UK Do I need to change to an 18th edition board when rewiring a house?

[jazztastical]

Hi

We are having a complete rewire of our house and also new wiring to the two-story extension that is being built.
The Sparky has said we need to change our board to a metal cased 18th edition board. Our board is only 7 years old and has plenty of headroom for adding more devices. See attached picture.

Any advice appreciated as this is a cost that we could do with saving.

Thank you

 

[Wilko]

Hi - perhaps get another quote?
Out of interest, do you plan to be living in the house while the work is done?

 

[Andy78]

As I see it a full rewire is a job that comprises renewing all the wiring and equipment in an installation past the meter. I would not quote for any rewire that did not include a new consumer unit nor would I reuse old accessories. But that's just me.

That said, a job could extend to whatever is described on the certificate, and there is nothing wrong with connecting new circuits into that existing consumer unit in terms of compliance with the regs. Probably.

A metal clad RCBO unit would be a better choice all considered in my opinion. The existing brand you have is one of the cheapest on the market and I personally do not fit that brand due to multiple negative personal experiences with substandard components.

 

[jazztastical]

Hi - perhaps get another quote?
Out of interest, do you plan to be living in the house while the work is done?

We are going to get another quote. We will be living here until it gets really bad then moving out for a week.

 

[123]

If I was doing the rewire I'd be far from willing to reuse that consumer unit, or any part of it. I've no issues with the brand, but it's used parts, I wouldn't cover it in my warranty.

It's almost like getting a brand new car, and trying to save money on it by saying you have the battery and tyres from your existing car which is a scrapper.

 

[Risteard]

I wouldn't re-use it either. To me if it's a rewire it is being replaced.

 

[westward10]

The question here is not what we would personally do but does he have to replace it.

 

[Spoon]

I would not call it a complete rewire as we are reusing some of the original switches and sockets.

Ok then, so it's not a full re-wire. That is ok.
Personally I would go with all new sockets and light switches, that means these items will fall under the warranty if any of these goes faulty.
If an original socket/switches goes faulty then you will get charged for fixing it. It's not really worth it.
Of course, the consumer unit will not be changed so any faults on this are not covered by the warranty also.

You could always ask the electrician to leave a bit of extra cable in the circuits if you plan to change the CU in the near future.

 

[fairlight]

The question here is not what we would personally do but does he have to replace it.

Exactly...…..and he does not have to replace it if he does not want to.

 

[HappyHippyDad]

I think it's impossible to give an answer without fully seeing and testing the existing consumer unit. It may have the knockouts taken out in the top (so will not meet IP4x), it may have other holes in it so the IP requirement may not be met there. Inside it may have damage or just bits that are poor and need replacing. I could go on and on.

I think it's ok to tell @jazztastical that he doesn't strictly have to have a new board with a rewire, but unless we are there we cant say that that particular board is ok to keep (or even the MCB's or RCD's as we haven't tested them and the on site electrician will have done).

I think you should get some other quotes and then choose between them, if they all say you need a new board then you need a new board. If they say you don't then you don't.

 

[littlespark]

I wouldn’t reuse accessories either. Those are he parts that wear out, the cables could be perfectly ok, and only need a partial rewire.

As for the CU, @happyhippydad makes a good point about other holes that may be on faces we don’t see.
Even reusing the breakers in the board and replacing the shell may give problems.
The electrician will just be covering his own back by replacing all

 

[DPG]

Re-using the existing sockets. Mmmm, you don't by any chance want white screws fitting do you?

 

[Spoon]

I think it's impossible to give an answer without fully seeing and testing the existing consumer unit. It may have the knockouts taken out in the top (so will not meet IP4x), it may have other holes in it so the IP requirement may not be met there. Inside it may have damage or just bits that are poor and need replacing. I could go on and on.

And that's why I put "if the existing board is still suitable for use" in my post to the OP.

 

[jazztastical]

Hi All. Thank you all for the information and opinions. I really would change the CU in an ideal world and I do see everyone's point about warranting work with mixed gear being an issue. All the switches, sockets and fixtures in the house are pretty new and good (never any issues with tripping, and the only real reason for the rewire is the mix of cables and JBs all around the ceilings, not to mention the dead wires running nowhere which makes this job require all new cables running. If there is some money left from this project I will change the CU. Thank you again

 

[richy3333]

I'd not fit or refit a BG board.

A conversation between you and the electrician needs to be had about surge protection and the risk assessment performed etc

 

[shaun1]

As others have said, having RCBOs would bring added benefit over a dual RCD board.

With regards to the price, £600 would be a reasonable price for the job of replacing a consuner unit if no other work was to be carried out. But all of the testing work will have to be done anyway if all the circuits are to be rewired, and if he is replacing all the cabling back to the CU then most of the labour involved is already covered by the rewiring. So in theory you should be able to get the CU done for less than half that. But it maybe that the job as a whole has been priced to take that in to account. But as others have said, get a few quotes
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Actually maybe under half that was a little bit optomistic for an RCBO board if you have a lot of circuits but certainly less than 600.