Black and red twin and earth

[pilsbury]

Buying a house and was very relieved that it has at some point been rewired to loose the old rubber cable. I'm aware the "harmonized" blue and brown cable came into effect in 2004, so this tells me the rewire was done before that. How long before that though? When was the earliest the rewire could have been done? There is just a single RCD protecting the whole house and a fuse board with a few fuses for each circuit.

 

[JohnD]

Post some photos.

could be 50 years.

 

[PBC_1966]

PVC-sheathed cable could date back as far as the 1950's. If it's metric cable (solid core 2.5 sq. mm to sockets etc.) then it won't be before circa 1970.

A picture of the fuse board would be a big help. The RCD could be a later replacement for an earlier current-operated or voltage-operated ELCB - A comparison of the age of that with the age of the board would help.

 

[JohnD]

good point. If it is stranded cable, it could be very old.

 

[sparkwright]

They used solid cable on lighting long before solid cable on socket cable though, as PBC has indicated.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I'm aware the "harmonized" blue and brown cable came into effect in 2004, so this tells me the rewire was done before that.

Actually it doesn't.

People neither stopped owning nor using nor buying nor selling red/black cable after 2004.

In fact.... www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=red+black+twin+earth&_sacat=0

 

[Doggit]

It's impossible to determine when it was rewired, so it begs the question of how far down the make and offer/offer accepted road are you. Has the surveyor been in yet. Be prepared to get an electrician in and get a professional report done, then you can star to worry, or breathe a sigh of relief.

 

[pilsbury]

Here is a pic of the electrics. I understand that it is likely to be aged, but my relief was that it has at some point been modernised. The house is 1920s and needs a lot doing which is reflected in the price. Think the cable is solid core.

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[pilsbury]

Here's a look at the top of the fuses. You can see the old rubber wire cut off behind the newer cables.

 

[securespark]

If you are lucky, you may find a year stamped on the cable sheath.

 

[pilsbury]

I shall have a butchers.

 

[davelx]

Can we have a close up of the big grey switch below the fusebox? It looks as if you have a TT earthing system, and this could be an old VOELCB, in which case you should have at least that replaced with a modern 100mA type S RCD as VOELCBs have all sorts of issues and do not give much protection. Some will say replace it with a 30mA RCD until you have the fuse box replaced (see below), but if you do this a single minor fault could result in you losing all power until the fault is fixed.

There is nothing immediately problematical about the old Wylex rewireable fuse box - there are probably tens, if not hundreds of thousands of houses still using these quite happily, but modern Consumer Units (CUs) give increased protection against faults and electric shock, so you might want to consider having this replaced sooner rather than later. Don't expect to use this as a reason to get the price of the house dropped further though - there is no requirement to upgrade existing installations to modern standards.

 

[pilsbury]

This is just a zoom in of the grey switch. Can't take a photo as I don't have access as I don't own the house yet!

Not looking to barter the price down, already factored in the need to modernise everything - that's why I see the absence of rubber wire as a bonus. A £3k rewire is looking less likely.

 

[davelx]

This is just a zoom in of the grey switch. Can't take a photo as I don't have access as I don't own the house yet!

Not looking to barter the price down, already factored in the need to modernise everything - that's why I see the absence of rubber wire as a bonus. A £3k rewire is looking less likely.

Can't tell what that is - need to see what is printed on that plate on the front - though from your picture it looks like the printing has all worn off, in which case you are going to need an electrician to take a look.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Can we have a close up of the big grey switch below the fusebox? It looks as if you have a TT earthing system, and this could be an old VOELCB, in which case you should have at least that replaced with a modern 100mA type S RCD as VOELCBs have all sorts of issues and do not give much protection.

Especially when they have no earth connection, and only do the job of a manual isolator.

Some will say replace it with a 30mA RCD until you have the fuse box replaced (see below), but if you do this a single minor fault could result in you losing all power until the fault is fixed.

And if you do as you suggest and put a 100mA type S in then you will have contravened the wring regulations.

there is no requirement to upgrade existing installations to modern standards.

Indeed not, but any new work done is required to comply with the current standard.