House built in 1961 - rewire needed?

[Nikkibees]

Hi, we are looking at a house but it needs a significant amount of work. The house was built in 1961 and whilst it's been very well cared for it is also very original. We think that it will need to he rewired, given it had double glazing and central heating we didn't give the electrics a thought.

Can you give me a rough idea of cost? This is probably going to be make or break for us. Its a 4 bed property in Kidderminster Worcestershire if that makes any difference.

They have sent me these photos.

Really appreciate any help and advice.

 

[UNG]

Looking at the pictures that don't fully reperesent the condition of the electrics it is difficult to give an opinion on the current state from afar and an EICR would be the only way to achieve that although it probably would be better to save the money and put it towards the inevitable rewire.

Given the age of the installation a rewire would be the way to go as I doubt that there will be anywhere near the amount of sockets that you need without having leads trailing everywhere which poses additional risk with no RCD's and rewireable fuses

The cost of a rewire depends on what you want / need but a rough budget could be anywhere from £4.5k to £6k - £7K or possibly more if you start looking at fancy accessories and numerous downlights. Also if the house is being lived in that will bump the price up

 

[Lucien Nunes]

As above, the only way to find out is an EICR. The cables might be in good condition, however the consumer unit lacks modern safety features and at 60 years of age, many of the accessories (sockets, switches) are likely to be worn out and as @UNG says, probably not plentiful enough for modern requirements. There might also be no earthing in the lighting circuit, which would make it difficult to upgrade without replacing the cable. So whilst there might be an argument for retaining certain cable runs that are difficult to replace without destroying decor, in practice to avoid false economies the most sensible route is likely to be a rewire.

But it should be clear that the reason for a rewire is to replace damaged, worn and obsolete material, and to maintain the value of the house by equipping it for modern living with dozens of gadgets, and to maximise safety and convenience. There is no argument per se that a house wired in 1961 must be rewired.

 

[Dustydazzler]

I speak to a lot of people faced with this conundrum when looking at older property...
My advice is always prepare for the worst case scenario and assume you are going to need to re-wire the house.
As this will A future proof your investment for the next 50 plus years and B it will be safer and all to modern standards.

As UNG says a very basic re-wire can start from around the £5000 figure but easily sky rocket to £10,000+

Where I live in the South East I have quote a couple of fairly basic re-wires and they are now coming out at nearer £11,000 as the client wants chrome switches , data points , cable run in for future car charging point etc etc
I don't really enjoy re-wires so not too fussed if I get the jobs or not but as I know most sparks in my area all charge roughly the same it gives the home owner a figure to digest and it will be very similar whom ever they get to do the job

Don't let a re-wire put you off from buying a home , just allow enough to do the work

 

[Lister1987]

Get your solicitors to request an EICR is done as a condition of sale, that way you shouldn't get any nasty surprises, that said they could always get a drive by EICR done but you would then have recourse for action against the sellers

 

[pc1966]

As above, if you like the house then a rewire is something to budget for but I suspect it is still only 5% or so of the total cost you are looking at. You should ask for an EICR, they might not give you one, but it is a point you might be able to negotiate a slightly lower price.

Assuming no one else is bidding high!

The actual wiring is a gamble, it might be PVC and in perfectly serviceable condition in which case you could have a new CU (consumer unit = fuse box) for £500-1k, or it might be something very much more dangerous in places and really need the wire replaced. However, it is very much a certainty that all rooms will have too few sockets and if you want anything else done then get it all done at the very start when you are looking at decorating, etc, anyway.

 

[telectrix]

what he ^^^^^ says, and Lucien earlier. even if existing wiring is in good condition, you will need extra points, maybe downlights, smart stuff. so bite the bullet and go for a rewire. only one upheaval and decoration jobby. do it once, do it right.

