As an outsider, I'd have to agree that electrical installations should be safe. But after safe we have fear mongering on very minor issues to make more £££.
Hi Joe, Im a mechanical engineering student with an interest in robotics, even though I don't yet own a house, I really appreciate the information and knowledge you're putting out
I started my apprenticeship 2004, so it's all I've ever known. I worked with a couple of people who did their apprenticeship when everything was Red Yellow Blue n Black. Aaaanyway. There was one job where we had to install a single phase supply, to an outside cabin at a foil printing company which back then was called "G & A printers" So the supply was a 3c armoured and I told him countless times that you can't use the black for the neutral. He didn't listen to me and he ended up using the grey for the earth when it should be the neutral. When I went back to the office, I brought it up in the conversation and they told him that you need to learn the new colour's. Because if someone swapped it back to what it should be, then the neutral currently will be going through the earth bar. I'm NOT a grass by any means but I just HAD to make sure that the office told him. All the qualified sparks normally ask the apprentices because they know what's going on n how to do new stuff. Anyway Rant over
Sensible list here. As an domestic electrician I am regularly called out by customers to find a fault and discover one bad cable through testing. However the customer tells me that a previous electrician had visited , removed the RCD and advised a full rewire - which would have been totally unnecessary.
This is common,and also replacing the consumer unit even though the homeowner is not able to reset rcd,s in the event of nuisance tripping.I found this with relatives due to inherit a property of an old family member while the o.a.p is still living in it.so the old cooker,washing machine,freezer etc takes out the ring rcd, leaving grandma with nothing in the winter.
Another clue that's going to help you in deciding about a rewire that hasn't been mentioned is to remove a light switch and check for a CPC.. Alot of older houses were wired without a CPC in the lighting circuit...
4:27 I had a solar installation electrician wire in our new panels. Whilst we were having a conversation about earthing my data cabinet, I referred to the 'earth' as the 'CPC' and the electrician had a 'this guy's a right smart-arse' look on his face instead of being impressed 😭
Thanks Joe for the video it was more like the 8 electrical commandments in deciding whether to rewire or not. Very important 8 points highlighted. Great to see you sharing your knowledge. Thumbs up like always 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Good god this video makes me feel old, we used VIR cable when I served my time back in the early 60s with buckle clips, in fact there were still drums of unused lead 3029 and 7029 on the shelf of our stores they weighed a ton.
Fantastic video Joe and some very useful information. But, Ref BS7671 page 13 health and safety executives note, installations which conform to the standards laid down in BS7671 2008 +A3 : 2015 are regarded likely to achieve conformity installations installed to earlier standards, w de ft Does not mean that they will fail to achieve conformity with the relevant parts of the electricity at work regulations 1989. As a tip if the line conductor is a nice bright red and the earth sleve is green and yellow it probably dates from the mid seventys, if the line is a brownish red and the earth is sleeved in green it is before the seventys as for the fuse box if there is no sign of damage or exposed conductive parts or signs of over heating then it is considered safe for continued service as long as your test are to 18th edition of the wiring regulations. But with no RCD protection I would recommend the fuse box be replaced. Thank you for a fantastic video
Thats a good video to show customers to help them choose, or to bad you up if they don’t need a upgrade is someone has previously done an eicr and condemned the installation because of a plastic consumer unit etc
Quite agree that happens a lot.The first thing that you should do is to download or view a copy of the building regs which will provide you with complete unbiased information on older installations as it's not necessary to upgrade many existing installations. Many so called qualified sparks will put faults into a good system or simply lie about it's condition so that they can get very expensive jobs!
100% ..seen some videos from some well followed CZcams sparks stating all red n black has to go ...or all old MK sentry switches n sockets need to go ..if unsure about wiring first port of call should be a full test. Not a fella with a job lot of cheap fixtures n fitting that the need rid of
I went to investigate a lighting circuit fault today at a housing association property and found the tenant had installed and wired down lights with metal switches,all the cpc's had been cutoff at the switches. A light in a store cupboard had a T+E cable just going across the ceiling between walls suspended in the air! Its also the home owners tenants who mess around is another reason for a rewire
Genuinely arrived at a property for an inspection. Before I start, I like to have a good look around the place. Turned on the lights and realised one of the bulbs had gone on the spot bar. The next one was ok, and was in reach. Without turning the light off (yes, I know....), I reached up to spin the spot, and thought my arm was going to leave my body. Upon further investigation, it was apparent that the previous Tennant had removed the roses, and fit their own spot bars, but instead of using connectors, they had butchered the rose, and used the copper link bars for connectors, with a bit of tape on them. The CPC was cut back to the sheath, because who needs them? Needless to say, the "insulting" tape didn't prevent a sneaky corner of the block touching the unearthed metal on a GU10 fitting. Again, should have known better, but I was prepared for another 4 lights wired the exact same.
