In article ,
"Hellraiser" writes:
I've heard lots of people stating that houses need re-wiring after 25 years
or so, but can't for the life of me figure out why this should be the case.
Copper tends not to corrode, and PVC stays flexible for many many years so
is this 25 year thing designed to give electricians a good earner or is
there some other reason? I'm curious as I am about to buy a 26 year old
house which has not been re-wired and am wondering what to look out for.

No PVC wiring will have yet worn out, providing it's not
been subject to excessive heat or other damaging factors.
The accessories (switches, sockets, consumer unit, etc)
should all be regarded as potentially at end of life and
in need of inspection and possibly replacement. All the
earthing should be checked and ideally brought up to
current standards. A 1980 installation might be slightly
low on numbers of sockets, although not as bad as a 1960's
installation. A check for extensions to the original system
which have not been correctly done would be good too.

--
Andrew Gabriel