I was on the belief that old electrical cabling and systems should be updated
Not necessarily - if the old cables are sound and in the right places, there's no reason to replace them.
hence why I'm thinking as I would be looking at moving sockets
Although from a practical POV, if you are moving, not just adding, accessories, then there will come a point when it's easier to just run in a whole new circuit rather than trying to alter an existing one.
Just making the point that there's no reason,
per se, to replace old cable (I'm assuming it's PVC, not rubber insulated though....
)
and renewing plasterboard it makes sense to carry out the work at the same time.
Certainly now seems like an excellent time to make any significant changes you want.
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.
RCBOs have come down in price to the point where it's quite realiastic to use them throughout, but if not 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
Cat 5e, Cat6 or Cat6a cable is worth thinking about. Do not listen to people who tell you that wireless is a perfectly good alternative to wired networks - it isn't.
I wouldn't be asking him to lie as he would be doing the electrical connections aka roses, connection blocks etc, I'd just be doing all the labour work
(With my emphasis
FOR DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, INSPECTION & TESTING
I being the person responsible for the design, construction, inspection & testing of the electrical installation (as indicated by my signature below), particulars of which are described above, having exercised reasonable skill and care when carrying out the design, construction, inspection & testing hereby CERTIFY that the said work for which I have been responsible is to the best of my knowledge and belief in accordance with BS 7671:2008, amended to 2011 except for the departures, if any, detailed as follows:
But of course electricians have always used apprentices - they key thing is that apprentices are under the direct supervision and guidance of the electrician.
Suggest you tell your family member you don't want any corners cut, you will want him to issue an EIC, and notify the work to Building Control, and therefore would he please give you as much direction as he feels he needs to in order to be comfortable in signing the documents.
