Old house, new light switch

[Owlz]

Hey guys,

First time posting, I have a question/problem.

I've just moved into a house and some of the light switches are a little on the wobbly side so I bought some new ones to replace the not-so-white any more ones. My concern is the double light switches and how they are wired up.
In the picture above you can see the old switch which has just red wiring (confusing!) and one black wire. My problem is with the lack of wiring in one terminal and a wire between 2 terminals? Is this correct? If so how would I wire the new light switch in as they are labelled differently.

Much thanks in advance.

 

[Leesparkykent]

Don't replace the plastic one with the new metal one. Looks like you don't have a protective conductor (earth) and would be dangerous to just replace like for like.

 

[Owlz]

Don't replace the plastic one with the new metal one. Looks like you don't have a protective conductor (earth) and would be dangerous to just replace like for like.

Thanks for your reply, is there any way I could make the metal one safe for use?

 

[telectrix]

what he said. best get a local electrician.

 

[Leesparkykent]

Thanks for your reply, is there any way I could make the metal one safe for use?

Ideally by running in a circuit protective conductor to each point of the circuit. You may have a conduit wiring system installed and may be suitable for providing and earth if is ok visually and tests out fine and if it doesn't then could be used to pull in the new conductor if your lucky. As pointed out it would be best to get in a local electrician to take a look and carry out some tests.

 

[Dave OCD]

Failing that just get a nice new plastic switch, if forced to do this I generally over sleeve the entire length of all the conductors to minimise the risk of the backbox ever becoming live.

 

[telectrix]

difficult to see if the back box is metal or not. usually , when these installations were done, a metal back box had nylon inserts for the screws to eliminate the possibility of the screws becoming live in the event of a fault.

 

[SJD]

difficult to see if the back box is metal or not. usually , when these installations were done, a metal back box had nylon inserts for the screws to eliminate the possibility of the screws becoming live in the event of a fault.

Looks to be a shallow metal box, possibly with plastic screw inserts. Plus a nice sharp-edged screw in the middle of the box waiting to cut into a live cable, if they are not carefully placed when fixing the switch plate!

 

[123]

Can see nylon lugs on that backbox but it itself looks metal. Generally in my area there is metal conduit drop for it with stranded earth wrapped around it - this earth goes off to serve sockets etc...but doesn't go near light fittings. Get a good local spark in to have a look imho.

 

[7029 dave]

I would get it rewired (lighting circuit anyway) before you start decorating the place.

 

[Owlz]

I would get it rewired (lighting circuit anyway) before you start decorating the place.

Thanks for the replies everyone, do you know roughly how much it would cost to rewire the lighting circuit?

 

[SparkyJoe]

Do you really wanna rip up the floor and smash the crap out of the walls just for a shiny metal light switch

 

[SJD]

Do you really wanna rip up the floor and smash the crap out of the walls just for a shiny metal light switch

In a house of this vintage, often it will be possible to pull the new lighting cables down in the walls using the same routes, with no damage to the walls. And the floor boards will often have been lifted before, e.g. for central heating, and lift very easily. You might not have to rip or smash anything up. The last one I did (mid-1960's build) was like this, for every cable.

I'll let someone else comment on why it might be a good idea to rewire.

 

[ruston]

In a house of this vintage, often it will be possible to pull the new lighting cables down in the walls using the same routes, with no damage to the walls. And the floor boards will often have been lifted before, e.g. for central heating, and lift very easily. You might not have to rip or smash anything up. The last one I did (mid-1960's build) was like this, for every cable.

I'll let someone else comment on why it might be a good idea to rewire.

I agree , it is often possible to rewire without 'the need' of a paint brush in older properties.

 

[7029 dave]

I would have thought it was quite obvious for rewire, the guys just moved in , no cpc on the lighting circuit shown in pic, before he spends £s on decorating and getting it all nice,only to be pulled apart, anyway as been said if done with care maybe hardly any mess. If I were doing it, lets say no conduits in wall etc, I would advise mini trunking surface boxes, and then chase cables in at later date when client is ready for more upheaval, room at a time if needs be.