When to rewire house?

[Jake]

I think it's only Tesco, Asda and the Co-op as yet, but I may be out of date on that.

 

[Anonymous]

(edit, sorry,I only saw the 25 years comment, not the '69 date. Still, if it's PVC, I'd get it tested rather than assume the wiring needs replacement. The accessories probably need replacing, and it's likely that they'll want more sockets anyway)

Testing wiring won't really tell you the full story. It may test OK for insulation resistance (the area where wiring generally fails), but it won't tell you how brittle the wiring is unless the person inspecting actually uncovers sections and looks at it. I have seen many installations where the insulation just cracked and fell away with slight manual bending of the wiring; a fire risk.

I was once asked to do someone a favour and look at a house where fuses kept blowing. The reason was that someone had walked in the loft, trodden on a piece of cable, and the thing simply crumbled and shorted. Took ages to find!

I have to say that one thing I am fed up of seeing on this forum (not aimed at you Jake) is people with no qualifications and little knowledge advising others, often very badly, about matters of safety.

Personally, rather than asking a forum of amateur woodworkers whether I should have a house rewired or not, I would get an electrical engineer (not an electrician) to look it over and take their advice.

 

[Jake]

Personally ... I would get an electrical engineer (not an electrician) to look it over and take their advice.

That's much better advice - although I'd trust a good electrician myself.

 

[Digit]

A pest officer would have been my advice in my own case at one time. Bloody mice made a right mess of the wiring in my loft at one time. Took months to find out how they were getting in.
Whilst broadly agreeing with you Tony it is an unfortunate fact of life that many people have little or no interest in electrical safety if they have to pay for it.
Before RCDs became the norm I found it near impossible to get householders to pay for the extra safety that they engendered.
It also true in all fields of domestic installation that the customer will normally go for the cheapest option, this puts the installer under pressure to cut corners.
When I moved into my present home we had ironclad circuit breakers and a grand total of two sockets.
I rewired the entire place myself. Each section of the house is on separate ring circuits, the lighting circuits are also split.
Separate circuits have been installed for out door supplies, including lighting.
Both workshops and garage are similarly wired and each has its own RCD, as do the out door supplies.
All horizontal cabling is pegged every 18 inches and all vertical runs are pegged every 9 inches.
I very much doubt the most sparks would even bother to offer customers such an installation because of the cost in parts and labour.

Roy.

 

[Woody Alan]

That's much better advice - although I'd trust a good electrician myself

Yeah me too
Alan

 

[gasmansteve]

Tony
I asked on an `amateur woodworkers` forum because I thought there maybe some qualified persons who apart from being woodworkers may actually work within the industry and be able to offer some unbiased advice as indeed I would be happy to do if asked as an experienced gas engineer and also (very amateur) woodturner :wink:
Cheers
Steve