URGENT earth wires ?!?! !!! Argh :'(

[Trinity90]

I have posted previously about the nightmare me and my partner had trying to get a mortgage. Anyway we got the house !
However I've just found out today when I had an electrician round for a quote on new light fittings that apparently our upstairs lights aren't earthed ?!?!
What does that mean
He said it'll cost 1k to rewire and 300 for a new board ?!

Does this sound right ?
I'm useless with this stuff, plus my partner works away. So I'm dealing with the hiring of all the tradesmen and sorting the house out by myself... And I also feel that because they ( or a few of them) are seeing a young female by her self, they are going in with absolute ridiculous quotations ! .. One example is:
A tiler gave me a price and when I questioned how come it was so expensive he said because there is 20sqm to tile...
There's just under 13 to tile... He clearly thought I wouldn't have the brains to have that checked and double checked before inviting tradesmen round .

Anyway please help! The electrician guy seems genuine and also did work on my previous house and my parents, but my god !

He said we couldn't have metal light fittings because of this and I pointed out the previous owners light fittings are all metal and he said its dangerous and we need to rewire or switch to plastic ...

Please respond ASAP !!! X

1. It is quite common for houses built in rewired in the 1960's not to have the earth wire connected on lighting circuits. Usually it has been snipped off

2. In such cases, it is acceptable, and safe, to continue using them BUT you must only use insulated (plastic) light switches, lampholders and other fittings. No chrome or brass switches, no silver chandeliers; pull cord switches in the bathroom.

As your electrician says, you need to replace all the metal accessories. I would start with the switches, as occupants touch light switches a hundred times a day.

As for the rewiring, if your house has not been done since the 1960's, the wiring is probably 50 years old and due for renovation. Most likely it will have been done in grey or cream PVC which is quite safe if properly done, it will not perish or crack like old rubber, lead or aluminium. Before you rewire, consider how many more sockets and appliance outlets you could use, especially in the kitchen and utility room, as well as double-switching in hall and landing, extractor fans, cooker circuits etc. It is best done shortly before a major redecoration, as walls will be chased out. Don't fit laminate or tiled flooring, or new carpets, before the rewiring, because you will be sad when they have to come up.

I will guess that your old fusebox is a brown Wylex Standard. There is not much point in replacing it with a new Consumer Unit before the house is rewired.

Ditto to everything Piglet said.

So you don't need to rewire now but remember the lighting issue for future. For example one of our customers wants a complete new bathroom but when we do the electrics in their bathroom the electrician will have to address their earth - light circuit issue. Adding to the cost of the new bathroom.

Do get a few quotes from different tradesmen - for simple things you can get another opinion online.

Anyone on this site has been checked by a trading standards officer visit and should be operating on a fair basis: trustedtraders.which.co.uk/

This is not my subject but will be in a similar position this week when we move into a sixties house. Am I right that a new consumer unit with rcd protector would at least make it safer and be an interim measure whilst we save to rewire. I have small dcs, one very inquisitive one and I'm concerned about safety obv.

if you have a new CU fitted, the electrician will have to test and rectify all circuits. That may be quite expensive, and they will still be old when he's finished. If you only have one RCD, it is possible that multiple small leakages may combine to cause nuisance trips.

BTW if you ever do have a new CU, ask what it would cost to have all RCBOs. That means every circuit has its own RCD, which is a great advantage.