i've been lifting a few floor boards in the renovation project and am a
little dismayed by what I saw
http://www.btinternet.com/~cecil/Jupiter/

i rewired my current home and found it fairly straight forward and as the
new place had been rewired I was expecting it to be fairly easy to
understand and add a few extra sockets etc before getting it inspected.
While the consumer unit has only modern PVC twin core and earth there is an
obvious bodge in the second picture and given the state of other bodges
around the rest of the house I am wondering whether to try to persist,
removing the old cable, tracing the new or just rip out and start again?

if I do start again I would like to run the cables in as few a holes through
the joists so I have room for running some cat5 and UHF cable. The joists
currently look like cheese from the number of different holes, could I use a
hole cutter to put a BIG hole for all the cables through? What size cold I
get away with (I knew I should have measured the joist but it's approx 6"
deep and 2" width).

Thanks
Jon

JupiterJon wrote:

i've been lifting a few floor boards in the renovation project and am a
little dismayed by what I saw
http://www.btinternet.com/~cecil/Jupiter/

The blue wire and the connector block on top of the gas pipe in your
second photo, are both causes for concern and require further
investigation.

i rewired my current home and found it fairly straight forward and as the
new place had been rewired I was expecting it to be fairly easy to
understand and add a few extra sockets etc before getting it inspected.

Alas, if life were only so simple... :-(

While the consumer unit has only modern PVC twin core and earth there is an
obvious bodge in the second picture and given the state of other bodges
around the rest of the house I am wondering whether to try to persist,
removing the old cable, tracing the new or just rip out and start again?

Well I would certainly remove any redundant wiring and fittings that
may be under the floor as it is often difficult to tell if a horrible
bodge is still in a live circuit or not. Really whoever rewired the
place should have ripped out most of the old cables as part of the
job.

(I don't subscribe to the rip-out-every-last-inch brigade, as doing so
can result in a lot of additional making good. I would however rip out
all the redundant stuff from under a floor.)

if I do start again I would like to run the cables in as few a holes through
the joists so I have room for running some cat5 and UHF cable.

Don't jam the holes full of cables as this can lead to mechanical
damage or overheating in some circumstances. Alarm, telecoms, data
cables and the like should be run through different holes from the
mains cables.

I would have though that, with a bit of careful planning, you already
have enough holes through these joists for any conceivable purposes.

The joists
currently look like cheese from the number of different holes, could I use a
hole cutter to put a BIG hole for all the cables through? What size cold I
get away with (I knew I should have measured the joist but it's approx 6"
deep and 2" width).

I would stick to 20mm or at most 25mm diameter holes in such a joist.
Ideally the holes should be drilled through the centre of the joist
and close to any supporting walls. That is along the edges of a room
rather than down the middle

I see in your photos that your current joists have some holes close to
where slots for pipes and the like have been cut. This is a bad idea
as it can seriously weaken the joist.

John
--
John White,
Electrical Contractor

JupiterJon wrote:

i've been lifting a few floor boards in the renovation project and am a
little dismayed by what I saw
http://www.btinternet.com/~cecil/Jupiter/

i rewired my current home and found it fairly straight forward and as the
new place had been rewired I was expecting it to be fairly easy to
understand and add a few extra sockets etc before getting it inspected.
While the consumer unit has only modern PVC twin core and earth there is an
obvious bodge in the second picture and given the state of other bodges
around the rest of the house I am wondering whether to try to persist,
removing the old cable, tracing the new or just rip out and start again?

if I do start again I would like to run the cables in as few a holes through
the joists so I have room for running some cat5 and UHF cable. The joists
currently look like cheese from the number of different holes, could I use a
hole cutter to put a BIG hole for all the cables through? What size cold I
get away with (I knew I should have measured the joist but it's approx 6"
deep and 2" width).

Thanks
Jon

testing your various outlets (lighting, shower, sockets etc) to check
for earth and correct L/N polarity should both be easy to diy and give
you a bit more idea as to how bad it is or isnt.


NT

Thanks for this and the other advice, I had been thinking of doing a partial
rewire adn strip out of the old but there is grey PVC cable that has been
disconnected and left in there and it has taken ages to fathom in one room
alone. There a several instances of unfused spurs of rings and I discovered
that a socket next to the front door is off the 2nd floor sockets circuit
breaker ... I do not have a lot of confidence in the installation and am
beginning to think it will be better to start with a clean sheet and have
100% confidence in the result, rather than 95%...
I may keep the wiring in the rooms where it is clear, but the main cable
routes are a nightmare to work out with the numerous era's of wire. Any
time team tips out there?!

Jon


testing your various outlets (lighting, shower, sockets etc) to check
for earth and correct L/N polarity should both be easy to diy and give
you a bit more idea as to how bad it is or isnt.


NT