its a question of age really

[Blokey]

Following my recent foray into replacing a ceiling rose, it occurs to me that I really dont know whether the electrics in our house is up to date or a fire waiting to happen....

My question is how long should household cables last before a rewire is needed?

Some clues may assist your replies

The main fuseboard has tripswitches, not wire fuses fitted
All the cables are red/black+earth
The switches appear to be very old
The electric cooker point (no longer used for a cooker) appears to be very old (curved & chunky)
The house is 1950s ex Local Authority, definitely not rewired within the last 7 years
The cable runs in the walls appear to have been replastered (badly) showing straight line "bulges" showing potential rewire in the past.

Obviously I would not contemplate any job of this size, some things are for the grown-ups!!
But we plan to sell the house to the kids soon and don't want them to have to fund a job like this.

 

[breezer]

get a pir done.

or post pictures

or get several quotes

are cables silver multi stranded or copper solid?

average cable life = 30 years

 

[Blokey]

Sorry Breezer but PIR?

Cables are solid copper

 

[Blokey]

Stab int dark

PIR = Prof Inspection Report

 

[JohnD]

Periodic.

Members of the major trade associations have a standard form.

 

[industryspark]

PIR= Periodic inspection report.

basically a spark will come and inspect and test your wiring. he will issue a report giving details of defects and there severity. he may also qoute for the remedial work

 

[Blokey]

Bugger 66% is a fail

 

[Blokey]

Thanks all

 

[dingbat]

My question is how long should household cables last before a rewire is needed?

Forty years or more if done properly. Five minutes if not... somewhere in between the two.

The main fuseboard has tripswitches, not wire fuses fitted

No indication at all of a good or bad install, I'm afraid. They may even be retro-fitted replacements for plug-ins, so no clue on age here.

All the cables are red/black+earth

So, it's older than April 2004 then... which you already know!

The switches appear to be very old

Might just be dirty or well-used...

The electric cooker point (no longer used for a cooker) appears to be very old (curved & chunky)

Sounds like sixties/seventies

The house is 1950s ex Local Authority, definitely not rewired within the last 7 years

A lot of these were updated in the seventies.

The cable runs in the walls appear to have been replastered (badly) showing straight line "bulges" showing potential rewire in the past.

This sounds much more like evidence of a DIY rewire. Council sparks used to either do a proper job, or else run it all on the surface.

As others have said, get an inspection. Call in three or four local sparks and tell them your concerns. If a rewire is needed they won't need to do much inspecting to tell you.

(Oh, and don't just go for the lowest quote - as in everything else you gets what you pays for)

 

[bernardgreen]

(Oh, and don't just go for the lowest quote - as in everything else you gets what you pays for)

And don't just go for the highest, as in many other things you don't always get everthing you paid for.

Bernard

Sharnbrook