My lighting has no earth

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I'm trying to have some light fittings changed in my house. Apparently there is no earth. It's a 1960's house and we've only been here a few months. Is this a huge danger? I've been told by one electrician we should really rewire the house, which when I've just decorated, is a bit of a hassle. :cry:
Anyone know anything about this?

Thanks
 
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The electrician's advice was good, unfortunately.

You are not in 'huge danger' unless a fault develops, but as the wiring may also be from the 1960's, it is probably of the old type and starting to break down, and a fault may be more likely to develop...

You should ask for a second opinion, or even a test and report (which you will have to pay for).

Can you put a price on you and your family's safety (not that I want to sound like Michael Howard)...
 
Hi, you should get a full PIR done on the installation, but having no earth is not necessarilly dangerous, just make sure you do not install any metal switches or light fittings. The rewire will be your only recourse I am afraid and you should get in several quotes prior to appointing anyone to do anything. Also, never use the company that does the PIR, it is better to keep things like this seperate to avoid possible conflicts of interest.
 
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If the wiring is plastic insulated and no earth, it may well be in good condition, if it is rubber and no earth, that rewire will be needed sooner rather than later, the rubber perishes, dries out and flakes off, leaving bare wires.
Unscrewing the odd switch plate will tell you. As no earth was common until post 1967, if it is towards the end of that period, and the PVC cable does not go though polystyrene (which attacks it), and has not been overheated (causes a green goo to exude from individual insulating cores of the wiring) then it may well have a few dacades of safe operation ahead of it.
It used to be common to borrow an earth from the nearest power circuit for the odd metal light fitting that needed it, and while this is still allowed, it is not really best practice, and if you are a believer in NICIEC rules then you have to run this cable in the same route as the original twin. IEE only require it to follow approved routes, and not be vulnerable to damage.
In the long run, save up for a re-wire that replaces all the old twin with twin and earth, but unless the cable is decaying fast, dont lose too much sleep over it tonight ! Get it checked up though if there is any doubt at all.
 

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