Rewiring - saving money without taking the mickey

[immortalben]

Hi there,

We're buying a 3-bed 1930s semi in Cambridge and have been advised by the surveyor that the existing electrics are very old (at least 10-20yrs). The socket configuration of the house is also totally inadequate (total of about six plugs) so we'll want to rewire extensively (although the lighting is basically fine).

Sarah Beeny (bless her) had me sold on the idea of running the wires myself to save money but I'm gathering from what I've read here that's not a great idea since the installation still needs to be certified, and since I'm likely to have trouble finding a contractor willing to just connect and test/certify a system they didn't put in place. Seems fair enough.

So is it reasonable to ask an electrician to advise on/design the circuit plan, have me open the necessary routes and mount socket boxes (the house will be vacant so leaving floorboards up/holes in the plaster/etc. isn't an issue) and then come back to lay the cables and connect/test?

Can I remove the old cables myself (once they're disconnected...) or should the electrician do that?

Thanks in advance!

 

[JohnW2]

We're buying a 3-bed 1930s semi in Cambridge and have been advised by the surveyor that the existing electrics are very old (at least 10-20yrs).

10-20 years is not 'very old' in terms of an electrical installation and, in itself, is unlikely to require an extensive rewire.

So is it reasonable to ask an electrician to advise on/design the circuit plan, have me open the necessary routes and mount socket boxes (the house will be vacant so leaving floorboards up/holes in the plaster/etc. isn't an issue) and then come back to lay the cables and connect/test?

Yes, it's very reasonable to ask that. The electrician can do the design and then agree with you what work (s)he is happy for you to do. The answer to that may vary between electricians, so you might have to ask more than one before you get an answer you like!

Can I remove the old cables myself (once they're disconnected...) or should the electrician do that?

That's part of what you should discuss/agree with the electrician. Obviously the removal and replacement need to be co-ordinated, if you are to avoid long periods without electricity. Also bear in mind that, in some cases, it might be desirable to use old cables to 'pull through' new ones.

Kind Regards, John

 

[securespark]

10-20 years is not "very old".

The best thing would be to post some pictures here so we can see the condition of the wiring and equipment. Some pictures of the sockets, wiring and the fusebox would be good.

You may just need some upgrade work, rather than a total rewire.

Once you have found an electrician, if agreed with them, you can run cables, sink boxes etc, to reduce costs.

Edit: Bah! Beaten to it...again!

 

[immortalben]

Thanks John & spark - good to know! I'll be taking a great many photos when I next visit the property, but that won't be for at least a week or two.

I was assuming that a rewire would be needed because we want to roughly triple the total number of sockets. Is it really feasible to do that as an upgrade to an existing system? I'll bear the possibility in mind when asking for quotes, anyway...

 

[JohnW2]

Thanks John & spark - good to know! I'll be taking a great many photos when I next visit the property, but that won't be for at least a week or two. I was assuming that a rewire would be needed because we want to roughly triple the total number of sockets. Is it really feasible to do that as an upgrade to an existing system? I'll bear the possibility in mind when asking for quotes, anyway...

You need to discuss that with the electrician. From what you say, it might well be simpler to just 'start again from stratch' with the sockets circuits, but there a lot more to an electrical installation (hence a 'complete re-wire') than that - e.g. circuits for lighting, cookers, showers, outside lights/sockets etc - much of which may be essentially OK, perhaps just needing a bit of 'upgrading'.

Kind Regards, John

 

[JohnW2]

Edit: Bah! Beaten to it...again!

I'd be happy to call it a 'tie' - after all, our posts do both appear with 1:35pm time stamps!! I'm also tempted to say something about 'great minds ...', but perhaps I shouldn't

Kind Regards, John

 

[securespark]

No, don't do that....I've got to go out tonight!

 

[OwainDIYer]

I was assuming that a rewire would be needed because we want to roughly triple the total number of sockets. Is it really feasible to do that as an upgrade to an existing system?

I'm working my way round my flat room by room chasing horizontally along the walls installing new sockets, when eventually both ends reach the consumer unit they'll be connected up to be a new ring.

For lighting I have found the distant end of the lighting radial and am extending from that; that again will eventually reach the CU (via the new smoke detectors, wired in 3+E) and will be connected to a new lighting circuit MCB. The existing lighting circuit will then be split at a fitting in about the middle so each circuit has approx equal load.

In the meantime the CU was swapped so everything's got RCD protection now and the main equipotential bonding was put in (there wasn't any before).