Does our house need rewiring? Confused!

[Bagelsandbrie]

Our house was built in 1955. It’s an ex council house so very thick walls etc etc which has caused us issues in the past with condensation. We had the roof retiled and vents added about 5 years ago and also added an extension when we first moved in 10 years ago.

When we sorted out the damp / condensation issues we paid for an electrical check (5 years ago) as we had water dripping down from the bedroom lights (!) this all came back okay and the issue was resolved.

But now I’m wondering if we need a rewire. How would be know? I’ve had a google and we have a modern switch board (RCD) so I’m assuming some work has been done at some point but I have no history of this (none in the old property information etc).

Anyone have a clue?

I’m guessing that if you’ve a modern switchboard and had an electrical check 5 years ago then you should be fine. We had various odds of electrical stuff done in our house, and electrician took one look at the board and said “yep, it’s fine, just needs tidied up”. Apparently electricians don’t/ can’t replace the board without also replacing the wiring. That’s what our sparky said to us, anyway.... as you can probably tell changing a fuse in a plug is my upper limit!

Standards change fairly often, so I’m assuming that anyone doing an electrical check could legitimately say “not to current standard” without a rewire actually being warranted. But maybe get a reputable electrician in if your worried?

You do an EICR and they tell you. They measure loop impedances and insulation resistance values amongst other things. If those are fine then I wouldnt worry. What is the next check date on that electrical cert from 5 years ago. Normally there should be a date on the consumer unit to retest by.

When i say you do. You pay a qualified electrician and not one of those cheap £100 eicr people. And insist on seeing the measurements on the certificate.

Thank you for the advice

We've just had an EICR done and that tells you - looked on NICEIC website to find a contractor for a test, went for nearest trustmark one. It was £288 incl vat so not cheap and details all electrical work needed to meet current standards. Though would only do this if you plan on doing the work and have budgetted for it (ours said £1k) otherwise would leave until you need new electrics for something.