 

[UNG]

Get your solicitors to request an EICR is done as a condition of sale, that way you shouldn't get any nasty surprises, that said they could always get a drive by EICR done but you would then have recourse for action against the sellers

Hardly worth the effort IMO an EICR is only going to report what you already know and that is that a rewire is needed to bring the installation into the 21st century with enough sockets for today's power hungry lifestyle unless you take the green view and decide you have enough sockets as you have a minimalist lifestyle and energy requirement

 

[Dustydazzler]

Hardly worth the effort IMO an EICR is only going to report what you already know and that is that a rewire is needed to bring the installation into the 21st century with enough sockets for today's power hungry lifestyle unless you take the green view and decide you have enough sockets as you have a minimalist lifestyle and energy requirement

Go altra-green an opt for 0 sockets

 

[pc1966]

I think a greener solution would be a time-switch for stuff that really is not needed 24/7 !

Too few sockets and you just end up with a spaghetti of extension leads / trip hazards which is far more trouble.

 

[telectrix]

I think a greener solution would be a time-switch for stuff that really is not needed 24/7 !

Too few sockets and you just end up with a spaghetti of extension leads / trip hazards which is far more trouble.

yous need to see our gaff.' er indoors no like sockets on display. hides them behind china cabinets et al. i've had to use a few extension leads and put several 0utlets on remote control. then she hides the handsets in cupboards so can't be used.yous just can't win.

 

[freddo]

Strangely we are currently rewiring most of a 1960s house. The buyer was put off by the damning EICR and through the solicitor has somehow managed to knock a load off the final sale price.

To be fair, the wiring is ----ing awful, and was butchered by the builder who sold the house, some of the poorest domestic wiring I've seen in a while. No CPCs on most lighting circuits, yet 90% of switches and fittings are class I. In the switches that had CPCs the wire was connected to the earth terminal in the flushed in plastic surface pattress and not connected to the metal switch!

There is a consumer unit in an outbuilding, it is powered by 1.5mm SWA this is connected to the outgoing terminals of a 60A switch fuse. There is not enough sockets and the ones that are there are too low and hacked into the top of the skirting board as when they installed the metal back boxes they fitted them level with the top of the skirting so had to chisel out the top of the skirting to allow for the overhang of the sockets. They couldn't move the boxes as they were all fixed back with large amounts of gripfill. We have also found junction boxes hanging everywhere, a number of sockets spurred off of ring finals using 1.0mm and 1.5mm t+e, unterminated live cables plastered in walls, open circuit ring finals, wooden back boxes, loose terminals, outdoor joint boxes wrapped with duct tape.

Get a rewire done before you get unpacked. At least then you have all modern wiring system and you know there will be no hidden problems where you can't see them. You can have sockets and lighting installed in positions that you need. (don't forget TV and network points!) If you don't do it now it will likely need to be done some time in the near future, (remember much of the wiring is likely to be 60 years old!) and you don't want to be doing that after the place has been decorated and the house filled with furniture, a rewire is messy and disruptive work.

One of the nicest rewires we ever did was after a house sale, the owners had the moving company keep their stuff in storage and they then went on holiday for a week while we did all the messy work and the plasterer filled everything in.

We did turn a rewire down once, the owner had just fully decorated and had new fitted carpets, then expected us to magic the cables in the wall without damaging any of the new decorations or lifting the carpets...

That's my thoughts anyway.

 

[pirate]

@freddo
I think you are being a bit picky there!

NOT!

 

[7029 dave]

With a property built in that era, there is a good chance that the lighting circuits have no earthing.
IMO get an EICR done.

 

[swaRRR]

Wouldn't bother with an EICR from a decision point of view - yes get one but imo just budget £10-15k for a rewire. It certainly needs updating in places 100% so just budget for it.

 

[Lister1987]

yous need to see our gaff.' er indoors no like sockets on display. hides them behind china cabinets et al. i've had to use a few extension leads and put several 0utlets on remote control. then she hides the handsets in cupboards so can't be used.yous just can't win.

Just give it a rewire, and by rewire I mean tie 'er indoors up with a reel of T&E and enjoy a better electrical experience, duct tape optional