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When Does Your House Need Rewiring?

Faulty electrics can be a serious fire hazard in your home, leading to damage of property, injury, and in some serious situations, it can be fatal. Modern electrical rewiring has to meet strict building regulations. When does your house need rewiring? It comes down to the age of your home.

Do I Need to Rewire My Home?

If you are in the process of buying a new home, then you will want to check the age of the home. Any properties over the age of twenty five years should be checked to ensure the wiring is up to date. You should do this before signing the agreement. This enables you to identify whether the house needs rewiring, along with securing a quote for rewiring. It is important to double check this, so you can incorporate it into your plans, or negotiate with the seller.

If you own a house that is more than twenty five years old and you haven't had the wiring looked at, now is the time. When undertaking any home improvements or conversions, you should consider doing your rewiring at the same time. If you are extending your home, you need to consider the rewiring. If your home needs rewiring, it may delay the time-scale of your build. 

You will need to get an electrical report to test your home electrics. 

Is Rewiring Necessary?

If a property has not been rewired within the past twenty five to thirty years, chances are it need upgrading to bring it up to current standards. The writing may be dangerous if left to deteriorate and it may not be able to cope with modern appliances.

You will also find it you are planning a remodelling project, Building Regulations may require you rewire your house, or part thereof. In some cases, you may have to upgrade the fuse box. 

Any remodelling, upgrades, or extensions must meet Part P Electrical Safety. Existing wiring will have to be improved to ensure it can handle any additional loads with safety. It will need to have the earth to current requirements, while ensuring cross bonding is satisfactory. In some cases, you may not have to rewire the existing wiring, except when meeting energy efficiency requirements.

Does My House Have Old Wiring?

It's not easy to identify if your house wiring is old, as most of your homes wiring is hidden behind walls and in the loft. It's advisable to ask an electrician to check your wiring for you if you are not confident in checking it yourself.

Some ways to identify if your home has old wiring is:

  1. Check the electricity metre and fuse box. Old fashioned styled fuse boxes with white ceramic-style fuses are old and your house probably needs rewiring. Modern boxes have circuit breakers with residual current devices. These residual current devices turn off electricity if there is a fault.
  2. Your house has different socket and switch styles, indicating that a partial rewiring project has taken place in the past. If there is surface mounted wiring along walls or skirting boards, this is another sign that you have old wiring. 
  3. You find round pin sockets and original dolly switches, both of these are a sign your home desperately needs rewiring, as these are only seen in very old properties.
  4. Have a look at the cabling. There should be exposed cables at the light fittings and around the fuse box. Modern wiring has PVCu insulating cable and should be grey or white.
  5. Call an electrician if you are unsure.

Conclusion

If you know your home is older than twenty five years old and it's never been rewired, or you are experiencing some electrical issues now and then, it's worthwhile calling in a professional electrician to carry out a report. The report identifies problems, enabling you to determine if your home needs rewiring, helping to keep you and your family safe.

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