do i need a re-wire? old TRS cabling ...

[jujhimup]

our house has TRS wiring throughout (i believe) and although we dont particularly get blown fuses often (our shower did this at the weekend) our lights never seem to last that long before the bulbs go.

my question is, is it worth getting someone out to see if we need a re-wire?
then the next dreaded question ... how much is it likely to cost? i know its not cheap ...

EDIT
just thought id provide a bit more info;

- a lot of the sockets in our house dont have switches to them
- cabling is red and black rubber. havent checked any lights for earth, but there is earth around by the shower.
- fusebox in garage is grey cast iron, one massive switch, cant see a meter either?
- sockets in ridiculous places in relevance to the areas of the room
- lightbulbs dont seem to last that long, before going
- electric heater in bathroom, pull cord operated
- electric towel rail, by switch OUTSIDE the bathroom
- generally old sockets/switches

 

[plugwash]

it does sound like rewire time. Rubber cable is almost certainly way past its intended life and has a tendancy to fail soon after any modifications, no earth to sockets is a very serious fault, overcurrent protection arrangements almost certainly aren't up to modern standards, there won't be any RCD protection and so on.

As to cost it will depend hugely on where you live and your property but a few grand is the ballpark estimate I tend to hear.

 

[jujhimup]

thanks for the info plugwash.

one small question; we will be installing central heating aswell soon, will rewiring need to be done first? or doesnt it matter?


going back to the rewire, it is a 3 bed semi in south birmingham - occupied (as i have read this affects the cost?)

 

[FatGit]

Why not get them done at the same time - saves having the floors taken up twice!

 

[bernardgreen]

Definately time for a re-wire if the cable is rubber. Well past its use by date.......

Left totally un-disturbed rubber cable will only be a minor risk. But once disturbed by the heating being installed and then with the increased heat in the building there is an increasing risk of failure.


Often the rubber will crumble away when disturbed leaving bare wires.

 

[jujhimup]

Why not get them done at the same time - saves having the floors taken up twice!

can this be done properly, ie neither getting in each other's way?

if it will cut costs, then great

decided to take the plunge, get some quotes and get it done. im not going to bother with a PIR, as im 99% sure the house DOES need a rewire anyway.

only advantage is that we luckily have discovered this before doing the heating then decorating, as we were planning to.

that would have been much more of a headache, so the shower tripping has actually been a bit of a blessing in disguise ...

 

[bernardgreen]

Plan exactly what you want in the new electrics, where sockets are to be etc etc

Get quotes explaining both installs will be done at the same time.

Then get the chosen ones together to jointly plan the job rather than them meeting first on the day the work starts.

 

[jujhimup]

cheers bernard,

will it affect the cost in any way, having both working at the same time? either negatively, or positively (cheaper, dearer)

 

[Chri5]

cheers bernard,

will it affect the cost in any way, having both working at the same time? either negatively, or positively (cheaper, dearer)

Once the floor is up, electric cable runs will be quicker than the arterial CH, HW and CW feeds. So although both teams will work in common areas, there shouldn't be too many issues of engineer traffic congestion.

It's quite normal for various trades to work side by side so there shouldn't be too many issues. I would suggest that you either produce a plan or go round the house with "X" marks the spot for sockets and service requirements.

Only real problem areas (since flooring systems such as laminate are not in place) tend to be kitchen and bathroom due to tiling being in situ.

If the property is fully carpeted, fully furnished there is extra work load associated with the need to do a room, then reinstate the carpet and moving the furniture back, but that's normal for both trades.

Big thing is planning what you want and where.

TV areas require 2 x doubles, as may hifi area, halls tend to be forgotten about by clients (hoovering needs for both halls and stairs). If your considering TV aerial sockets, phones, alarm or data network cabling- best to roll that in to the same work project.

Sparks should be asked to wire for the CH controls, the house / room thermostats and the water heater, if used.

If the plumber is supplying plastic pipe, there's no need for supplementary bonding- if copper then bonding required.

Gas and water will require bonding in 10mm sq at building entry point / customer side.

 

[RF Lighting]

TV areas require 2 x doubles, as may hifi area, halls tend to be forgotten about by clients (hoovering needs for both halls and stairs). If your considering TV aerial sockets, phones, alarm or data network cabling- best to roll that in to the same work project.

Just to add to what chri5 wrote, have a look at this:
(follow the IEE guidance)

 

[plugwash]

bit of a misleading interpretation of the nhbc guidelines, 1 single != 2 doubles.

I wouldn't say fixed numbers per room are the sensible way to plan. My advice would be along the following lines

each corner of a bedroom or recreation room, if a corner has a door then I would put sockets on both sides of it.


the middle of any walls longer than 4m in such rooms.

any locations you know you will have requirements for electrical equipment.

at least one socket in every room.

in general i would make sockets doubles except in locations where you might want to swap them for a FCU later.

I wouldn't put loads of sockets in a location (with the excception of a kitchen) even if you know there will be loads of appliances there. Power strips are easilly hidden behind eqipment and lots of wall mounted sockets will look weired if the equipment is later removed.

 

[notyou]

if your brave enough to leave a contractor in your house alone. Why not get 2 prices in for occupied and unoccupied it does make a huge difference as floorboards/ furniture carpets only have to be lifted once and the power does not have to be on all the time. then with the cheaper price with the money you save go on holiday for a week.

 

[ricicle]

When the heating/plumbing is being installed it is fair to say that the plumber will probably disturb some of the old rubber cabling and you will almost certainly have to have it renewed.

Try and get both done together but don't just rush in with one because they fit in with the others timing.Remember good tradesmen are busy - be wary of those who say they can start tomorrow!!

 

[jujhimup]

we have gone ahead and decided to get a full rewire done, at the same time as the central heating goes in.

with regards to planning - what do we need to know/tell the electrician?
do we need to tell him what kind of sockets, switches, light fittings, cooker, hob, fan, shower ... etc etc that we want to use? as we would be redecorating all the house after these works anyway - so would it help to know exactly what fixtures/fittings we plan to use? or doesnt it matter too much?

 

[FatGit]

I would do so yes, you need to tell him where you want sockets. He will use whatever style you want.