How old is this kind of electric wiring?

[kalmap]

Hello,

We've recently moved into a 1965 house, the fuse box looks not too old and I will get the electrics properly checked at some point, but just after some general advice...

Some of the wiring seems perfectly modern, I've had to rewire a couple of sockets, that all had the standard individually insulated 3 wires.

I then went to change a single socket into a double converter faceplate, and found it had what looked like really old wiring in it, at least the Earth wire had no insulation at all. These were really big wires as well (3 for live and 3 for neutral?) I couldn't really fit them in the new faceplate I purchased.

See pictures:

ibb.co/cJzRsSh
and
ibb.co/ZhQ0Lxk

Anyone know how old or how much of a problem this type of wiring is? Should I be concerned about needing to rewire in the near future or any issues with insurance? I've not noticed any problems with lighting or electric loads etc.

Thanks!

Perhaps ask on an electricians website?

Looks relatively modern. The third set of cables will be a spur off to something else, that was added later on, perfectly ok. The earth wire in modern cables doesn't have insulation as such when the outer sleeve is removed, electricians will usually fit a loose green/yellow sleeve over the earth wire for identification.

I think you will have to accept at 54 years old the wiring will need replacing. If nothing else get the consumer unit changed ASAP if it hasn't been already as the RCD will safeguard you

Marie where does it say that pvc insulated wiring needs replacing at age? It should last pretty much indefinitely.
To the op, it all looks fine, the original workmanship is not great as the earth wires should have had sleeving added and they shouldn't be twisted together, but it looks ok from what i can see.
Of course there are often faults in the wiring and it's worth getting the circuits testing. Our house had been rewired in the late 70s and although the original wiring was in generally good condition, there were quite a lot of faults caused by poor modifications by unqualified workers. Some of it was obvious and some only showed up through testing

Ps if you have any rubber insulated cables, they will definitely need replacing.

Just to echo what johnd2 has stated, rubber insulated cables are a much bigger issue as the rubber perishes over time, leaving live wires exposed. We had a wall taken out between rooms and the wiring was ancient, rubber insulated and in poor condition. Luckily we had planned a total rewire so it was an unbudgeted extra cost and the electrician replaced everything with new.

Wasn't an unbudgeted extra cost!

John2. Marie where does it say that pvc insulated wiring needs replacing at age? It should last pretty much indefinitely.

John. Assume you are an electrician? Our old house which we bought had wiring over 50 years old. Surveyor said likely the wiring was likely to be towards end of life so pointless doing any expensive work to then start digging up the walls to lay new cables.

Electrician (who,was a friend) Said there was reduced insulation resistance (I recall) as well as earth leakage as it gets older. Seemed sensible to us. Unless you are not planning to stay long term then it seems to be sensible

Marie thanks for replying, the issues with poor IR would be caused by either damage to the cables or damp/dirty terminations which could be terminated, or faulty accessories.
PVC cable doesn't need replacing on age, an electrician should do the IR testing and can immediately find whether any issues need resolving. Only an electrician with no fault finding skill would recommend a rewire purely on that test, and especial on age.
Our existing 45 year old wiring passed all ir tests with flying colours once the specific faults mainly water related were corrected. Even with the faults it wasn't bad.
I suppose my point is if an electrician condemns and installation they better have a good reason to put you through the disruption and cost.