House rewire ??

[cheb]

Reckon 1970s would be fundamentally fine...modern wiring had come in. Only problem would be the lack of sockets...on mine it was easier to just rewire!

Anything earlier and it'll likely have the full evolution of electrical regs...like our 1930s which had steel pipes, lead, aluminium etc.

I particularly liked the vertical cable drops from upstairs to sockets down stairs!

My last one was like that, with the added bonus of plumbers driving nails through cables too.

 

[Onoff]

I've some polythene sheathed T&E here in my place. Immaculate and tough as old boots.

 

[brightspark]

My last one was like that, with the added bonus of plumbers driving nails through cables too.

worked at a guys house that was tripping the breaker he had hung 5 pictures on the walls . said to him il give you 5 out of five for fitting them yup nailed 5 cables spot on

 

[dobbslc]

When I was at college, part of my apprenticeship, we were taught how to use and terminate some sort of copper tubing with electrical wires in, filled with white powder. It was about 10mm diameter and had specific glands on the end to seal the powder in. It was for mains voltage wiring installations.

I’ve never ever, seen it since then, and I cant remember what it was even for.

That's PYRO, I love a bit of PYRO .

 

[sparkysy]

I love a bit of PYRO too! Don't see it so much nowadays, round here it's mainly churches that have it left in.
Of other wiring types like lead and VIR, there is still plenty of it installed and in use, all be it way past it's use by date!
I went to an old milking parlor that had lost power, upon having a wander round we found about 10 meters of it (VIR) laid bare in a hay loft with crumbs of insulation lay around it.
About half way down the second loft there was a cooked rat, a huge scortch mark in the wood and the wires completely blown apart!
Lucky not to have caught fire!!

 

[Welderpaul]

Replaced this recently....i'm told rat's teeth are good insulators.

They had got half way through the copper of a 10mm T&E. Oddly in most cases they had gone for the live conductor first. No wonder insulation resistance readings were bad; there wasn't any

 

[minimutly]

I was rewiring a 30s terraced house in Cardigan 35 odd yrs ago, rubber and lead sheathed cables everywhere, 4 or more twin china fuseholder consumer units. I was discussing a temporary supply with the owner, so we could carry out the job when there was an allmighty bang just behind him - pair of rubber cables had perished and touched together where the consumer units were!

 

[Farside]

My parents house had old lead sheathed twin wiring when they bought it.

Was inhabiting an old manor house in the borders which was still using that stuff. Much of it in perfect condition, but other parts, not so much. It had the habit of falling apart when moved, so put the shytes up me being near it. Surprised the place didn't burn down long before.

When I was at college, part of my apprenticeship, we were taught how to use and terminate some sort of copper tubing with electrical wires in, filled with white powder.

Ditto, when doing a British Steel apprenticeship course, a bit of everything, including wiring all sorts of gear up. Never used that stuff since.
Pyrotenax springs to mind, but that might be a bedtime drink.

 

[MetalMonkey]

As suggested, I'd recommend an EICR as a starting point which should give you an idea of the situation (if done properly) and may also aid in any wrangling with prospective buyers.

If a full rewire is needed, I'd personally just knock some money off rather than getting the work done. If you have it rewired the hassle is unlikely to be worth the extra value on the asking price and whatever is done will likely be ammended by the buyers anyway so not much point.

 

[brightspark]

if it was fairly modern id get the db changed and earth bonding up to scratch and get it tested if its .1940s with nothing done to it pink bathroom crappy old kitchen patterned wallpaper and carpets dont bother sell as is and the price will reflect

 

[dobbslc]

with nothing done to it pink bathroom crappy old kitchen patterned wallpaper and carpets dont bother sell as is and the price will reflect

Hey what's wrong with a pink bathroom?!!!

I sold my dads place a few years ago and I literally gutted it of furniture, carpets everything except for the toilet pan and a bucket to flush it with.
It wasn't worth me trying to bring it up to scratch as he had already disconnected the boiler and half the rads, the wiring was ancient, kitchen rotten etc etc. Previously the silly old fart wouldn't let me get a new boiler sorted or anything.
I'd just moved house 2 weeks before he died and didn't have time to do it all.

 

[500e]

When I was at college, part of my apprenticeship, we were taught how to use and terminate some sort of copper tubing with electrical wires in, filled with white powder. It was about 10mm diameter and had specific glands on the end to seal the powder in. It was for mains voltage wiring installations.

