Indeed. The initial question was one of deterioration of wiring over a
period of time, I think the response was more along the lines of 1980's
electrics being fairly durable and as such should not have deteriorated
unduly unless they have been exposed to exceptional conditions (i.e.
connections arcing due to them being too loose, etc).

Having recently changed my CU, on a 1980 house, I found the wiring to be
in excellent condition. No insulation resistance problems, visually the
wiring looks fine. The only point to note is that the cpc on the 2.5mm
T+E is 1mm, not 1.5mm. MCBs disconnect in the event of a fault current
much faster than fuses - if the cable is protected with a fuse, then the
disconnect time and resistance is such that the cable will get too hot
in the event of a fault, possibly causing damage (as I understand it, it
*isn't* a fire risk). Since I now have a shiny new CU with MCBs, no
problem.

Since I'm gutting the kitchem, and moving a few sockets around, I'm
going to rewire it anyway, but I'm in no rush to do the rest of the house.

Well, that's nice to know - I tend to be immensely unlucky with most things
house related (my house sale has fallen thru twice already and it looks like
it might again unless my buyer gets his arse into gear) so it's good that
there should be no problems

Cheers

Hellraiser..........