How bad is it that my house has unearthed lighting circuits?

[Gigagator]

I live in a 1960's semi-detached and there is no Earth wire at any of the ceiling lights anywhere in my house.

Upon closer inspection, I can see that there is a bare copper earth wire running through all the cables but at every light it has been cut off.

I believe this is probably the work of Mr. DIYer who occupied my house before me.

Is this a big concern? Thanks.

EDIT: Just to let people know, I would never mess around with the electrics in my house so don't worry, I don't intend on carrying out the work myself. I just like to know about these things - I'm interested to know what the wacky electrics in my house are all about.

 

[sparkwright]

Do you have metal light fittings and light switches on this circuit?
They MUST be earthed.

DIYers sometimes cut earth wires off through sheer ignorance.

Even in the 60s electricians would sometimes cut the earth wires off, as they were regarded unnecessary. We now know differently, and so ALL earths are connected together, and unused ones are terminated in a connector block.

If you can replace the wiring, or gain enough earth wire to join them up and earth any metalwork, then do it.

You may like to consider having your whole installation checked out professionally.

 

[Gigagator]

Thanks for the reply. There is a metal light fitting in an upstairs bedroom. Would you recommend I get this changed to a plastic fitting immediately?

There is also a metal fluorescent fitting in the garage, but it is borrowing an earth from a socket also in the garage Is that normal?

I really don't think I can fork out the cost for a full inspection right now

Also, I don't think it would be possible to pull out more Earth wire, it is cut very far down into the cable. Also, how can I tell if the earth wire that has been cut down is actually connected to anything on the other end of the cable?

 

[Taylortwocities]

Thanks for the reply. There is a metal light fitting in an upstairs bedroom. Would you recommend I get this changed to a plastic fitting immediately?

Yes, or a double insulated one - also known as Class II

There is also a metal fluorescent fitting in the garage, but it is borrowing an earth from a socket also in the garage Is that normal?

Not normal, but better than nothing.

I really don't think I can fork out the cost for a full inspection right now

It would be £200 well spent.

Also, I don't think it would be possible to pull out more Earth wire, it is cut very far down into the cable. Also, how can I tell if the earth wire that has been cut down is actually connected to anything on the other end of the cable?

It is often possible to pull a couple of inches from the ceiling. You would need a resistance or continuity meter to test if the earths are connected and continuous right back to the fuseboard/consumer unit.
Presence of the earth should be part of the inspection but the inspection.

 

[Gigagator]

Only £200? For some reason I thought it would cost way more.

I do need to get this place inspected, urgently.

My whole house is just bizarre. The guy that lived here before was absolutely nuts. He clearly didn't have the faintest clue what he was doing.

I've got a wire coming out of the wall in my kitchen that goes back into the wall a little further along. No idea what it does but it's connected together with some taped up terminal block.

I think part of my garage is powered from the cooker. It appears that a wire has been taken through the wall from the kitchen cooker switch (and it is a very bulky cable compare to normal twin and earth) which then powers a socket.

Theres so much more. I could intrigue you with pictures of my electrical woes for weeks.

 

[echoes]

<edited>

I found the same situation in my house, built in 1960. Lot's of earths twisted together, or not, no earths to the switches. And some lives just twisted together and shoved in the celing void as well. It's all replaced now.

Also, how can I tell if the earth wire that has been cut down is actually connected to anything on the other end of the cable?

If you are confident working inside the CU, and you can identify the furthest point(s) of the lighting circuit, and have a multimeter, then you could do a basic r1 + r2 measurement to establish continuity of the line and cpc conductors of the whole circuit. It's section 10.3.1 of the on-site guide if you have one.

EDIT: too slow again! Apologies to TTC!
EDIT 2: Removed duplicated answers.

 

[Gigagator]

I'm not a qualified electrician or anything so I wouldn't go near the bowels of the CU, I'll leave that to the pros.

In all honesty, not being qualified puts me off doing much of the work myself, just in case something does go wrong but I have confidence in my own work.

I have had to change much since I moved here, it is from changing the light fittings that I discovered the problem. The house had many, many metal fittings including switches, all of which (apart from 1) I have changed to plastic.

I also had to revamp the garage somewhat as there were far too many sockets all over the place just wired into each other. I wasn't happy with that.

 

[echoes]

You have my sympathy, Gigagator - Every house I've moved into has needed serious electrical remedial work and/or contained hazardous bodges.

 

[sparkwright]

Also, I don't think it would be possible to pull out more Earth wire, it is cut very far down into the cable.

You don't just pull the earth wire.

You pull the entire cable out if there enough slack. Then you strip back the sheath to reveal the earth wire.

If you don't have much slack on the cable, you won't get much earth wire.