I’ve never ever, seen it since then, and I cant remember what it was even for.

Pyro (mineral insulated copper clad) we used it in a lot of commercial work in the 60/70, little tool to strip the outer, bit like opening a spam tin then screw the outer onto the copper 2 sleeves over the conductors then fill with a red goo then slide a closing washer over conductor/insulator sleeves push down and a tool to crimp in place, fire alarm wiring is the same I think other than a red outer cover.
Vark will know

 

[Robotstar5]

Pyro (mineral insulated copper clad) we used it in a lot of commercial work in the 60/70, little tool to strip the outer, bit like opening a spam tin then screw the outer onto the copper 2 sleeves over the conductors then fill with a red goo then slide a closing washer over conductor/insulator sleeves push down and a tool to crimp in place, fire alarm wiring is the same I think other than a red outer cover.
Vark will know

You missed the bit about meggering the cores first to check for damp in the powder, sometimes you needed to chop a few inches off and try again.

 

[500e]

When I was at college, part of my apprenticeship, we were taught how to use and terminate some sort of copper tubing with electrical wires in, filled with white powder. It was about 10mm diameter and had specific glands on the end to seal the powder in. It was for mains voltage wiring installations.

I’ve never ever, seen it since then, and I cant remember what it was even for.

Pyro (mineral insulated copper clad) we used it in a lot of commercial work in the 60/70, little tool to strip the outer, bit like opening a spam tin then screw the outer onto the copper 2 sleeves over the conductors then fill with a red goo then slide a closing washer over conductor/insulator sleeves push down and a tool to crimp in place, fire alarm wiring is the same I think other than a red outer cover. Vark will know
VIR, vulcanized India rubber could just be just rubber or have a waxed cotton cover.
Lead, the neutral seemed to have a affinity for the lead you could pull the neutral fuse and nothing changed.
Cotton covered could have rubber under cotton, that was in wood trunking with slots milled for each single strand cable, only seen it in 2 big houses as an apprentice and we were removing it.
Had some photos of it somewhere it was 1957/8 ish, will see if I can find them
Sorry @Robotstar5 forgot the Megger, could almost guarantee it was damp if you did not check Before fitting end

 

[DAPPH]

Replaced this recently....i'm told rat's teeth are good insulators.

They had got half way through the copper of a 10mm T&E. Oddly in most cases they had gone for the live conductor first. No wonder insulation resistance readings were bad; there wasn't any


View attachment 457134View attachment 457135

Sparky's eating their dinner then carrying on working with greasy fingers on the cables . often get rodent chewed in winter . I had similar in a flat roof where someone had extending the house wiring making a ring by twisting two 2.5 Y&E's together and taking the ring they'd made outside of the building which was full of rats .......... via a 13 amp single socket spur.

 

[brightspark]

Cotton covered could have rubber under cotton, that was in wood trunking with slots milled for each single strand cable, only seen it in 2 big houses as an apprentice and we were removing it.
Had some photos of it somewhere it was 1957/8 ish, will see if I can find them

when i started work we were still using wooden capping then went to metal

 

[dobbslc]

We did a student accommodation block fire alarm in Pyro 25+ years ago, one smoke and sounder in each room. Took weeks but some of the student doctors were quite nice, alternate floors of Male / female, guess what floors we used to hang around?

 

[prepman]

Here's a question for all you pros ........

I remember back in the day when house hunting, that more often than not, a house would be advertised as "needs rewiring" and also that this would be one of the conditions of getting a mortgage. So my question is, under what circumstances would a house "need rewiring" these days ?

In the future I am going to have to sell my mums house. She has been gone now for twenty years, but I use it as a store, which is madness. It was built in 1979, so not THAT old, but still has a proper fusible link fusebox with six (I think) ways. The fuses though, have been replaced with GEC circuit breakers though. There are no electrical faults that I am aware of though.

I am just wondering if I am likely to hit with this chestnut when the time comes, or if it is worth me replacing the consumer unit at least.

Lot of old wiring was rubber coated which perished and cracked...pvc lifetime, over to experts?

 

[MetalMonkey]

Depends on how it was installed and if it tests OK.
You should get a good 25 years. You could get fifty years plus.

You could get the dreaded green goo - although i think that was specific to the formulation of the early stuff at the start of the 70s.

 

[Seadog]

You missed the bit about meggering the cores first to check for damp in the powder, sometimes you needed to chop a few inches off and try again.

Or heat it to red heat to drive the moisture out.