New house, strange wiring

[kendo18]

Gents, I ve recently moved into a new house in Cheshire Built in 1960. I ve been doing up each room in turn and when plastering removing/taping sockets. I ve noticed that every socket upstairs is a single and also every one only has one set of wires. This would suggest that there must be a junction box arrangement someplace.

My question is, was this a fad for a few years in the 60s - an alternative to a ring mains. has anyone came across it? If so what's the likely possision of the junction box as I would want to check it?

Honestly between this and radiators with twin entry valves at one side - I beginning to think this house was built by Mr bean

 

[sparkwright]

It may be that each socket is a seperate radial from the consumer unit. This would mean each socket would be on it's own fuse.

Or could be just one (or two) circuit with lots of spurs.

It was very common practice in the 40s-60s to wire circuits with lots of spurs and junction boxes in an attempt to save cable.

There were (and still are) alternatives to ring circuits.

Ring circuit - 2.5 mm2 cable 30 amp fuse
Radial circuit - 4.0 mm2 cable 30 amp fuse
Radial circuit - 2.5 mm2 cable 20 amp fuse.

 

[sparkwright]

It would be useful to determine if your wiring is the original wiring from 1960, or if it has since been rewired.

It would also be worthwhile looking at the lighting circuit to see if earth wires are present - at both the lights and the switches.

 

[kendo18]

Thanks for the reply. I ll check the fuses when I get home and see if I can determine how many circuits there are. If it was all Spurs from every second socket then I haven't found any of those sockets. I m going to have to spend a day looking into it. It worries me that if there is an old junction box under the floor wired in 2.5 back to the board.

On the lights there is no Earth on either switch or celling. A loop into the switch, switched live out to the celling and nutral return.

 

[AndyPRK]

It shouldn't worry you, as long as it is protected by the correct size fuse.

You don't need a lot of load upstairs unless you are thinking of using electric heaters.

 

[ericmark]

I think from memory it was 1964 when the rules changed and earths were required to lights. My mothers house built 1954 had when built 5 sockets as a ring. Over the years my dad extended this with spurs on spurs on spurs. It now has a rewired kitchen so all heavy power stuff no longer on ring final but rest of house still original wiring with loads of spurs.

Daughters house is really strange seems to have radial to most sockets. The consumer unit however has a ring and on study we think when the garage was turned into a room the consumer unit was moved. We guess some where in the wall is a junction box where old wires joined to new to move consumer unit. Don't know date of build but would guess late 60's both houses just over the boarder from you in Flintshire.

Both cases should be doing something but daughter has not got the money and mother will never overload any circuit.

 

[securespark]

In my experience of 1960's houses, especially Cheshire ones, it is extremely common to find this. In the 60's, fewer sockets were fitted than today, even fewer upstairs. Most if not all socket outlets were 1 gang and unswitched.

So the sparks just used to run a spur off the nearest downstairs socket up to feed a socket on the first floor.

It was also very common to find immersion heater circuits on the socket circuit, rather than their own dedicated circuit, protected by a 13A switched FCU.

Eric: AFAICT from my collection of regs-gone-by, the cpc in lighting rule came in with the 14th in 1966.

 

[kendo18]

Thanks for the comments. I ll do some investiging before I replace the old db

 

[sparkwright]

What are you going to do about the lack of earth on the lighting circuit?

You won't be able to have any metal light fittings or metal light switches.