You need to get a qualified electrician to Inspect and Test your installation to determine whether you need a rewire. You will receive an Electrical installation Condition Report which will tell you if you have any issues which need to be addressed. Nobody can tell the state of your installation over the internet. If you were looking to buy a used car, would you post a photo on a web site and ask a group of random people if they think you should go ahead with the purchase?
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Age of supply
- Thread starter MarcoM
- Start date
The way I see it there are a number of reasons an installation might need major wiring work, up to and including a full rewire.
1. Life expired rubber wiring, rubber cable has a finite lifetime and hasn't been used as a normal cable type for fixed installation for a long time (it is still used in flexible cables). This is unlikely to be a problem with a 1980s install, PVC had become the norm by then.
2. Changing regulations, This isn't too much of an issue with a 1980s install, you will want to change the CU to get RCD protection but other than that you should be fine.
3. Faulty materials, i'm sure this does happen from time to time but I don't think it's common with 80s installs,
4. Changing requirements, to some extent it can make sense to add to existing circuits, but there comes a point at which it is easier just to start from scratch. Especially if the work is being done in a single hit.
5. Horrible bodges, some installs may have been bodged from the start, but more commonly someone who is either ignorant of the regs, knows them but doesn't give a damn or knows them but reluctantly breaks them due to other pressures, gradually extends an installation, you end up with a bunch of crap. Spurs off spurs, undersized cables, missing earths, exposed (or worse burried in plaster) terminal blocks, inaccessible junctions, borrowed neutrals and so-on.
Item 5 is the real wildcard, an EICR is not a pancea, it will find some bodges, but it only inspects a small sample of the accessible parts ot the installation.
1. Life expired rubber wiring, rubber cable has a finite lifetime and hasn't been used as a normal cable type for fixed installation for a long time (it is still used in flexible cables). This is unlikely to be a problem with a 1980s install, PVC had become the norm by then.
2. Changing regulations, This isn't too much of an issue with a 1980s install, you will want to change the CU to get RCD protection but other than that you should be fine.
3. Faulty materials, i'm sure this does happen from time to time but I don't think it's common with 80s installs,
4. Changing requirements, to some extent it can make sense to add to existing circuits, but there comes a point at which it is easier just to start from scratch. Especially if the work is being done in a single hit.
5. Horrible bodges, some installs may have been bodged from the start, but more commonly someone who is either ignorant of the regs, knows them but doesn't give a damn or knows them but reluctantly breaks them due to other pressures, gradually extends an installation, you end up with a bunch of crap. Spurs off spurs, undersized cables, missing earths, exposed (or worse burried in plaster) terminal blocks, inaccessible junctions, borrowed neutrals and so-on.
Item 5 is the real wildcard, an EICR is not a pancea, it will find some bodges, but it only inspects a small sample of the accessible parts ot the installation.
For a CU change, I'd start with an I&T o the full installation.
Those MCBs are horrible, if you press the little red off button it's anyone's guess if it can ever be switched on again!
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