New electrical regs for a novice

[rich740]

Hi

We are in the very slow process of re-decorating our house. Part of this involved moving some sockets so we decided to get quotes from electricians to do this. We live in a victorian terrace with electrics which although not original, do seem to span a range of ages and have been installed by people with a range of skill levels.

The electricians that have been round have all suggested different levels of work, but one has commented on the fact that our fuse box does not have an RCD, and therfore does not comply with new regs from July this year. He has also gone on to say that if he changes the consumer unit to comply with regs, then it is more than likely that he will have to replace all the wiring in the house if he finds anything wrong with it.

He gave a bit more detail than this but I'm trying to be as brief as possible. Is this largely true or is he trying to get as much work as possible out of us.

Looking forward to any comments
Rich

 

[nozspark]

Firstly, the new regs that came in at the beginning of the month state that any circuit with cables burried at less than 50mm will need RCD protection (unless it meets certain criteria - which is unlikely in a domestic installation). In your case this does not mean the existing wiring, but will mean any new wiring will need RCD protection....

SO YOU NEED A RCD!!

Secondly, any electrician cannot for certain say what, if any, remedial work is needed on a circuit before they start working on that circuit .... unless you get them to carry out a Periodic Inspection and test Report (PIR)

A PIR MIGHT BE WORTHWHILE before you have any work carried out / started

 

[JohnD]

it is true.

when he installs a new CU, which is connected to every circuit in the house, he has to test and certify that all the things connected to his CU are safe. So he has to test and if necessary rectify the main earth, bonds to water and gas pipes, and all circuits.

If the house is old and has a lot of faults, it is probably less work, and gives a better result, to replace it all with new than to try to patch up the old stuff.

If you can post a pic of the wiring around the main fuse, the meter, the old consumer unit, and some typical lighting and sockets, we can offer an opinion on age and condition.

edited:
I partly agree with Nozspark, if the installation is fairly recent and in generally good condition, it may be worth having a PIR. However if it is obviously old and in poor condition (rubber insulation, green slime, unearthed lighting, spurs on spurs, frightening bodges) then it is a waste of money to pay for a PIR.

 

[mattylad]

If it will accept it, can't the CU have an RCD fitted to it while the circuits get tested too ?

 

[nozspark]

John D is quite right,,,

I recently turned down a job to fit some lights because the whole installation had rubber insulated cables (no earth to lighting - class 1[metal] fittings).

So I ended up doing a quote for a rewire!! (not got the job yet though )

If you know it to be really bad then a rewire is in order!!

 

[rich740]

Thanks everyone

You all seem to be saying exactly what the electrician said, which is what I wanted.

He did say that he could just install earth bonding and a new fuse box and RCD, but if it turned out there was anything wrong then he would end up costing much more than quoted for all the extra work so he was just trying to be upfront.

He took off a few sockets and light fittings and some of it was abit dubious to say the least.

Heres a photo of the fuse box etc.

Untitled

• rich740
• 16 Jul 2008
• 1

 

[JohnD]

have seen much worse.

I am going to guess that the CU was installed in 1977 and the MCBs fitted later (replacing rewirables) as they are the newer type.