Is no earth against the law?

[jackpot]

My house is in need of a re wire. The plug sockets are all earthed but the light fittings and switches are not. This worries me alot but there is no way i can afford a complete rewire. As this would also mean ripping up laminate floor etc...

Is having no earth actually against the law.
I am thinking about applying for a grant to help pay for this but it says in the terms and condition that if it is not up to legal standard then the local council can force the work to be carried out.

I dont want the grant to be denied and be forced to pay 2 grand to rewire the place.
Can anyone help please??

 

[breezer]

its not against the law, it is against the regs, no earth on a lighting cct implies is some what old and in need of a rewire anyway

 

[bernardgreen]

The grant will not be given to a building project if there is a perceived risk of the property being damaged by fire due to a faulty or defective installation of any sort.

There is always a risk even with brand new electrical installations but it is almost negligable if the work is done correctly. With old wiring the risk is significantly higher and the grant may not be given until an undertaking is given to have the risks reduced to acceptable levels.

That said the grant may be increased to assist with the rewire costs.

But it comes down to what price do you put on safety.

 

[jackpot]

It says below

The applicants circumstances and the works required at the property must fall into one of the 4 categories below:

Risk of electrocution or outbreak of fire as a result of faulty electrical circuitry, i.e. when all, or part, of the circuitry is disconnected or condemned by the electricity supplier eg. M.A.N.W.E.B.

This i would say would help and entitle me to get the grant.

Is it possible to join an earth cable from an existing earth point and take it to each light switch and light fitting accordingly and then finish at another existing earth point therefore joining the loop around the house. (Hope that makes sense). Dont worry wont do this myself but am i on the right track?

 

[davy_owen_88]

You can take an earth from another circuit but it isn't advisable.

Do you have any metal switches/light fittings on the lighting circuit?

Davy

 

[ColJack]

if you're planning to do that then you might as well get the cables changed as it will involve pretty much the same thing.. ripping up floors, pulling wires down the capping ( assuming it is capped.. )

 

[2face]

in sheffield our council uses plastic screws in the switches .. and bans the use of metal fittings .. i guess its cheaper than re wiring lol.

 

[IJWS15]

If you don't have earths on the lighting circuit then you may also have rubber insulated cable and radial ring circuits with both live and neutral fuses. I would guess that the house is pre 1960 and you don't have many sockets.

Rubber insulated cable deteriorates where it gets warm - the insulation goes brittle and breaks up leving exposed conductors. Not pleasant when you find it!

Fused neutrals are dangerous as you can have live circuits after the fuse has blown.

Would be worth you posting pictures of the CU and wiring around it for the experts to comment on.

 

[sm1thson]

adding an earth to the existing circuit will only make it safer if you have metal switches / fittings, and if you do have metal switches and fittings then simply change them for plastic/ double insulated ones to reduce the electric shock risk (which is quite high if you have metal sockets and fittings with no earth) -a lot easier than running earth cables!

but as others have pointed out your biggest problem is the age of the cable and other parts of the installation.

 

[jackpot]

Thanks guys. I have metal sockets in my bedroom but these are earthed.
I have metal light fitting in bathroom which are class 2 double insulated.
It is only they lights that are not earthed.

I also took a look at light fitting in hall way. Its a newish fitting with ready made earth that comes attached but the person who installed has it taped to the metal frame which screw into the ceiling. This to me seems dodgy.

Gonna have to try and get it all rewired me thinks.

 

[didthathurt]

This leaflet
http://www.niceic.org.uk/downloads/BestPracGuideJan07secure.pdf
provides "best practice" guidance for the situation where you are changing a CU on a system that has no earth in the lighting circuit. Though a cpc in lighting circuits has been required since about 1967 (if my memory serves) I've seen quite a house recently that dates from the late 70's that has no cpc in the lighting circuit. On the basis of the leaflets advice, installing 30mAmp RCD protection to the circuit (an RCBO may well be the preferred option by at least one other contributor ) whilst not fulfilling the requirements of the 16th Edition can provide a good deal of protection in many cases. It is a judgement call, though.