How to tell if house has been rewired?

[spinner]

Hi all,

I've put a contract on a house which is almost 100 years old but looks like it's been well maintained. I am a bit worried that it might need rewiring.

It has ducted air conditioning installed and also an alarm system. Taking into consideration these factors, I'm guessing that it should have pretty much up to date wiring. Is that a reasonable assumption to make? If not, how can I reasonably assure myself that the wiring is up to current standards?

 

[Blair007]

Hi all,

I've put a contract on a house which is almost 100 years old but looks like it's been well maintained. I am a bit worried that it might need rewiring.

It has ducted air conditioning installed and also an alarm system. Taking into consideration these factors, I'm guessing that it should have pretty much up to date wiring. Is that a reasonable assumption to make? If not, how can I reasonably assure myself that the wiring is up to current standards?

If the place has been rewired recently then the electrician should have provided an electrical safety certificate for this. the owner may have this on file, you could ask the agent about this? otherwise you should be able to tell fairly easily by having a look behind the switchboard at the cables. if your not comfortable doing that then a sparky will be able to give you an answer in 5 mins

 

[willair]

Hi all,

I've put a contract on a house which is almost 100 years old but looks like it's been well maintained. I am a bit worried that it might need rewiring.

It has ducted air conditioning installed and also an alarm system. Taking into consideration these factors, I'm guessing that it should have pretty much up to date wiring. Is that a reasonable assumption to make? If not, how can I reasonably assure myself that the wiring is up to current standards?

Have a look at your contract there is a clause in there somewhere about safety throw out switches that's all your covered for in QLD by law,but if this property is running a/c units just check the dates on all the metres inside the power supply board,and trace the cables some have dates on them ..imho..

 

[pinkboy]

Call an electrician to swing by after work.....and pay him in beer!

pinkboy

 

[vaughan]

Look at the switch board. If it has the old ceramic wire fuses then it needs work.

The only way to tell if the internal wiring is good is to look at it. Unscrew a light switch and see whether the wires are cloth/rubber covered or plastic. Cloth is likely to be the original and it's bad. Change it asap. Look behind a power point for the old stuff too.

Many houses have had the power circuits upgraded, but the lights are harder so are more likely to be left original.

 

[Doovalacky]

Personally as an electrician if there is any suspicion that the wiring might be VIR(rubber) or cloth I would not be removing light switch's or powerpoints as disturbing it causes the insulation to break away. All you need is a live wire to touch a conductive part as you put it back and you have created a dangerous situation.

I would switch power off and put head up manhole but as a sparky I know what to look for.

By rights any house with RCD's should have been upgraded to a minimum standard which replaces those sorts of cables. However some people will turn an blind eye to it.
Alarm system and aircon don't necessary guarantee its been upgraded either.
I've found it in the past where half a house has been upgraded and the rest was a disaster waiting to happen with bare wires on the old porcelain insulators.

A re-wire would result in a minor works form/certificate of electrical safety or your states equivalent but people often don't keep them.
So my suggestion of you have any doubt is to get a sparky to come in and do a quick check over the house. Test the RCD's while he is there.

 

[spinner]

Thanks for all the replies.

I will call in a sparky to check it out. Better safe than sorry

 

[AlmostBob]

We rewired

the **bleeep** discovered, of 100 years of stupid owner alterations was scary as hell
30 amp fuses shoved in 15 amp circuits
wires in the wall that glowed red when switches were turned on
+1 Doovalacky, & as a not electrician be scared as hell

old wiring 11 circuits
new wiring 213 circuits its a big house

ducted air may come under the heading stupid owner alterations for electrical work,


on a different house, it was 'rewired' for sale
brand new wiring where it could be seen, twisted onto the old knob and tube as soon as it turned a corner up into the wall, just twisted together, not a join, not insulated, a fire waiting to happen.
We still bought it, - way cheap, and rewired properly

One even I refused to buy, three inlets from the street, all wired in together, crossed circuits from the different switchboards voltages between 0 and 400
Was "rewired" for RCD on circuits with no earth(?), broken flakes of rubber and cotton under the wiring in the walls.
Had a lovely paint job, that I would have hated re-doing after the sparkies knocked that many holes to repair the wiring. At that age its lath and plaster, so patching is a **bad word**

 

[Scott No Mates]

new wiring 213 circuits its a big house

Max residential (ok for a 'normal' house would be a 12 pole board), anything more would be overkill. A larger house may have a 24 pole board.

213 circuits sounds more like a commercial application, even then each floor would have its own subboard and the MSB would only have a couple of breakers per floor (fire stairs, common area services, a/c, fire services etc).

 

[AlmostBob]

3 floors + attic
3400 sq feet /floor
4 80 circuit panels ~ half full
1 40 circuit panel ~ half full
1 10 circuit panel for the attic ~full
just lights and 3ph tools for the basement
1 distribution panel ~ half full
400 amp 415 v polyphase inlet
electric heat, in worst-case minus 40 degree winter,
every heater has its own circuit
every room has its own power and light circuits, and gpo every 10 feet (kids and video games)
Plus room in the panel for adding circuits

= lots of circuits and ~50% overkill

 

[nww]

Would have thought if it had ducted it would have been upgraded.
Had a property reno a few years ago to a house which was about 50
year old and just to have a single split installed had to have fusebox/board upgraded
including all wiring from box up to the roof connection.

 

[Scott No Mates]

3
400 amp 415 v polyphase inlet electric heat,

I've built larger heavy industrial and petrochemical plants which used less power than your house.

We're hard pressed to get 200 amps/phase for commercial applications.

 

[AlmostBob]

Would have thought if it had ducted it would have been upgraded.
Had a property reno a few years ago to a house which was about 50
year old and just to have a single split installed had to have fusebox/board upgraded
including all wiring from box up to the roof connection.

there's such a difference between

doing it​

and

doing it properly​

spinner is justifiably concerned that the vendor just did it
there are so many renovators that don't consider the flammable results of the reno
you added the 'properly' that makes all the difference

 

[Jaggannath]

I had a place in Adelaide re-wired, looking at the fusebox should give an indication if there's no certificate of safety.

I had it done because all the older wiring was done reasonably well (it was just old), but the newer wiring was clearly done by someone who figured she'll be right. I'm an electrical engineer, but chasing down and working out what they'd done was beyond my patience and experience. In the end, they were running a number of appliances off light circuits, and they'd basically run a wire to the new extension, put in a junction box, and run anything they felt like off that one point. Scary stuff.