Renewing electrics and plumbing question

[GrubzUp]

My house was fully renovated in the early late 80s / early-mid 90s so when we came here just before the turn of the millennium, it all felt reasonably up-to-date. I have a builder here at the moment and he commented something about my "old system" (not the boiler, that's new, but the old pipework and radiators) and it got me thinking that the electrics are similarly old.

How often should electrics and plumbing be fully renewed? And how do people do it without having to redecorate and re-floor every single room?

Not an expert disclaimer.
if you are unsure/worried why not get them checked over by a certified electrican and a plumber? Just because they are old doesn’t mean they definitely need replacing. Some of our water pipe is original to our 1903 house - the recommendation from our plumber was to leave it alone as it works just fine. Other bits have been replaced as and when needed (leak) or when a full upgrade eg completely new bathroom which needed pipe work to be moved.
Rules and ways of doing electrics have changed over the years, but doesn’t mean that what you have has become unsafe necessarily. But a good electrician can advise on what you might need/want to do. Eg our house has old but still good electrics from around 15 years ago, but apparently the way they earth the mains box has changed and is considered better - so we’ve had it done for insurance purposes. (Took around 10mins for them to do).
Access for these things varies from house to house - a full rewire for us would mean plastering and re decorating the very room. Plumbing - as it is all easily accessible boxing, nothing would need to be redone other than a good clean.

The electricity part should be OK most walls would allow cabling just pulled through, sockets straight forward replacement like for like. Plumbing if copper lasts for ever, Check no lead in water supply system.

Access for these things varies from house to house - a full rewire for us would mean plastering and re decorating the very room. Plumbing - as it is all easily accessible boxing, nothing would need to be redone other than a good clean.

Yes in my house it would mean flooring up and redecorating everywhere. Which isn't happening! But you're right I could get someone in to check the electrics - not that we have issues, I just feel it's not been looked at for 25 years and we're not likely to do the kind of refurb needed to do it in the next 20!

My DP is an electrician and I think he said even electrics done 20 years ago could be okay - assuming they were done well. The problem is that a lot of electrics weren't / aren't done well and if anything needs to be fixed or replaced, the current regulations will have to be complied with. I guess that is where difficulties arise.

We're buying a house with similar (or even older) age electics - early 80s I suspect. I was worried about having to do a complete rewire as the house is in very good decorative order and I want to redecorate gradually.

Electrician did a report for me and said that, other than a new fuse box and one other minor thing, the rest of the electrics were in very good condition, showed no signs of deterioration and had clearly been done well at the time.

Similar situation here. Victorian house and when I like something to panic about I convince myself it needs a rewire and new pipes, meaning the entire house would need to be dismantled. Not happening.

In reality, when I moved in 18 months ago, the (very good) electrician installed a new consumer unit, tested my electrics which "passed" and said I had a mix of 60s, 80s, and 2000s wiring, none of which was concerning.

I had a new bathroom and upgraded the pipework at the same. Other than that, I dont want to have the house taken apart and will do stuff when it really NEEDS doing.

OP you can always get an electrician to test your electrics and upgrade your consumer unit as a precaution.

How do I know if copper pipes were used for electrics. I was wondering if anyone knows why the electrician says surface trucking is safer? Do all electricians give certificates.

@Milaking you need to start your own thread or people will just answer the main question on this one and won't realise you have restarted a dead thread to ask a new question.

80s / 90s wiring is absolutely fine and will have decades of life left in it. So need to rip it all out.

You might just want some more modern sockets and switches to make it look a bit nicer, and perhaps a modern consumer unit with RCD if you don’t already have one.

I am 87 yo. And an idiot as far as IT and the internet is concerned. So mums net is great for me. How do I start a new thread? One can only laugh! Thanks for the helpful comments from all.

@Milaking if you are on your phone and scroll to the bottom there should be a "add post" buttonin the middle. Not sure where the button is of you are on a computer though.