@@iandonnelly542 The old diy favourite, seen it a few times. home owner/Tenant buys a new fancy metal light fitting and uses the brass connector blocks out of the existing pendant with just a little bit of insulation or even sellotape covering them then call an electrician wondering why they don't work or are tripping the circuit
I am a retired electrician and now only do small jobs for the family, but I reckon seven out of ten installations I see have been interfered with no nothing homeowners.
an electrician I know had first fixed a house extension, it had been plastered and he came back to do the second fix, to find that over the weekend, the client had taken it upon himself to "help out", by stripping the insulation right back including all the cores of the cables ,at every switch and socket position etc, so it was just bare wires into every back box.The whole lot had to be chased out and wired again.
I was asked to wire up a cattery with 10 cubicles. Heater and light in each one. 20 meters from the house. IO took one look at the DB panel and found 6 very old fuse boxes with 2 fuses in each, on a TT system with no earth rod. The customer looked at me funny when i said what had to be done before i even quoted him for the cattery.
Just because you have an old "3036" board or similar, does not necessarily mean your system is unsafe. So long as it was installed in accordance with regulations AT THE TIME of installation, there's no desperate need to spend thousands on a full rewire. The same goes for alterations - again if they complied with regs at the time of install - they are still perfectly good to continue using. Check out David Savery's videos if you want a more in-depth explanation.
just because it complied with regulations at the time of installation does NOT mean it hasn't suffered from age and wear. which was the point of many of his points.
"Just because you have an old "3036" board or similar, does not necessarily mean your system is unsafe." Probably why he didn't suggest anything remotely suggesting that it was.
Another indicator is "green goo". Some older PVC cable was produced that tends to break down and leave a green goo which can even stain the outside of socket, but is much more evident looking at the wiring behind it.
My flat has wiring in unusual 3 hole flexible PVC conduit, using single core cables, and special metal backing boxes with an external clamp, buried in the plaster. Rewiring this would be a challenge for sure...
Think my house is 1960’s, it’s all metal conduit with single black and red wires no earths to fittings noticed an earth to the lights junction box in the loft. Was a new consumer unit fitted just before I got the house. would like a rewire but fully decorated the house 🙈
The metal conduit is likely to be used as the Earth, but normally take a earth lead from the metal back box to the fitting, rewiring would be easy, pull through new wires in the conduit.
At a local pub owned by same family for generations there are mixture of the round Bakelite switches, 80s style sockets & surface buckle clip cables & Fluorescent lights with the thick lamps in the main public bar area. Makes me wonder what the rest is like.
My home - A council flat - Was built in 1983 and still has the original wiring, though the CUs were last upgraded in 2007. It passed a periodic inspection last July, but I often wonder if the wiring might be close to life-expired on account of its age? 👴⚡🤔 One thing that really gets on my goat is that - Rather than being in surface-mounted conduit or races where it's easy to access and inspect - The wiring is _inside_ the walls, so it's impossible to check visually without pulling out and replacing tons of plasterboard in the process. 😣 But then again, I suppose the fact I have disabilities and a sexual orientation the local administration don't appreciate and which _„Doesn't qualify“_ for accommodation/acceptance because I was born before 1992 means any complete upgrade of the wiring is scheduled for a time after degraded cable and any hidden dangers finish me off. It seems to be the way that things work around these parts... 🏳🌈⚡⚰🤷
Lol - the usual comment I get when I say you may need a rewire is it's been working fine for years, so what's the problem. I say well I could get it to work with wet string and bailer twine, but that doesn't mean it's safe, to which they roll their eyes and look at me as though I'm a shyster trying to swindle them. So with yours smoking, sounds like you're on a winner, no need to convince them any further😄
Of course my house needs rewiring - a fair amount is late 60s, ungrounded circuits, and a few (downstairs) are pre-war. I hope none of it is pre-Great-War but I can’t disprove it. And all of it is super chaotic in layout. But it’s not going to happen any time soon because it would require pulling up all the upstairs floors to get at the wires, which is not something that will happen (certainly not more than very piecemeal) while we are living there, because, well… that’s a major undertaking. I do have a new consumer unit fitted to current standards for this non-UK country (RCDs all around with 4 breakers per) and all 9 outgoing cables are their own circuit now, and 3 breakers for future expansion (like heat pump and electric cooker, mainly, in the foreseen category). It’s the best reasonably achievable for now. But if we ever do a major refurb of the house, then yes, pulling new wires everywhere for sure and ideally making the layout a bit more logical.
