House rewiring and wooden floors

[asg]

Hi
When we bought our house the surveyor suggested rewiring at our convenience, and we are now coming to a position to be able to do this. I would like some new sockets put in - some rooms only have one - but am concerned about how much mess it will make. Will there need to be channels coming down the walls from the ceiling, or do they go up from the floor?

We also have all polished floorboards downstairs - would these need to be lifted to gain access and if so, can that be done without damaging them?

Also, we seem to have false ceilings downstairs and the gap between the floor upstairs and the ceiling is about 5 foot - would this cause a problem for a electrician?

Finally, is there a register I can access to see if the electrician is accredited?

Thanks for any help.

Andrea

 

[systemtek]

See http://www.niceic.org.uk/common/contractor_search.html for apprived NICEIC in your area.

Normally feed from under the floor these days and not up/down the wall, depends where the current feeds go.

5ft false ceeling...in a house ? strange.....

 

[TopTrumper]

systemtek
were did you dig this post from, check date

 

[RF Lighting]

systemtek
were did you dig this post from, check date

I don't understand.
This thread was started today.

 

[TopTrumper]

systemtek
were did you dig this post from, check date

I don't understand.
This thread was started today.

your completely right, its been one of them days

 

[plugwash]

the norm in a house with wooden floors is to go under the floor.

if you are lucky then there may be enough of a gap under your house to lift floorboards in an inconspicuous area and then crawl underneath.

its hard to lift boards without at least some damage, though some ways are much more damaging than others, at least some tounges generally have to be cut and the type of saw used will determine how neatly this can be done (from what i've heared circular saws are fast but make a bloody mess)

 

[Steve]

(from what i've heared circular saws are fast but make a b****y mess)

(obviously cut with a circular saw, the cut goes half way across the next board)


Here's some super-discreet cuts, made by the "hammer and gouge" method. (must get new socks )


Not sure here. Perhaps someone used a fine hand saw? Or a jigsaw? Someone took pride in their work this day! Makes a change for this house. Perhaps this was the original manhole in this room. (its been covered with parquet lino and carpet for 30+ years, so several other manholes have been made)

(Oh, and if you need to get under the floorboards, you will need to get 3 boards up to get even the smallest person through.)

 

[ricicle]

Tip for you Crafty - keep ya toenails cut (saves your socks)!

 

[RF Lighting]

And sort that phone socket out.

What a mess

 

[dingbat]

Not sure here. Perhaps someone used a fine hand saw? Or a jigsaw?

We use a Fein Multimaster for this job. The 'E-cut' blades are only the thickness of a hacksaw blade and it will plunge cut. There's no overcut and afterwards the only sign a board has been lifted is usually the new screws holding it back in place!

 

[Wintonian]

Why can't all sparks and plumbers invest in a saw like the Fein! Well done dingbat.

Surely some have enough sense to know that the investment would rapidly repay itself? Silly thing to say after surveying the mess made by the visit of two "qualified" plumbers to my son's house to fit a new central heating system.

Because I am re-wiring the house I told them not to replace the boards. They hacked them out with circular saw and crowbars. What a mess. Many new boards will have to be fitted.

Although I spent most of my life driving desks, my father was a plumber and he taught me the trade when I was a schoolboy - even wiping lead joints. One of his colleagues was a sparks and I used to work for him in the evenings during term-time. He used to let me re-wire one floor while he did the other, so I learned how to use chisels, circular saws and all the other paraphernalia.

One thing we always did was make sure we left no mess.

I was struck by the arrogance of the plumbers. Both knew far better than I did how the new gas supply pipe should be run. My plan involved a new run across the garage wall, then through the wall into the kitchen, behind the floor units and straight to the boiler (exactly as it was done by the British Gas fitters who installed a new boiler in my my identical house next door 10 years ago). Their solution was to connect to an existing supply, in the kitchen on the wall opposite the boiler, with an elbow then a 30cm piece of pipe into another elbow towards the wall which was channelled to take the vertical pipe run up the wall, into the celing space and across to the opposite wall before going down on the surface. A complete mess requiring lots of channelling and making good. The pipe surface was left 1mm below the surface of the wall. They nearly walked off the job because I disagreed with their solution. My son allowed them to proceed so that he didn't get further grief.

Their electrician (who came to wire the boiler) also insisted that I would need to have my electrical work certified by him or a qualified electrician to comply with the law. This web site has made all that clear and the local council LABC is sorting out the inspection and testing for a surprisingly low fee (an electrician that they sub-contract will make his money from them!).

Thanks is due to all you professionals out there who patiently help non-pros on this forum. I do not pretend to have all the answers to jobs that I undertake, and find it essential to ask when I don't know the correct method of doing something. I have only just discovered and joined the forum, so I hope to be in a position to help sometimes. Most of all I expect I shall need your advice, though.

 

[asg]

Many thanks for your help - I will contact the electricians on the list.

I was planning to have the work done when I was on holiday so they could just get on with it without us getting in the way. Hubby not so keen, but is this a good idea?

Thanks again
Andrea

 

[JohnD]

Ha ha! Builders like to finish things to their own taste without having you in the house trying to impose your own standards!

 

[dave93]

Interesting thread, those photos are great to highlight desirable and non-desirable results.

If lifting all or most of the floorboards in a room, is it bad structurally to cut them all in one line, or is it necessary to stagger the cuts? Also, again is best to cut them in short lengths or long lengths (for future access to pipes and cables short lengths in one row along the line of the pipes and cables would be best but is this a good idea right across a room)? I have two rooms where the pipes need relaying and the boards seem to go right under a wall and out the other side so presume they would have to be cut and couldn't be lifted whole.