Replacing a fuseboard

[dondow]

Your help please

A friend is selling his house and has had a survey done by the buyer on the wiring, in the report its states that his old fuse wire board has to be replaced with a new board. I can understand if they were doing new work to the wiring/circuits in the house but this to me seems to be someone trying it on to get more money off the sale of the house.

Is there something new in the Regs that states boards have to be changed when people sell houses? Why change a board that has worked fine for the sake of it? No electrical test was done on the board it was a visual inspection

Regards

 

[Grae79]

don't see the problem myself...as long as your main bonding's in place and the existing board is fit for purpose then don't see why it needs changed.

do you have any exernal sockets? maybe they're concerned about lack of RCD protection.

 

[EasyFox]

Was it just a bog standard survey or did they have a periodic inspection of the electrical installation done?

If it was just a survey I would question the surveyors reasoning for saying that the cu needs changing. If it's because the fuses are the old re-wirable 3036 type, then tell him to do one as they still meet the requirements of current wiring regulations.

The most likely cause he's stipulated a new cu
1, No rcd in use.
2, Old re-wireable fuses in use.
3, Cu is the old wooden backed type.

If it's a full periodic inspection then your mate will have been gived a report & on this will be a section called " observations & recomendations" here the electrician will have listed any problem items or circuits & non compliance's with the regs. He's will have given any non-compliances/problems/faults a code 1 - 4 with one requiring urgent attention.

So if you post up any observations that are listed then better advice can be given.

 

[dondow]

Cheers, that was my thinking. Could understand if there was an external point/s but this property does not have them. It wasn't a periodic inspection but it has come on a one page A4 sheet from a electrial firm, we're thinking its a mate of the buyer

 

[EasyFox]

That'll be a visual inspection I should think & to be honest they are not worth the paper they are written on.
Still do them myself if asked, never state a cu needs changing just because it's old or has no rcd though.

 

[Grae79]

if he's not had a Periodic Inspection done might be worth his while doing so....nice to show potential buyers a lovely, shiny inspection report that ok's the install

...or it could show that the wiring's shot and needs a rewire...

 

[dondow]

Cheers for the quick replies

 

[ian.settle1]

Your help please

A friend is selling his house and has had a survey done by the buyer on the wiring, in the report its states that his old fuse wire board has to be replaced with a new board. I can understand if they were doing new work to the wiring/circuits in the house but this to me seems to be someone trying it on to get more money off the sale of the house.

Is there something new in the Regs that states boards have to be changed when people sell houses? Why change a board that has worked fine for the sake of it? No electrical test was done on the board it was a visual inspection

Regards

Do you need a PIR for these new HIP's you have to supply now when selling your house? I'm only asking because government bring in so much c*** you don't know what right arm is doing from left arm.

 

[wayne]

i totally agree that unless its a proper PIR ,by a person with actual qualification its not worth the paper its written on

 

[LukeScotty]

ian, I read not long ago that the PIRS in the Home information packs aren't mandatory YET.

heres something I found

The mandatory documents are:

An index (ie a list of the contents of the HIP)
A sale statement (summarising the terms of sale)
Evidence of title
Standard searches (ie local authority enquiries and a drainage and water search)
An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
Commonhold information (where appropriate)
A copy of the lease (where appropriate)

Documents that are optional include:

A Home Condition Report (HCR)
Additional leasehold, information
Guarantees and warranties
Other searches relevant to the particular area

Do I have to put electrical certificates in my Pack?
Electrical certificates (past or present) are not a required component of the Pack, but can be included if the seller has them.

Home Information Pack - Sellers' frequently asked questions

 

[Shakey]

Your help please

A friend is selling his house and has had a survey done by the buyer on the wiring, in the report its states that his old fuse wire board has to be replaced with a new board. I can understand if they were doing new work to the wiring/circuits in the house but this to me seems to be someone trying it on to get more money off the sale of the house.

Is there something new in the Regs that states boards have to be changed when people sell houses? Why change a board that has worked fine for the sake of it? No electrical test was done on the board it was a visual inspection

Regards

Dondow, by 'worked fine' i presume you mean that the cicrcuit protective devices HAVE disconnected the fauly circuits within the required time??

Trouble is, just because its sat there happily for years is no measure that any of its circuit protective devices would work in the event of a overcurrent or short circuit

Theres nothing to state boards HAVE to be changed, and to be changed, but to be honest, the visual is largely meaningless.

The only way ahead, (if the householder wishes to) is to pay for a full Periodic Inspection Report but considering you could pay 150 quid plus for this, it would need to wayed up against the cost of changing the CU anyway!!!

 

[dondow]

Evening Shankey,

your right in your prosumption. just to let you know the guy came back last night and didn't even argue any of the points he'd made in his first visit.

As I'd said I still think it was a mate of the buyer trying a fast one on with my friend in the hope of getting a couple of hundred quid off the price of the house. My friend said he didn't think any of the work needed to be done and wouldn't move on the price.

Thanks once again for everyones comments

 

[PC Electrics]

Why not try contacting the inspector and asking for the reasons for this comment? Then post them on here and we can give you our learned opinions.

A new CU should only cost about £300 to £350 (plus remedial work if faults found or no bonding), so I would suggest a buyer is hardly likely to pull out for this sum.

Another tactic could be to throw in a few fittings for 'free' instead of doing the CU?

In any event there is no legal compulsion to have an old fuseboard changed and the only leverage a buyer has is that they may pull out or refuse to pay the asking price. So you could try calling their bluff.