Lighting rewire vs full rewire

[carpyuk]

Hi everyone,

I'm jut looking for some advice - not to do work myself, but what to ask an electrician to do.

We're moving to new house (small 3 bed semi), built in 67. It still has the original wiring, and we want to get work done as soon as we move in. It still has 3 old fise wire fuses, and and 2 electricians have been out and checked some of the lights and not all of them are earthed.

One electrician stated it needs a full rewire, costing £3-4k. The second electrician said that the lights need doing, but that the wiring elsewhere should be ok, so lights and a new board should be fine. He even thinks that we could have an additional outside light and electricity to the garage ithout experiencing problems. The property is in a good state of repair, and the deortions are very good - walls all smooth and recently painted. We're replacing all the flooring anyway though. There are also enough plug sockets already, so we dont really need any more fitted, aside from power to the garage.

So, what I would like to know is:

Does the lighting only option sound sensible to you? Is the damage caused from doing just the lights significantly less than doing lights and sockets, or will it have just as much an effect on the walls and still all need redecorating?

Also, is lighting only actually a good option, or is it risky to do this? I dont want a new board fitted, and then for things to trip out all the time once its done - is this likely if the wiring is not changed, or will it more be casued by appliacnes themselves.

Finally, if e decide to get everything else done at a later date, can it be done room by room and will it be easier if the lights and board are already done?

Any advice gratefully received.

Thanks in advance

 

[ricicle]

If the power wiring is pvc, visually looks ok and passes an insulation resistance test then there is no reason why it can't stay although there must be additions otherwise I can't see there being enough sockets for a house built around that era.
Any doubt about anything then now is the time for a full rewire before you decorate. The lights need doing anyway with no earth present.
The main bonding will almost certainly need upgrading as well unless a conscientious electrician has done it earlier if any additions have been done recently.

 

[RF Lighting]

Personally I'd bite the bullet and have the whole lot done now, and then you're guaranteed peace of mind and a hassle free future, plus it's going to cost less in the long run to have it all done in one go.

As you're having the lights done, floorboards upstairs will need lifting, so now's the ideal time to do the upstairs sockets.

The existing socket wiring might be ok, but it's unlikely you'll have enough points, and points where you actually want them.

 

[17thman]

this maybe controversial, if it is a home purchase and you want the lighting circuits rewired anyway, go the whole hog. get it all rewired and you will have an electrical installation that will see you through for 40 years or more. Any other alterations later will be easier. Bite the bullet if the budget allows.

 

[carpyuk]

Thanks for the advice. There are 2 or 3 points in each room, and we dont really need more so not too concerned by that. They're also in al lthe right places.

What are the risks to not having the full rewire done?

 

[17thman]

Personally I'd bite the bullet.

stop stealing my metaphors

 

[carpyuk]

Also, and sorry for being a pain, is there a lot o damage caused to the walls from just having the lighting/switches done? Wil lthis all need redceorating anyway?

 

[17thman]

Also, and sorry for being a pain, is there a lot o damage caused to the walls from just having the lighting/switches done? Will this all need redceorating anyway?

not at all, you may have to fill plaster chases for the lighting circuits, if no conduit to pull through, so why not fill for the other circuits?

Get on with it. #bestdecisions

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I know, I know - I still haven't got round to putting this into the Wiki....

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

Plus any peculiarities brought about by your house layout & construction - e.g. in mine because of solid floors and where the socket circuits run, I have a radial just for a socket in the hall, the doorbell and the porch lights.

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 on lighting circuits (apart from bathrooms).

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.

 

[17thman]

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 on lighting circuits (apart from bathrooms).

good advice. you may want to add that it should be an earthed metal conduit for switch drops and the fact that an upstairs(or any) lighting circuit may involve a cable installed, upon its route, less than 50mm from the finished surface.

 

[DetlefSchmitz]

B-A-S you could probably add 'Doorbell wiring' to your list. It can get quite extensive if you want to hear it at the back of the house.

 

[sparkwright]

A house built in 67 should have earth wires within the lighting cable. If no earth cables in the lighting cables (including the switch cables) then these ought to be replaced. If your house was built in 67 it's very likely the light switch wiring is in conduit, so new cables should be drawn in with very little damage to the walls.

If you are having the lights completely re-wired, it may be as well to re-do the sockets as well - but this could cause a little more damage, as drawing larger cables through what will be relatively small conduits can be difficult.

One thing to look at is whether the cables have a green slime leaking from them. This is quite common in 60s cable.