You forgot to mention that if you have a newer consumer unit with AFDDs installed, how old your wiring is doesn't matter, because if there's an issue it'll constantly trip alerting you to it.
I have an only MCB system, solar PV aswell, some electricians said the consumer unit will need replacing but I told them "no one does anything silly, and genuinely when shorted to earth, it trips" so an RCD is suitable for silly people that tamper with electricity normally.
Insufficient fused spurs from the distribution panel when you have an eV charge point installed. Being unable to buy a replacement circuit breaker because "they don't make them like that anymore".
As a handy but not pro sparky I never understood on domestic single phase cabling in the UK why live became brown and neutal blue.? Red is danger and makes much more sense.Just my anecdote.
All in the name of harmonisation with our friends in Europe. FYI Green in China is a phase colour - try that when fitting equipment designed for the US market where green = ground.
@@efixx It gets potentially complicated.Not mixing brown red / blue neutral conductor but having recently wired a new 3 port heating valve in yellows and whites etc.Did my homework and was and is fine.I take my hat off to heating system sparkys.The control box is a maze but is clearly marked for pump, 3 way motor valve, stats and a common live and main timer.Theres alot to take into account when even adding an extra socket .Its either done right or its wrong.I love plumbing aswell.
Hello, i dont know if you have the time to answer but i was wondering as my house needs insulating and re-plastering whats the best way to rewire as I can only afford to do a room at a time? Also what the best way to run cable under a suspended floor that's been insulated? Thanks for any help.
@@efixx yes! Though I suppose you can only tell your average home owner so much before you go too in depth. We've been fitting new lights in communal areas on flats built in the 60s. They're all on the original imperial conduit wiring. Most of it meggers perfectly but we get the odd bit of crispy cable that we need to renew where an old light has run hot for a long time. The biggest worry is dropping the 2ba conduit screws and not being able to find them!
Living in the sticks I just check the house's paperwork and see that work has been carried out by the local 'qualified' electrician and a bit of, I suspect DIY, and know it needs rewiring. This is confirmed by removing the first light switch fascia and the positive wire popping out 😱 Sadly, the two worst experiences I have had involved allegedly qualified electricians so....
@@efixx I worked in the theatre and music industry, a few years in installations. Bad work in a domestic installation is bad enough but some of the horror stories I've seen in public building were eye opening! All carried out and signed off by 'qualified' electricians.
@@jameshansing5396 Believe me, this was just the icing on the cake. The cabling to the storage heaters was unbelievable. Upstairs, 2.5mm t&e into dodgy old junction boxes then 'washing lined' along the oak beams. Nah, I'll rewire and sleep better at night. I forgot to mention, junction boxes screwed to the back of floorboards so when I took them up to put in central heating wires popped out 😱
Is there a maximum number of outlets you can have in a room? Also, is there a maximum you can have on any wall? I can't imagine a whole row of bricke (theoretically) being removed to accommodate a large number of sockets being structurally sound for the wall.
No maximum. The regs do set out recommended minimums. Though there's specialist applications like offices and workshops and retail where you fit as many as is likely to be needed. Offices need a lot of sockets but you'd typically install them in dado trunking.
There was a cross over period of 6 months or a year where both sets of colours could be used, it was a long time ago and I could be wrong but I don’t remember new colour cables being available before 2004 though, other than in flex.
