box / consumer unit. If you are happy to remove a couple of faceplates from sockets to take pictures of the wiring behind, that would help us to give you an idea of the age of your electrics

Thanks. I'll see if I can do that when I'm next at the house. The guys who did dig around in the fuse box said some of the wiring was too old, but the lighting had been redone recently enough to be good to pass, as was some of the kitchen. 

FreeBear

If you do go for a rewire, add extra sockets in every room, and have all the cables & boxes chased in to the walls. Whilst it creates a lot of mess, the results are much better to look at.

And when cables are chased in to walls, use 20mm conduit - Makes life so much easier if a cable needs to be replaced.... And specify 35mm deep back boxes for everything, including light switches. If you ever fit smart switches, you'll need the extra depth (also a good idea to run a neutral to each switch box suitably terminated).

Risteard

It's not a certificate. It's a report. But yes, you should receive it regardless of whether it's Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory. That was the job you paid for.

Ectophile

I had an EICR a few weeks ago. I was told it was a fail and a complete rewire was required. However I have not been provided with the certificate to see details and the contractor claims it is common practice not to bother with a fail and I don't need it (yes I have paid in full). They also quoted for the job, but didn't have good availability.

That seems utterly dodgy to me.  You pay them for an EICR.  They tell you it's a total fail, but don't give you the report you've paid for.  Instead, they give you a quote to completely rewire the place.

A complete rewire is a lot of work and a lot of mess.  And so a lot of money.  It may not be necessary if the current wiring has been done since the mid-1960's.  A repair or rewire of anything that's failed may be enough.

Faults on EICRs should be categorised as codes 1, 2 or 3.  Any code 1 or 2 makes it a fail

1. Get it fixed before it kills somebody.
2. It's not right, and really should be fixed.
3. It doesn't meet current standards, but may have met an earlier version.  Consider fixing it at some point*.

Even a single code 2 would cause a fail, but you wouldn't rewire the whole house for it.  You'd just fix that problem.

*Or be like most people and ignore it.

Risteard

Ectophile said:

I had an EICR a few weeks ago. I was told it was a fail and a complete rewire was required. However I have not been provided with the certificate to see details and the contractor claims it is common practice not to bother with a fail and I don't need it (yes I have paid in full). They also quoted for the job, but didn't have good availability.

That seems utterly dodgy to me.  You pay them for an EICR.  They tell you it's a total fail, but don't give you the report you've paid for.  Instead, they give you a quote to completely rewire the place.

A complete rewire is a lot of work and a lot of mess.  And so a lot of money.  It may not be necessary if the current wiring has been done since the mid-1960's.  A repair or rewire of anything that's failed may be enough.

Faults on EICRs should be categorised as codes 1, 2 or 3.  Any code 1 or 2 makes it a fail

1. Get it fixed before it kills somebody.
2. It's not right, and really should be fixed.
3. It doesn't meet current standards, but may have met an earlier version.  Consider fixing it at some point*.

Even a single code 2 would cause a fail, but you wouldn't rewire the whole house for it.  You'd just fix that problem.

*Or be like most people and ignore it.

There is also an "FI" classification, which also renders the report Unsatisfactory.