House Re-wire

[Ellogg]

Alright to all

Just a quick one, a friend has been told that the electrics in there house requires modernisation. I have seen that the consumer unit is the old push in fuse wire cartridges and some of the plugs look quite old, but the house was rewired about 20 years ago and is single stranded twin and earth. Do you think the whole system requires a rewire or the consumer unit updating and plugs renewing?

Any help will be great thanks

Ian E

 

[Pensdown]

It's hard to say. Best thing to do is call a local spark and ask him to carry out a PIR on the installation.

 

[RMS]

Hi, who told your friend this? was it a quallified spark? Did they have a periodic inspection of the installation to back this up because the only way to find out is by a periodic inspection carried out by a competent spark.

 

[Monsoon]

Dont fall into the trap of thinking just because the fuse box is the old 'push in style' fuse that it needs replacing.

 

[dingbat]

If the cable is only twenty years old it is doubtful he'll need a rewire unless it's been endlessly b*ggered about by DIYers, or is hopelessly inadequate in terms of socket provision.

Tell him to get quotes for a CU change - this will involve a full test of the installation and probably an upgrade of the earthing and bonding. He can ask the quoting electricians their opinion as to any further requirements.

 

[Ellogg]

Thanks everyone for your advice told hime to get a check done to confirm evrythin within spec. Also some wire is grey T&E and some white T&E does this make any differance.

Thanks again

Ian

 

[baldelectrician]

the white t+e is an indication of diy. (Most electricians use grey shethed cable)

 

[JackTheCat]

the white t+e is an indication of diy. (Most electricians use grey shethed cable)

Baldy, what about lsf?

 

[RF Lighting]

Since cables were harmonised most sheds will now only sell grey sheathed cable. This makes it a little harder to spot possible tinkering at first glance. The use of white cable does not mean the installation will have been DIYed but it is worth checking further.
(BTW White sheath on cable now denotes LSF cable)

<edit> Jack beat me to it

 

[baldelectrician]

I know about lsf, but of an installation is old white t+e is still a good indicator of old diy.