Help please.....

[blue]

Hello folks,

Can anyone help please.

I am in the process of buying a new house, and have had a inspection report done which came back a unsatisfactory.

could someone give me a rough price on the costs to make good the following please.

- No RCD protection on all circuits
- Require new 17th edition consumer boards
- No circuit protective conductor in lighting circuit
- Outside porch light wired incorrectly from bedroom socket
- Ring final circuit no continuity on all cables
- Main earth cable not too current regs
- Earth cable to water and gas mains not to current regs
- Outside socket not RDD protected
- Garden lighting supply not correctly wired
- Garage consumer board requires changing

I understand that this a detailed list and giving me an idea of costs would be difficult, but a best guess would help.

The house is a three bed house with detached garage.

Many thanks

Blue

 

[Midwest]

My wife is an estate agent and her primary aim is always to get the very best price she can for the vendor. She would never say to a client yeah you pay for a full rewire that is unnecessary. When getting quotes my wife would get them (if requested) from the cheaper electricians/plumbers/builders she knows to ensure the best price for the vendor. It does depend on the the vendor and purchaser and how much either party want the deal to go through. I know of £500K house sales that have fallen apart over arguments whether a fridge is part of the fixtures and fittings. Commonly negotiaters will try to get both parties to meet in the middle.

You did say your point was potentially controversial Mid!

Blimey, I was gonna say something nasty about estate agents, good job I kept my gob shut

OP, if the report was not reflected in the asking price, I would suggest you have room to manoeuvre here. If I was the vendor and read that report, I would be expecting you to come back to me about the price, otherwise I'd be laughing all the way back to the bank. Get a quote from the authors of the report to rectify the faults, and present that to the vendor, with a view to negotiating the asking price.

If you don't ask, you don't get.

 

[NDG Elecs]

Blimey, I was gonna say something nasty about estate agents, good job I kept my gob shut

OP, if the report was not reflected in the asking price, I would suggest you have room to manoeuvre here. If I was the vendor and read that report, I would be expecting you to come back to me about the price, otherwise I'd be laughing all the way back to the bank. Get a quote from the authors of the report to rectify the faults, and present that to the vendor, with a view to negotiating the asking price.

If you don't ask, you don't get.

Feel free mate, most of them are tawts! My wife's business is old school though; the type with morals and a conscience!

 

[Adam W]

If there's no CPC in the lighting circuit it's going to need rewiring, or face a lifetime of plastic switches and light fittings. If the lighting circuit is being rewired it may be worth also including the porch light, although there's nothing necessarily 'incorrect' about wiring it on a FCU from a bedroom socket. With this in mind I'd want to know what the inspector thought was 'not correct' about the way the garden lighting is wired and take that one from there - that could also be a simple fix.

By the sound of it the wiring is old. Maybe 40+ years. You may be able to get around individual issues but if it's a house you're going to be living in for a long time you're going to want it to be right, and if it's a house you might be selling in a few years you're going to get the same problem when you try to sell it, which could be after the regulations have been changed to make the condition even less acceptable.

What you do depends on your personal situation really - by the sound of it ideally the whole place wants rewiring. If you've got the money it's best to get it done before you move in, to minimise disruption, but if you're really strapped for cash there's no requirement to change everything to comply with the latest regulations - if the decoration isn't in too bad a condition you might be able to put up with plastic light fittings for a couple of years.

 

[davesparks]

This idea of fitting plastic switches and light fittings has no basis in the regulations and is another of the NICEIC empires attempts at making up their own rules.
The idea was originally proposed as an absolute last resort to be used only in exceptional circumstances where it is impossible to rewire or install a cpc.

It is not an automatic go-to soloution to the problem and shouldn't even be considered for this situation

 

[Midwest]

Just been round the sister-in-laws to put up a metal light fitting, where Bob the Builder had refurbished it, before she bought it. Ceiling rose had some earth wires, but they didn't do anything! They'd just had the living & dinning room redecorated and new flooring laid. So the light fittings going back, and been replaced with lamp shade on long pendant flex.

Where's the OP, has he been busy house hunting!

 

[Adam W]

Where's the OP, has he been busy house hunting!

He's been logged on and looking at the replies. I thought the same thing - has he asked for help and then just effed off?

 

[Midwest]

This idea of fitting plastic switches and light fittings has no basis in the regulations and is another of the NICEIC empires attempts at making up their own rules.
The idea was originally proposed as an absolute last resort to be used only in exceptional circumstances where it is impossible to rewire or install a cpc.

It is not an automatic go-to soloution to the problem and shouldn't even be considered for this situation

That's just what I said to my sister-in-law, she said put the effing lamp shade up!

 

[stevethesparks]

This idea of fitting plastic switches and light fittings has no basis in the regulations and is another of the NICEIC empires attempts at making up their own rules.
The idea was originally proposed as an absolute last resort to be used only in exceptional circumstances where it is impossible to rewire or install a cpc.

It is not an automatic go-to soloution to the problem and shouldn't even be considered for this situation

And yet you liked post 3?

 

[Adam W]

This idea of fitting plastic switches and light fittings has no basis in the regulations and is another of the NICEIC empires attempts at making up their own rules.
The idea was originally proposed as an absolute last resort to be used only in exceptional circumstances where it is impossible to rewire or install a cpc.

It is not an automatic go-to soloution to the problem and shouldn't even be considered for this situation

This is always the problem with 'last resort' solutions - there's always the danger they will become 'go-to' solutions. Something you resort to when a cable has been screeded in to a floor becomes someone else's solution to avoid lifting laminate flooring or moving furniture.
Doing something once always seems to invite the order "just do whatever you did last time".

 

[7029 dave]

IMO,some of the jobs can be put on the back burner for now, others need attention ASAP.

 

[blue]

He's been logged on and looking at the replies. I thought the same thing - has he asked for help and then just effed off?

No, i am still here. Having been on nights, i was getting some sleep then after reading the replies i did what was suggested.
I have spoken to the person who did the report. As he said, because its an inspection he had to highlight all the faults and items that need attention even if not time critical. The house shouldnt need to be rewired, just updated at a cost of around £700-1000.

 

[davesparks]

And yet you liked post 3?

That was a mistake, fat fingers on an iPhone

 

[davesparks]

No, i am still here. Having been on nights, i was getting some sleep then after reading the replies i did what was suggested.
I have spoken to the person who did the report. As he said, because its an inspection he had to highlight all the faults and items that need attention even if not time critical. The house shouldnt need to be rewired, just updated at a cost of around £700-1000.

The whole house may not need rewiring, but the lighting circuits without earth wires do need to be rewired (just adding an earth wire is technically possible, but not sensible practically). If anyone suggests that fitting plastic switches and lights is a sensible solution then I would suggest you politely suggest they go away and then get a decent electrician in.

 

[7029 dave]

I agree no cpc on lighting circuits, rewire is the only option.

 

[davesparks]

I agree no cpc on lighting circuits, rewire is the only option.

I fear we may be in a minority these days!