Does my house need rewiring?

[Stuart1]

Sorry to bother you all with a very basic question, but.....We've just moved in to a 1930's house and when attempting to put up our ceiling lights we discovered that there was no earth connection, only a red wire and a black wire. This seems to be the same for the light sockets on the wall. The house is recently decorated throughout so i imagine the previous owners have come across this before and were advised that a rewiring was not needed?. Is it possible to live with this wiring? If not, what are our options from here? Many thanks.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Stand by!

Soon Millennium_Boy will reply telling you to look for obsolete (3/.029) imperial cable and telling you that you should get a NICEIC electrician to replace it.

Seriously - this question has come up several times recently - do some searches.

 

[Millennium_Boy]

Yes, look behind socket and switches, if you see tinned conductors, it is probably obsolete (3/.029) for lights, and (7/.029) for power circuits - it is a death trap if that's the case - get a suitable professionsl electrician to rewire it without delay - your family's lives can be at risk!

 

[breezer]

ban-all-sheds. you win.

 

[il78]

Scare tatics......like it.......if there are no earths present at the circuits, then these need rewiring......as for a family at risk, as long as you dont go round licking sockets in your spare time you should be OK but do get it sorted ASAP, if a Periodic Inspection Report was carried out, a circuit with no protective conductor would require urgent attention (CODE 1).