Moved house into a disaster zone

fourtytwo · Jul 11, 2022

Whew makes me wonder if a part P inspection should be part of the house move process!
The house I have moved into is a nightmare, I thought isolating the lethal external wiring would do the trick but today I was stupid enough to start inspecting some suspicious power sockets around the house.........Ohh myyy
The first delight was a mystery spur fuse turned on but what did it power ? well it seemed nothing, on further investigation the spur it fed in 2.5mm disappeared into the wall behind the back box and upon pulling came free with a cut-off end!!

[ElectriciansForums.net] Moved house into a disaster zone

As I continued I kept finding loose screws resulting in wires pulling free from the sockets (not sure about TV antenna in same back box behind blank plate either)

As I progressed along the loose screw brigade things got more serious, here we have a Neutral ring break

And then the worst uncovered so far a high resistance arcing live ring break that has melted the insulation, made contact with the earth and blown it in half resulting in an earth ring break also

Needless to say the damaged socket was replaced. I have many more disasters found and undoubtedly given the quality of what I have found so far more to come. My most serious worry is loose terminals in junction boxes under the floors (there are many spurs with no apparent source) that are now unfortunately covered with wretched laminate flooring over the floorboards.
I will add further horrors for those who can stand it!

pc1966 · Jul 11, 2022

That is rough as a badger's gluteus maximus.

It is the sort of thing that cries out for a rewire just because you can't trust any hidden stuff. At least with a RFC you can get an idea if the links are all low-R, but not the many other routes to failure. Any photos of the CU with cover off? (Power off first, obviously!)

fourtytwo · Jul 11, 2022

pc1966 said:
That is rough as a badger's gluteus maximus.

It is the sort of thing that cries out for a rewire just because you can't trust any hidden stuff. At least with a RFC you can get an idea if the links are all low-R, but not the many other routes to failure. Any photos of the CU with cover off? (Power off first, obviously!)

Umm what's an RFC, sounds just the job, ring something ?
I did post the CU elsewhere but it's so beautiful (NOT) it deserves a copy, this is when I arrived and first became suspicious when I found a double socket wired to the CU in 6A flex

Dartlec · Jul 11, 2022

fourtytwo said:
Whew makes me wonder if a part P inspection should be part of the house move process!
The house I have moved into is a nightmare, I thought isolating the lethal external wiring would do the trick but today I was stupid enough to start inspecting some suspicious power sockets around the house.........Ohh myyy
The first delight was a mystery spur fuse turned on but what did it power ? well it seemed nothing, on further investigation the spur it fed in 2.5mm disappeared into the wall behind the back box and upon pulling came free with a cut-off end!!
View attachment 99355
As I continued I kept finding loose screws resulting in wires pulling free from the sockets (not sure about TV antenna in same back box behind blank plate either)
View attachment 99356
As I progressed along the loose screw brigade things got more serious, here we have a Neutral ring break
View attachment 99357
And then the worst uncovered so far a high resistance arcing live ring break that has melted the insulation, made contact with the earth and blown it in half resulting in an earth ring break also
View attachment 99358
View attachment 99359
View attachment 99360
Needless to say the damaged socket was replaced. I have many more disasters found and undoubtedly given the quality of what I have found so far more to come. My most serious worry is loose terminals in junction boxes under the floors (there are many spurs with no apparent source) that are now unfortunately covered with wretched laminate flooring over the floorboards.
I will add further horrors for those who can stand it!

When Home Information Packs were originally planned, the idea was that they would include an electrical report. The idea was shot down by landlords and those who made lots of money from the property market (some of them MPs).

Of course it would have been likely implemented badly and be open to abuse, just like the recent Rental inspections have been, but it would have meant that any seller would have had to get an inspection done - for all potential purchasers to see - and there would have been comeback if someone bought the house and it was obviously forged....

Seeing these pictures after the other post, at least it looks like the cabling visible isn't the nasty VIR stuff - more likely 60s-70s, which may have some life in it if properly installed - though a rewire should probably in the not too distant agenda.

Does sound like it needs a proper EICR to work out what can and can't be kept though. There would be no point in putting an RCD on any of that installation without a thorough test as the chances are it would just trip constantly....

(RFC is Ring Final Circuit btw)

Dustydazzler · Jul 11, 2022

An electrical report might be handy if you want to know if the gaff needs an urgent re-wire but even if this is the case the seller is under no obligation to knock money off for electrical repairs or re-wires...

I guess what it does give is the buyer the option to pull out of the purchase on the grounds the house requires thousands spending on a re-wire , new consumer unit etc

In an ideal world a house being put on the open market would come with a fairly recent EICR and Boiler Service Cert etc etc To help assist a potential buyer when it comes to making an offer

Mike Johnson · Jul 11, 2022

The OP says "The house I have moved into" if this is a rental then the landlord should have a certificate of the electrical installation condition.

Dustydazzler · Jul 11, 2022

Mike Johnson said:
The OP says "The house I have moved into" if this is a rental then the landlord should have a certificate of the electrical installation condition.

Would love to see that EICR ( if there even is one )

fourtytwo · Jul 12, 2022

Mike Johnson said:
The OP says "The house I have moved into" if this is a rental then the landlord should have a certificate of the electrical installation condition.

Unfortunately I bought it! Buyer beware as they say......

fourtytwo · Jul 12, 2022

Dustydazzler said:
Would love to see that EICR ( if there even is one )

One word I should think "CONDEMNED". Unfortunately as not a rental there isnt one.

Mike Johnson · Jul 12, 2022

I wouldn't get too uptight about it, seem far worse, what did the house details say when you bought? Did you buy through and Agent, they have certain responsibilities on what they say and sell.

Dustydazzler · Jul 12, 2022

Sometimes in life you just need to suck it up and do the repair work yourself , in this case a full proper re-wire

Once its done properly its good for the next 50 years so in the grand scheme its well worth the investment of a full re-wire and ultimately will add some value once you come to sell

UNG · Jul 12, 2022

Clearly this is an older property so I think it is fair to say that it should be expected that some work will be needed
The buyer has the opportunity to get reports on a number of things during the purchase process although while viewing the property it would be reasonably safe to assume that the electrical installation had problems without the need for an EICR so when making an offer this maybe should have been taken into consideration that a rewire was possibly needed

Electro-tech · Jul 12, 2022

To be honest I would get the DNO involved to see if they are happy with the fixing of their equipment & their opinion on the earth clamp. An initial visit by an Electrician to carry out a few safety Tests, knowing he will recommend a Rewire if he knows about what you have already posted. He can also quote for the work saving another visit.

UNG · Jul 12, 2022

Electro-tech said:
To be honest I would get the DNO involved to see if they are happy with the fixing of their equipment & their opinion on the earth clamp. An initial visit by an Electrician to carry out a few safety Tests, knowing he will recommend a Rewire if he knows about what you have already posted. He can also quote for the work saving another visit.

What pictures are you looking at or are you replying to a different thread