DIYbanter - View Single Post - rewire house

Jack the Lad wrote:

(george139) wrote in message . com...

looking at having to re-wire my ex-wifes house to save on cash. It
definitely needs a new consumer unit - the existing one being a metal
box with some old bakerlite type switches and well you get the idea.
Also the wiring to the light fittings and sockets is starting to fall
apart. There are woefully inadequate numbers of sockets so I need to
add to these. I have multiple questions and would really appreciate
any help.
1) should I just save up and get an electrician in?
2) should I do the donkey work myself - I am reasonably competant at
stuff - and get an electrician in to do the consumer unit?
3) I presume that I will be having to cut out channels in wall to add
new sockets - is there a good book on the planning of a rewire with
good practical advice
4) Should I rent or buy and angle grinder to do the channelling?

etc etc
Clearly I have not done this before but as the house really belongs to
me I am not averse to gtting stuck in and sorting th#e jovb myself -
if it isnt going to take to long.

Any advice is welcome.

Hi Matt.

You can do the job yourself and you don't have to be qualified but you
do have to ensure that all wiring and fittings comply with 16th
Edition Wiring Regs otherwise you can be held responsible in law for
any 'shocking events'? etc.
A good book I'd recommend you read first is :
THE WHICH? BOOK OF WIRING & LIGHTING by Mike Lawrence.
Don't take any notice of the purists who will post info telling you
this and that and the other.Get the book but read the introduction
first and then make a decision as to whether to do it yourself or get
an experienced electrician in.

Sound advice. 99% of teh work is laying the new cables and sockets and
making good the mess afterwards. This is not rocekt science, and neither
actullay is fittin a bnnew CU, tho you may be disinclined to mess with
the meter -to- CU tails.

I would do it all yourself, up to installing the new CU, and get the
electrician in to simply test the new stuff properly, and deal with the
connection of the new CU to the meter.