Should I Be Thinking About Getting My House Rewired ?

[CW1]

Hi,

My house was built in 1990 & has never been rewired in that time. There's no problems with the electrics other than when I fitted a new double dimmer switch in the lounge. It no longer worked quite as well as the original - lights in the lounge & top of the stairs could be turned on or off from either the dimmer in the lounge at or the top of the stairs, now the lounge lights can't be turned off from upstairs (or vice versa, I can't remember). I've been told it's because the new dimmers on the market aren't compatible with the original wiring. And I'd had a double socket fitted on the surface of the wall in a bedroom, running direct from another inset socket. I've been told that's now dangerous & shouldn't be used though there's never been a problem with it & I lived there myself for a long time, & previous tenant was there 9yrs.

Perhaps I should just get it checked out first ? If it does need to be rewired, at roughly what cost ? Ratedpeople.com have suggested between £1400 - £3000. It's a 2 bed house in Berkshire, the tenants leave soon so would be a good time to get it done, before new tenants move in. Would likely be looking to sell next year though.

Shall I bother ?

[bhg481]

We've been in our house since 1982 and wouldn't even think of getting it rewired. I thought the need for rewiring disappeared when the insulation changed from rubber, which perishes with age, to plastic, which doesn't. It's perfectly legal to take a spur off a socket to feed a single or double socket.

[CW1]

Ahhh, that's reassuring. I was concerned that any future survey might find a problem, when it'd be much more difficult to get it done. Maybe I'll just get it checked out then, put my mind at rest.

Actually, the house I live in was built in 1976 & I don't know that's ever been rewired either, so maybe I am worrying unnecessarily.

Cheers

[Dogsbody2]

PVC cable lasts a lot longer than 25 years, thus houses that need rewiring are generally much older. What you may wish to consider is upgrading the consumer unit to MCBs, instead of fuses, if it doesn't have them and putting RCBs in that protect against earth leakage faults.
In a house of this size it's a day of qualified electrician time.

[The Builder]

CW, your lighting .....

It sounds as though your circuit was wired for 2 or even 3-way switching. Dimmers incompatible with the wiring is nonsense. Dimming can be a problem with LED lamps if you have them, but it shouldn't affect the switching.

Other than that, the power handling capabilities of the dimmer are important, but shouldn't affect the switching.

I'd say the dimmer was NOT a 2-way type. It should have been. If it's 3-way lighting, then possibly the intermediate switch has been replaced by a 2-way dimmer... but that would leave one wire unaccounted for.

I would suggest you have it checked by an electrician.

1990 wiring should be absolutely fine. While the electrician is there, have him run all the checks under an EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report).

You should have one every 10 years.

[CW1]

Dogsbody2, the fuse box doesn't have physical fuses, it's trip switches - guess that's what you mean by RCBs ? One did use to trip when I had a dodgy iron.

The Builder, definitely is 2 way. Think it's 2 gang too. What the B&Q "electrician" said was the original wiring didn't have enough wires. There's 2 x 3 wires in the wall, sure he said it should be 5 now. It worked perfectly well with the original dimmer (which was 2 way, probably 2 gang, too). But I will get a [10 year] check done & ask again then.

Thanks both, for the advice.

[Old_Geezer]

Those are miniature circuit breakers which replaced fuses. They detect and trigger if too high a current flows, protecting cables and avoiding fires. One can also get residual current detectors to trigger if it detects a mismatch between the live and neutral currents, implying current is flowing to ground. They are for avoiding electrocution.

[Old_Geezer]

As for your "dangerous" socket. I can't see and thus comment on the installation which mayor may not be dangerous, but in principle there's no reason spurring a single socket off the ring main should be a concern. Not vastly different to having a trailing socket plugged in. IMO it'd have be better to have included it in the ring though.

[BRIGHT SPARK]

Get a condition report from an approved contractor.It will cost £100 to £150 ish and if the wiring is as original and installed correctly I can't see any probs.However if its a tenanted property you SHOULD already have certification in place.