That’s a good question - it’s only twin and earth cable which is made in this way (also with smaller cross section for the earth) - we will have to explore this further to answer.
It's to keep production costs down. Besides the CPC or earth shouldn't have have a constant flow of electric through the conductor itself. It should only carry electricity at fault.
@@efixxyour latest video shows the latest cable spec demands that the CPC is insulated in green/yellow! Another pointless extra-cost nonsense from IEE. My old house had separate cotton-covered rubber cables, with a bare earth conductor. This had been replaced with early PVC, which had turned into waxy segments, like a broken candle, so replaced with modern PVC! All fittings and consumer units obviously replaced. Also had the same Dolphin electric shower as Noah had on the Ark, with a glass heater capsule that looked like a Mills bomb! Makes you laugh when people stress about electrical safety, when you have a thin glass globe with direct mains connection in your bedside light, etc, and electric showers with the mains connected one metre column of water away from your wet, naked skin!
Having an earth core in lighting cable, became a requirement in 1966.Taking a switch off and finding no earth is a good means of determining when the house was wired.And owner puts on brass switch,s and dimmers, that end up not being earthed.
"If you really want to impress your electrician, call the Earth the CPC, you will blow their mind" 🤣🤣... Electricians response - "Nah, we just call it Earth".... 🤣
@@efixx Yes watched that. Along with a video from John Ward. Both lead me to be severely sceptical of the drive for SPD except in a few cases. No mention of risk assessment and calculation before decision.
As an outsider, I'd have to agree that electrical installations should be safe. But after safe we have fear mongering on very minor issues to make more £££.
It's more about educating than fear-mongering.
Hi Joe thanks for sharing your video with me and other videos and for some tips on improving the electrics
Much appreciated feedback 👍
Thank you for an unbiased and informative vide on this subject.
Hi Joe,
Im a mechanical engineering student with an interest in robotics, even though I don't yet own a house, I really appreciate the information and knowledge you're putting out
What a great comment, thanks very much and I hope it has value for you. 😊
All good points but the house supply cable could be from the 1930s and the road cables could be DC concentric from 1920s.
Live in the Welsh Valleys do you?
I started my apprenticeship 2004, so it's all I've ever known.
I worked with a couple of people who did their apprenticeship when everything was Red Yellow Blue n Black.
Aaaanyway.
There was one job where we had to install a single phase supply, to an outside cabin at a foil printing company which back then was called "G & A printers"
So the supply was a 3c armoured and I told him countless times that you can't use the black for the neutral. He didn't listen to me and he ended up using the grey for the earth when it should be the neutral.
When I went back to the office, I brought it up in the conversation and they told him that you need to learn the new colour's. Because if someone swapped it back to what it should be, then the neutral currently will be going through the earth bar.
I'm NOT a grass by any means but I just HAD to make sure that the office told him. All the qualified sparks normally ask the apprentices because they know what's going on n how to do new stuff.
Anyway
Rant over
Sensible list here. As an domestic electrician I am regularly called out by customers to find a fault and discover one bad cable through testing. However the customer tells me that a previous electrician had visited , removed the RCD and advised a full rewire - which would have been totally unnecessary.
This is common,and also replacing the consumer unit even though the homeowner is not able to reset rcd,s in the event of nuisance tripping.I found this with relatives due to inherit a property of an old family member while the o.a.p is still living in it.so the old cooker,washing machine,freezer etc takes out the ring rcd, leaving grandma with nothing in the winter.
Ah Joe I recognise that 3036 board 🤣. The dreaded fairy liquid is another indication of the cabling deteriorate (cable cancer) Great video Joe 👍
Thanks Ed
Another clue that's going to help you in deciding about a rewire that hasn't been mentioned is to remove a light switch and check for a CPC..
Alot of older houses were wired without a CPC in the lighting circuit...
My mother-in-law still had round pin sockets in her lounge.
It's literally mentioned in the video. Think it's point 2.
Extremely useful video. Just recently purchased a house and this has helped figure out whether to rewire or not.
