Hi, I have recently bought a 1970s house and it looks although it has the original wiring (red,black and earth within a grey PVC sheath) what is the expected life of wiring like this (in normal conditions)? I intend to have a PIR but im partway through refurbing the lounge and bathroom, would an electrician still conduct a PIR in this condition? Thanks in advance.
Life span of wiring?
- Thread starter ChedderAndChive
- Start date
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If it's early 1970s it may be of the kind with green slime dripping out of it, in which case the cable should be replaced.
Otherwise, PVC insulation lasts for many decades, provided it hasn't been overloaded or exposed to excessive sunlight, expanded polystyrene or other damaging things.
However if refurbishing, you may as well have the cables replaced, because if not now - when?
Many 1970s properties only had a single socket in each room anyway, which will be useless today.
Otherwise, PVC insulation lasts for many decades, provided it hasn't been overloaded or exposed to excessive sunlight, expanded polystyrene or other damaging things.
However if refurbishing, you may as well have the cables replaced, because if not now - when?
Many 1970s properties only had a single socket in each room anyway, which will be useless today.
You're right about the single sockets, not one double in the entire house. I origanally intended to chisel out and install doubles in their place. The wiring does seem to be in good condition, dont think its of the green slime varity.
Definately have an electrician come and do a periodic inspection.
He won't mind what condition the house is in, and it will give you a true idea of what condition the installation is in.
He won't mind what condition the house is in, and it will give you a true idea of what condition the installation is in.
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Thanks for the replies. Im going to arrange a PIR tomorrow. Whats the going rate for a PIR?
Depends on the size and type of house.
What you got, two up, two down terraced house or 7 bedroom detatched house with stables, outbuildings, swimming pool, etc?????
Think hard about where to have sockets - it's difficult to have too many, and also about what circuits to have. The items on the list below won't all apply to you, but they are worth thinking about:
- Upstairs sockets
- Downstairs sockets (or a L/R or front/rear split)
- Kitchen sockets
- Circuit for appliances
- Cooker circuit
- Non-RCD circuit for F/F
- Non-RCD circuit for CH boiler
- Dedicated circuit for hifi
- Dedicated circuit for IT equipment
- Upstairs lights
- Downstairs lights
- Lighting circuits with switches in the usual places but with 2A/5A round pin sockets at low level.
- Immersion heater
- Loft lights
- Shower
- Bathroom circuit
- Alarms
- Supply for outside lights
- Supply for garden electrics
- Supply for shed/garage
Unless you want to go to the expense of RCBOs throughout, the CU should have at least 3 sections, 2 on RCDs and one not into which you can install a mix of RCBOs and MCBs.
It can be a good idea to put all wiring in conduit for ease of future changes. And if you specify metal conduit for switch drops, or BS 8436 cable it removes the need to have RCDs where you'd rather not.
If you live somewhere where supplies are dodgy in the winter, have the lights, the boiler supply, and a socket in each room wired to a separate CU, or a separate section in a large one, that can be supplied by an emergency generator - lights, heating, TV and a kettle/microwave make life a lot more bearable.
Flood-wiring with Cat6 or Cat6a cable is worth thinking about.
All good advice from BAS though I suspect practicality could limit you to accepting some of those rather than all.
A "less than flood wire" install of Cat6 or Cat6a cable is well worth thinking about if full is too expensive/difficult. Think about linking the key places you would want IP connectivity via cable as a minimum - Office, Living Room, Kitchen, wherever the phone line enters the house (for best ADSL speed you want the modem as close as you can to the exchange - running it at the end of an extension can make a big difference) and a high-ish, central-ish point where you site your WiFi access point (most houses will happily be covered by a single point if it's in the right place). You don't actually need a huge number of wired wall points in each room - one double is probably enough - as you can always add a small local switch if you need more.
A "less than flood wire" install of Cat6 or Cat6a cable is well worth thinking about if full is too expensive/difficult. Think about linking the key places you would want IP connectivity via cable as a minimum - Office, Living Room, Kitchen, wherever the phone line enters the house (for best ADSL speed you want the modem as close as you can to the exchange - running it at the end of an extension can make a big difference) and a high-ish, central-ish point where you site your WiFi access point (most houses will happily be covered by a single point if it's in the right place). You don't actually need a huge number of wired wall points in each room - one double is probably enough - as you can always add a small local switch if you need more.
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