Rewires - what age do you suggest it and is there an age you condemn at ?

[Smudge]

if it passes the inspect and test, then fine. BUT, i always give my personal opinion. If i wouldnt be happy with it in my house, then i say so. Surly even though its ok by the book, your personal HONEST opinion stands some bearing. They may act on it, they may not.

 

[kingeri]

I remember when I moved into my current house about ten years ago, there were 4 sockets in the whole house all on one circuit, one in the living room, one in the kitchen, one in the cellar and one in the first bedroom. The two bedrooms on the top floor had no sockets at all, the previous owner used to have an extension lead running up the stairs. One of the first jobs I did was change CU and add more circuits and obviously sockets. The old installation tested fine though....only reason I rewired was for practical reasons. I left the lighting circuits as they tested fine and at the time had other things to spend my time and dosh on.

 

[Steve_P]

So the NatWest tower now needs a rewire because it's over 30 years since completion and there's a possibility of there not being enough sockets and people in there using "GASP" extension leads.

Oh, hang on, it's probably only houses you're talking about.

cba with this or most of the other threads at the moment and for that reason, once again, I'm out.

 

[BrianDB9]

Brian please don't hide behind electrical safety yes it is not a joke but if you are going to be "professional" about it you have to understand that you cannot insist on a rewire because you do not think there is enough socket outlet . If the installation passes all the tests then its good to go now you may want to suggest the customer get RCD protection or more socket outlets instead of using leads fine but you cannot condem an installation on these grounds as the customer could take legal action on you or your company for forcing them to have work done that was not necessary.

Remember we as electricians do have the same rights as the gas guys were we cannot isolate anything without the customers consent also you are on dangerous ground if you try and impliment change on the grounds of your interpitattion of electrical safety. Yes I know we could have a better system but these are the regulations that we must comply with

Thats right oldtimer but we are professional and also human hopefully we can go beyond mere regulations that are only regulations and not law and advise customers of other aspects that electrical work has an impact on, eg I would consider just a board upgrade and enhanced smoke detection where a tenant was frail and a management rewire would cause more harm than good.

I would question if it is good customer service to carry out an EICR or similar and just hand it to a householder (who can not understand them ) and just say "its good to go" is that really what they expect ? Its like going to the doctors and they say your hearts beating and your breathing everything is fine !

 

[BrianDB9]

So the NatWest tower now needs a rewire because it's over 30 years since completion and there's a possibility of there not being enough sockets and people in there using "GASP" extension leads.

Oh, hang on, it's probably only houses you're talking about.

cba with this or most of the other threads at the moment and for that reason, once again, I'm out.

The management of the nat west tower who ask for it testing would be well advised to consider those aspects yes ! Closed mind methinks

 

[oldtimer]

Brian I agree that we have regulations and not laws we also have a lawyer culture in this country and a mentality that says hold on I can sue this guy via a no win no fee lawyer. Also you may recommend to the customer to upgrade the installation but if the tests are ok you cannot insist they rewire it.

I did a job for someone who said that their friend had their property failed for not having RCD protection so they got another spark to replace the fuseboard will I have to do the same I said no because if your installation passes the relevant tests then fine but if you are modifying or updating the installation then yes RCD protection may be required. Fine I got a call a week later to tell me her friend had sent the bill for the new consumer unit to the guy who tested the property stating if he did not pay it she would pass the case on to her lawyer. Never found out the outcome but I hope he did have to pay because we are here to supply a service not to extort money out of people under false pretenses under the pretense that we are doing it for their health and safety

 

[Guest111]

once an installation passes the tests then all you can do is make recommendations E.G if it was me I'd have a new board with rcd protection,but you cannot force someone to take your advice as it is just advice,also personal preference plays its part,you may prefer to upgrade your system to rcd/mcb the customer may not just like you may prefer not to adopt some of the hideous decorating schemes that we see,its all about personal preference.However if you start using scare tactics to frighten someone into having work done then your on your way to a spot on rogue traders.At the end of the day you do your tests issue your report and give advice where needed,after that it sup to the client but remember being pushy can cost you work.

 

[jibjob]

How about green goo? I've come across it a few times recently & have a property to test that suffers from this phenomena. Apparently it does not have a detrimental effect on cable but isn't particularly pleasant especially if it's oozing from your sockets. Cables that suffer from this were installed late 60s early 70s by all accounts making them approx 50 years old, well beyond the suggested 30yrs but if they tested ok, hmmm. Will be interesting to see what sort of test results I get. I think if it was my house & I could afford it I'd have it rewired regardless, anybody got any thoughts on this?

 

[Deleted member 9648]

How about green goo? I've come across it a few times recently & have a property to test that suffers from this phenomena. Apparently it does not have a detrimental effect on cable but isn't particularly pleasant especially if it's oozing from your sockets. Cables that suffer from this were installed late 60s early 70s by all accounts making them approx 50 years old, well beyond the suggested 30yrs but if they tested ok, hmmm. Will be interesting to see what sort of test results I get. I think if it was my house & I could afford it I'd have it rewired regardless, anybody got any thoughts on this?

Search : Electrical Safety Council

type in 'green goo' and open the link to 'switched on' issue 19

 

[amlu]

if its been wired 50 years ago by an electrician, not botched by DIY, cables, accesories and terminations are in a good condition, I would only add an RCD on incoming tails