Sometimes DIY Dave does a better job than a qualified spark
4:27 I had a solar installation electrician wire in our new panels. Whilst we were having a conversation about earthing my data cabinet, I referred to the 'earth' as the 'CPC' and the electrician had a 'this guy's a right smart-arse' look on his face instead of being impressed 😭
Thanks Joe for the video it was more like the 8 electrical commandments in deciding whether to rewire or not. Very important 8 points highlighted. Great to see you sharing your knowledge. Thumbs up like always 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Thanks very much appreciated
Good god this video makes me feel old, we used VIR cable when I served my time back in the early 60s with buckle clips, in fact there were still drums of unused lead 3029 and 7029 on the shelf of our stores they weighed a ton.
Fantastic video Joe and some very useful information. But,
Ref BS7671 page 13 health and safety executives note, installations which conform to the standards laid down in BS7671 2008 +A3 : 2015 are regarded likely to achieve conformity installations installed to earlier standards, w de ft
Does not mean that they will fail to achieve conformity with the relevant parts of the electricity at work regulations 1989.
As a tip if the line conductor is a nice bright red and the earth sleve is green and yellow it probably dates from the mid seventys, if the line is a brownish red and the earth is sleeved in green it is before the seventys as for the fuse box if there is no sign of damage or exposed conductive parts or signs of over heating then it is considered safe for continued service as long as your test are to 18th edition of the wiring regulations. But with no RCD protection I would recommend the fuse box be replaced.
Thank you for a fantastic video
That’s my understanding too
Thats a good video to show customers to help them choose, or to bad you up if they don’t need a upgrade is someone has previously done an eicr and condemned the installation because of a plastic consumer unit etc
Another reason is if the person looking at the wiring is in in need of a bit of extra work.
Quite agree that happens a lot.The first thing that you should do is to download or view a copy of the building regs which will provide you with complete unbiased information on older installations as it's not necessary to upgrade many existing installations. Many so called qualified sparks will put faults into a good system or simply lie about it's condition so that they can get very expensive jobs!
100% ..seen some videos from some well followed CZcams sparks stating all red n black has to go ...or all old MK sentry switches n sockets need to go ..if unsure about wiring first port of call should be a full test. Not a fella with a job lot of cheap fixtures n fitting that the need rid of
I went to investigate a lighting circuit fault today at a housing association property and found the tenant had installed and wired down lights with metal switches,all the cpc's had been cutoff at the switches. A light in a store cupboard had a T+E cable just going across the ceiling between walls suspended in the air!
Its also the home owners tenants who mess around is another reason for a rewire
😬 Scary stuff. We'll make that number nine on the list. Maybe there's a chance for a sequel?! 8 MORE reasons your home may need a Rewire.
Genuinely arrived at a property for an inspection. Before I start, I like to have a good look around the place. Turned on the lights and realised one of the bulbs had gone on the spot bar. The next one was ok, and was in reach. Without turning the light off (yes, I know....), I reached up to spin the spot, and thought my arm was going to leave my body. Upon further investigation, it was apparent that the previous Tennant had removed the roses, and fit their own spot bars, but instead of using connectors, they had butchered the rose, and used the copper link bars for connectors, with a bit of tape on them. The CPC was cut back to the sheath, because who needs them? Needless to say, the "insulting" tape didn't prevent a sneaky corner of the block touching the unearthed metal on a GU10 fitting. Again, should have known better, but I was prepared for another 4 lights wired the exact same.
@@iandonnelly542 The old diy favourite, seen it a few times.
home owner/Tenant buys a new fancy metal light fitting and uses the brass connector blocks out of the existing pendant with just a little bit of insulation or even sellotape covering them then call an electrician wondering why they don't work or are tripping the circuit
I am a retired electrician and now only do small jobs for the family, but I reckon seven out of ten installations I see have been interfered with no nothing homeowners.
an electrician I know had first fixed a house extension, it had been plastered and he came back to do the second fix, to find that over the weekend, the client had taken it upon himself to "help out", by stripping the insulation right back including all the cores of the cables ,at every switch and socket position etc, so it was just bare wires into every back box.The whole lot had to be chased out and wired again.
Nice one Joe. Well explained. #StaySafe
Thanks Brian. 😃
I was asked to wire up a cattery with 10 cubicles. Heater and light in each one. 20 meters from the house. IO took one look at the DB panel and found 6 very old fuse boxes with 2 fuses in each, on a TT system with no earth rod. The customer looked at me funny when i said what had to be done before i even quoted him for the cattery.
