Electrical Re-wiring

[macinnes1981]

I bought a 2 bedroom flat in 2007 and have now looked to getting our old fuse board replaced. The electrician said he didn't want to touch it as it looked very unsafe and suggested the place may need fully re-wired. The electrics have not been touched since moving into the property. Roughly for a 2 bed flat how much will a full re-wire cost £2k?? and should I have been sold a place with such dodgy wiring in the first place? I guess its my own fault and should have had it checked out when I first moved in and I shouldn't have been so trusting. I think the women who sold it did a number on us as we found that she was aware of existing leaks in the roof which we have since sorted.

 

[securespark]

Not sure about Scotland, but in England there are several choices when it comes to surveys.

We had a full survey done and it cost £800 in 1999, but even that only covered the fabric of the building, not anything like gas, plumbing, electrics etc....

What survey did you have and what comments (if any) were made about the wiring?

What did your solicitor say or advise about the wiring prior to purchase?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I bought a 2 bedroom flat in 2007 and have now looked to getting our old fuse board replaced.

Why?

Are you looking at just a like-for-like replacement, same circuits, or are there expansion requirements driving this?

The electrician said he didn't want to touch it as it looked very unsafe and suggested the place may need fully re-wired.

A photo of the CU and associated stuff would be very useful.

The electrics have not been touched since moving into the property.

How old is the property?

 

[macinnes1981]

The lights keep tripping and its the old style fuses with the wrap around wire and want the trip switch fuse board installed. I need the wiring to be extra safe now as my wife and I have just had a baby.

Untitled

• macinnes1981
• 8 Aug 2012
• 1

Untitled

• macinnes1981
• 8 Aug 2012
• 1

Sorry if the pics aren't clear enough!

The property was built in the early 60's and i've only been in the place for 5 years.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

The lights keep tripping and its the old style fuses with the wrap around wire and want the trip switch fuse board installed.

If your lighting circuit keeps blowing a rewireable fuse the cure is NOT to replace the fuses with MCBs.

I need the wiring to be extra safe now as my wife and I have just had a baby.

Replacing the CU will do nothing to the fundamental safety of the wiring.

Sorry if the pics aren't clear enough!

It's not that they aren't clear - they are far too small.

But if you've been dealing with rewiring fuses for 5 years and are still here to tell the tale I struggle to imagine what might be so dangerous about your fusebox that it looked so unsafe to an electrician that he didn't want to touch it.

What kind of electrician was he?

 

[NewOrder]

As mentioned it keeps tripping because there is a serious fault with your lighting circuit which could be a fire or electrocution hazard but it this way in our house (rewired in 1980) the lighting circuit has tripped exactly 0 times!

I would just get your entire flat rewired to be on the safe side. If it has wired fuses and was built in the early 60's then there is a good chance it is the original wiring, it is probably PVC but there is a chance it could be VIR rubber which is unsafe.

Get a good spark who is a member of an official trade body to give you a second opinion but what ever you do, make sure you get the cause of the blowing fuse fixed.