Electric Distribution Board Dated?

[Scrubs]

Any advice with this please...

Home report the seller had done on the place I'm looking at had this in the repair catagory:

"There are aspects of the electric insullation which may not satisfy current day needs. The distribution board was dated. It is preferable to have the electrical circuits upgraded by an NICEIC registered electrician".

Any ideas on what this could mean to me? Would I be looking at much to upgrade the distribution board?

Cheers for any pointers...

[Fish]

Any house built over a year ago does not meet the current regs.... It could mean alot!

or bugger all

I (as a developer and builder) would suggest if it has fuse wire only - upgrade, circuit breakers and no RCD at all - debate it. Built in the last 10-15 yrs with some RCD protection I wouldn't bother....

[Scrubs]

Cheers for the reply Fish. House is a Wimpey 3 bed-semi and was built in 1965. Havet got a clue if anything has been updated on the electrics since then.

Any ideas on what kinda ball park price I'd be looking at to upgrade the stuff you mention?

[pies]

1965,id be checking the wiring

[spikeyhead]

pies said:

1965,id be checking the wiring

I would too, but I suggest that the OP gets a local sparks from the niceic website to take a look.

[Scrubs]

Dam, so I could be looking at a full rewire of the house then...

[pies]

Its probabley been done,but going by the info you given Id dwfo want the wiring checked

[spikeyhead]

Does teh fuse box look like this



or like this



If its the second one you're probably alright. If its the first one, may just need a minor upgrade, or may need a full rewire. Something like £300 to £2000 depending on how much needs doing.

[onomatopoeia]

Fish said:

Any house built over a year ago does not meet the current regs.... It could mean alot!

Is there any requirement for existing domestic properties to be upgraded every time building regs change? Or ever?

[Deva Link]

onomatopoeia said:

Fish said:

Any house built over a year ago does not meet the current regs.... It could mean alot!

Is there any requirement for existing domestic properties to be upgraded every time building regs change? Or ever?

Regs change all the time - electric, gas, plumbing, heating, ventilation, insulation etc etc but I don't think there's ever been a requirement to update any item in light of new regs.

I was thinking recently, after being told we couldn't have cavity wall insulation because our cavities are too narrow in places, that our 1967 house is so out of date now that it could do with being demolished and rebuilt.

We still has fuses, but the wiring is all in "modern" plastic twin and earth and looks OK. Neighbours who've changed the fuseboard to circuit breakers complain about getting lots of false trips.

[Busamav]

onomatopoeia said:

Fish said:

Any house built over a year ago does not meet the current regs.... It could mean alot!

Is there any requirement for existing domestic properties to be upgraded every time building regs change? Or ever?

absolute no.

[PH5121]

That sounds as though it was written by a surveyor covering themselves as they are not qualified to comment on the state of the electrical installation.

A house built in 1965 would probably have been re wired by now if it had been done in VIR cable, rather than pvc insulated cable.
It may have been wired in pvc (twin / twin and earth), but at the time many lighting circuits did not contain earth conductors. This would need to be upgraded, and although you can still purchase a fuse board, rather than a consumer unit with mcb's and rcbo's, it is preferable to have the unit with breakers you can re set, rather than fuses.
The main difference with the latest regulations is that you have circuits protected by devices which offer earth leakage (rcd / rcbo) protection.
This can be an inconvenience with nuisance tripping,but at the end of the day it is a safety issue which could potentially save you or a loved one getting hurt.

There is list of NIC-EIC contractors on their website, where are you located in the country?

[Scrubs]

Thanks for the info PH5121, and I'm just outside Glasgow. Have put an offer in on the house now and sitting here sweating it out waiting for my solicitor to call back.

I have nightmare visions though of ending up like this...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdxDroSVdL4

[Chrisgr31]

Deva Link said:

onomatopoeia said:

Fish said:

Any house built over a year ago does not meet the current regs.... It could mean alot!

Is there any requirement for existing domestic properties to be upgraded every time building regs change? Or ever?

Regs change all the time - electric, gas, plumbing, heating, ventilation, insulation etc etc but I don't think there's ever been a requirement to update any item in light of new regs.

I was thinking recently, after being told we couldn't have cavity wall insulation because our cavities are too narrow in places, that our 1967 house is so out of date now that it could do with being demolished and rebuilt.

We still has fuses, but the wiring is all in "modern" plastic twin and earth and looks OK. Neighbours who've changed the fuseboard to circuit breakers complain about getting lots of false trips.

If they are getting lots of false trips they need to investigate. Ether the unit is fulty, or there is a faulty applicance, or faulty wiring.

Took me ages to identify what kept tripping mine, turned out to be the built in dishwasher.

[Deva Link]

Chrisgr31 said:

Deva Link said:

onomatopoeia said:

Fish said:

Any house built over a year ago does not meet the current regs.... It could mean alot!

Is there any requirement for existing domestic properties to be upgraded every time building regs change? Or ever?

Regs change all the time - electric, gas, plumbing, heating, ventilation, insulation etc etc but I don't think there's ever been a requirement to update any item in light of new regs.

I was thinking recently, after being told we couldn't have cavity wall insulation because our cavities are too narrow in places, that our 1967 house is so out of date now that it could do with being demolished and rebuilt.

We still has fuses, but the wiring is all in "modern" plastic twin and earth and looks OK. Neighbours who've changed the fuseboard to circuit breakers complain about getting lots of false trips.

If they are getting lots of false trips they need to investigate. Ether the unit is fulty, or there is a faulty applicance, or faulty wiring.

Took me ages to identify what kept tripping mine, turned out to be the built in dishwasher.

Certainly one of them was caused by a washing machine - solution was to buy a new one. They also seem to often trip if a bulb blows, which is a bit of a pain if you come in at night and then lose all the lights.