Always a nightmare when you've got to explain that sort of stuff.
I love that display of old switches.
Brilliant video. I will be able to show my customers this for there own piece of mind. Just what we needed, thanks guys.
Ah thanks, that's exactly what it's for, let us know how you get on with it. 😊
brilliant video Joe, I will show this to my customers that I suggest need rewires
That’s what it’s for 👍
As always amazing videos keep up the great work
👍
Well explained again
Just because you have an old "3036" board or similar, does not necessarily mean your system is unsafe. So long as it was installed in accordance with regulations AT THE TIME of installation, there's no desperate need to spend thousands on a full rewire. The same goes for alterations - again if they complied with regs at the time of install - they are still perfectly good to continue using. Check out David Savery's videos if you want a more in-depth explanation.
Spot on
just because it complied with regulations at the time of installation does NOT mean it hasn't suffered from age and wear. which was the point of many of his points.
"Just because you have an old "3036" board or similar, does not necessarily mean your system is unsafe."
Probably why he didn't suggest anything remotely suggesting that it was.
Another indicator is "green goo". Some older PVC cable was produced that tends to break down and leave a green goo which can even stain the outside of socket, but is much more evident looking at the wiring behind it.
My flat has wiring in unusual 3 hole flexible PVC conduit, using single core cables, and special metal backing boxes with an external clamp, buried in the plaster. Rewiring this would be a challenge for sure...
Think my house is 1960’s, it’s all metal conduit with single black and red wires no earths to fittings noticed an earth to the lights junction box in the loft. Was a new consumer unit fitted just before I got the house. would like a rewire but fully decorated the house 🙈
The metal conduit is likely to be used as the Earth, but normally take a earth lead from the metal back box to the fitting, rewiring would be easy, pull through new wires in the conduit.
@@100tinsoldiers as long as he doesn't want extra sockets. Installations of that era typically only had 1 or 2 sockets per room.
@@stevecraft00 True, but depending on the layout extra sockets might be possible without too much or even any damage.
At a local pub owned by same family for generations there are mixture of the round Bakelite switches, 80s style sockets & surface buckle clip cables & Fluorescent lights with the thick lamps in the main public bar area.
Makes me wonder what the rest is like.
My home - A council flat - Was built in 1983 and still has the original wiring, though the CUs were last upgraded in 2007. It passed a periodic inspection last July, but I often wonder if the wiring might be close to life-expired on account of its age? 👴⚡🤔
One thing that really gets on my goat is that - Rather than being in surface-mounted conduit or races where it's easy to access and inspect - The wiring is _inside_ the walls, so it's impossible to check visually without pulling out and replacing tons of plasterboard in the process. 😣
But then again, I suppose the fact I have disabilities and a sexual orientation the local administration don't appreciate and which _„Doesn't qualify“_ for accommodation/acceptance because I was born before 1992 means any complete upgrade of the wiring is scheduled for a time after degraded cable and any hidden dangers finish me off. It seems to be the way that things work around these parts... 🏳🌈⚡⚰🤷
Informative video. Great work as usually
Thank you!
Great informative video - thanks.
Thanks for commenting! 😊
Really helpful and useful video and definitely covered all the things I was thinking about on a rewire.
Short and useful Video 👍👍👍
Thanks!
I'd also say heights of the socket outlets
Good point - especially when they are in the skirting board.
I was asked if a house needed a rewire ,I turned the main switch on and it started to smoke !
Lol - the usual comment I get when I say you may need a rewire is it's been working fine for years, so what's the problem. I say well I could get it to work with wet string and bailer twine, but that doesn't mean it's safe, to which they roll their eyes and look at me as though I'm a shyster trying to swindle them. So with yours smoking, sounds like you're on a winner, no need to convince them any further😄
@@johnhoward2104 he still hummed and arred about it even when I turned with the kit to rewire it !
@@raychambers3646 lol - but did he pay?!
@@johnhoward2104 yes when loaded it back into the van and was about to drive off!
@@raychambers3646 lol - like your style! 😄
Of course my house needs rewiring - a fair amount is late 60s, ungrounded circuits, and a few (downstairs) are pre-war. I hope none of it is pre-Great-War but I can’t disprove it. And all of it is super chaotic in layout. But it’s not going to happen any time soon because it would require pulling up all the upstairs floors to get at the wires, which is not something that will happen (certainly not more than very piecemeal) while we are living there, because, well… that’s a major undertaking.
I do have a new consumer unit fitted to current standards for this non-UK country (RCDs all around with 4 breakers per) and all 9 outgoing cables are their own circuit now, and 3 breakers for future expansion (like heat pump and electric cooker, mainly, in the foreseen category). It’s the best reasonably achievable for now. But if we ever do a major refurb of the house, then yes, pulling new wires everywhere for sure and ideally making the layout a bit more logical.
Again well done!
Thanks
You forgot to mention that if you have a newer consumer unit with AFDDs installed, how old your wiring is doesn't matter, because if there's an issue it'll constantly trip alerting you to it.
🙏 Thank you!
I have an only MCB system, solar PV aswell, some electricians said the consumer unit will need replacing but I told them "no one does anything silly, and genuinely when shorted to earth, it trips" so an RCD is suitable for silly people that tamper with electricity normally.
Insufficient fused spurs from the distribution panel when you have an eV charge point installed.
Being unable to buy a replacement circuit breaker because "they don't make them like that anymore".
That means a new consumer unit, not a complete rewire...
As a handy but not pro sparky I never understood on domestic single phase cabling in the UK why live became brown and neutal blue.? Red is danger and makes much more sense.Just my anecdote.
All in the name of harmonisation with our friends in Europe. FYI Green in China is a phase colour - try that when fitting equipment designed for the US market where green = ground.
@@efixx It gets potentially complicated.Not mixing brown red / blue neutral conductor but having recently wired a new 3 port heating valve in yellows and whites etc.Did my homework and was and is fine.I take my hat off to heating system sparkys.The control box is a maze but is clearly marked for pump, 3 way motor valve, stats and a common live and main timer.Theres alot to take into account when even adding an extra socket .Its either done right or its wrong.I love plumbing aswell.
Our cable has lead covering. Does this make it quite old ?
Yes lead cable was used until 1930’s
@@efixx Ah.
Hello, i dont know if you have the time to answer but i was wondering as my house needs insulating and re-plastering whats the best way to rewire as I can only afford to do a room at a time? Also what the best way to run cable under a suspended floor that's been insulated? Thanks for any help.
Disappointed theres no mention of imperial cable (stranded tinned in appearance). That definitely needs rewiring!
We might need a sequel! 8 MORE signs your home may need a rewire! 🤔
@@efixx yes! Though I suppose you can only tell your average home owner so much before you go too in depth. We've been fitting new lights in communal areas on flats built in the 60s. They're all on the original imperial conduit wiring. Most of it meggers perfectly but we get the odd bit of crispy cable that we need to renew where an old light has run hot for a long time. The biggest worry is dropping the 2ba conduit screws and not being able to find them!
Living in the sticks I just check the house's paperwork and see that work has been carried out by the local 'qualified' electrician and a bit of, I suspect DIY, and know it needs rewiring. This is confirmed by removing the first light switch fascia and the positive wire popping out 😱
Sadly, the two worst experiences I have had involved allegedly qualified electricians so....
We could swap stories what “the last electrician did”
The wire popping out could just be a shit termination and nothing to do with needing a total re-wire. This happens a lot when plumbers do wiring! 🤭
@@efixx I worked in the theatre and music industry, a few years in installations. Bad work in a domestic installation is bad enough but some of the horror stories I've seen in public building were eye opening! All carried out and signed off by 'qualified' electricians.
@@jameshansing5396 Believe me, this was just the icing on the cake. The cabling to the storage heaters was unbelievable. Upstairs, 2.5mm t&e into dodgy old junction boxes then 'washing lined' along the oak beams. Nah, I'll rewire and sleep better at night.
I forgot to mention, junction boxes screwed to the back of floorboards so when I took them up to put in central heating wires popped out 😱
@@PurityVendetta I’m sure. Just saying a bad termination can happen in a new build and on its own isn’t a reason to re-wire....
Is there a maximum number of outlets you can have in a room? Also, is there a maximum you can have on any wall? I can't imagine a whole row of bricke (theoretically) being removed to accommodate a large number of sockets being structurally sound for the wall.
No, a socket back box is no where near as deep as a brick so you wouldn’t remove the whole thing,
No maximum. The regs do set out recommended minimums. Though there's specialist applications like offices and workshops and retail where you fit as many as is likely to be needed. Offices need a lot of sockets but you'd typically install them in dado trunking.
@@stevecraft00 it was the minimum that got me wondering about the maximum
how come the colours changed in 2004 but some things that were wired before then are using the new colours?
There was a cross over period of 6 months or a year where both sets of colours could be used, it was a long time ago and I could be wrong but I don’t remember new colour cables being available before 2004 though, other than in flex.
@@12000gp Stocks of the old colours were allowed to be used up rather than scrap them and buy new. Was this the last time common sense prevailed?
I think I saw yesterday that there was a 2 year cross over period between different amendments.
Why isn't the earth insulated like the other cables, and requires sleeving?
That’s a good question - it’s only twin and earth cable which is made in this way (also with smaller cross section for the earth) - we will have to explore this further to answer.
It's to keep production costs down. Besides the CPC or earth shouldn't have have a constant flow of electric through the conductor itself. It should only carry electricity at fault.
@@efixxyour latest video shows the latest cable spec demands that the CPC is insulated in green/yellow! Another pointless extra-cost nonsense from IEE. My old house had separate cotton-covered rubber cables, with a bare earth conductor. This had been replaced with early PVC, which had turned into waxy segments, like a broken candle, so replaced with modern PVC! All fittings and consumer units obviously replaced. Also had the same Dolphin electric shower as Noah had on the Ark, with a glass heater capsule that looked like a Mills bomb! Makes you laugh when people stress about electrical safety, when you have a thin glass globe with direct mains connection in your bedside light, etc, and electric showers with the mains connected one metre column of water away from your wet, naked skin!
Great video , does Gary remember when this was installed originally?
Having an earth core in lighting cable, became a requirement in 1966.Taking a switch off and finding no earth is a good means of determining when the house was wired.And owner puts on brass switch,s and dimmers, that end up not being earthed.
If the wires are pre2004 is there something that is worth looking for ? Has anything other than color changed between say 2002 and 2022?
The protection devices on the circuit - now most of them need RCDs
I find amateur wiring high on the list for a property wanting a reword
Good video, however if you’re using acronyms, then why don’t you tell the viewers what they stand for ie RCD residual current device, and what they do
Good feedback thanks - we’ll do that in future videos.
EXCITING CONTENT
Perhaps not but can save you money if planning a house move or major work.
No green goo?
Might need a sequel! 🤔
Does green goo mean it needs rewiring?
Wouldn’t complain about another Efixx video 👍🏻
No1
It has burnt down!
🤣
Nothing of this matches the description of my system.
According to one electrician wires are fine and another thing it's required a rewiring
"If you really want to impress your electrician, call the Earth the CPC, you will blow their mind" 🤣🤣... Electricians response - "Nah, we just call it Earth".... 🤣
What’s the horizontal trunking at shoulder level called?
In the studio?
@@efixx yup
It's just 50mm by 50mm steel trunking. 👍
its called horizontal mounted trunking at shoulder level
@@ninjayx0245 unless you’re short then it’s horizontal mounted trunking at head height.
4:03 Are you sure taking a socket off the wall and sticking your fingers about in the back of it is sound advice to be giving people?!
Missing SPD? - Oh come on.
Why is my electrician suggesting we have a surge protection device fitted? czcams.com/video/L29mgEw02NY/video.html
A bit much rewiring the place because of an item missing in fuseboard cupboard.
@@efixx Yes watched that. Along with a video from John Ward. Both lead me to be severely sceptical of the drive for SPD except in a few cases. No mention of risk assessment and calculation before decision.
That will be the new money generator in 2022 onwards...
@@12000gp Which isn't what he said anyway. _It's among the data points to take into consideration,_ that's all.
Fuses popping trips going burning smells and flickering lights.Not Good signs £££
great video really informative
786 Electricals Ltd
Convert to Tamil
a challenge for us - but if you can find someone to translate we'll add the subtitles in Tamil!
Green Goo