Replacing a fuse box/rewiring a house

ethernet

I'm living in a bungalow [built in the late 1970s] with the old fuse box. It's a real pain trying to find replacement fuses of the right amperage nowadays. The shower makes all the lights dim when it's on.

I've suggested several times to the home owners that the house should be completely rewired and the fuse box placed by the more modern trip switch/RCD system. There's only one socket per bedroom!

1. What could one expect to be charged for a complete rewire -- sockets and lights, including additional points?

It would be a perfect excuse to install ethernet sockets, add more TV outlets and finally add light and outlets to the garage.

2. What would be the best approach to bringing power to the garage? It's detached from the house [galvanised sheets and uneven surfaces all around].

3. Another question: how do most people power equipment [such as distribution amplifiers] in the attic? Is it common to just cut into a socket's down lead in the attic or should a new connection be made to the fuse board?

Many thanks for any feedback on these burning questions on my mind .

crosstownk

I paid €5800 for a rewire on a 1962 built 4 bed semi D.

The best (and most expensive) route is to go for a full rewire.

cast_iron

ethernet wrote:

1. What could one expect to be charged for a complete rewire -- sockets and lights, including additional points?

It would be a perfect excuse to install ethernet sockets, add more TV outlets and finally add light and outlets to the garage.

2. What would be the best approach to bringing power to the garage? It's detached from the house [galvanised sheets and uneven surfaces all around].

3. Another question: how do most people power equipment [such as distribution amplifiers] in the attic? Is it common to just cut into a socket's down lead in the attic or should a new connection be made to the fuse board?

1. Ask an electrician, though the above price wouldn't be a million miles away, I would guess.

2. Dig a trench, run armoured cable out, and install a mini fuse board in the garage itself. Supply should be from main board.

3. Yes, cut a socket circuit and run a new double socket off a joiner box to where the aerial cables are.

Stoner

Yeah the price sounds good (but a cash price) add more to go the "correct" route.

I agree with cast_iron on question 2.

Q3,IMHO
if your house is a bungalow you may have socket cables in your attic, typically only lighting and maybe an electric shower cable would be the only power cables in an attic. If its a bungalow getting to your fuseboard directly for a clean attic supply can be very easy to do, it's always best to run a clean cable to a fuseboard if possible rather than cutting and jointing cables.

Keeks

cast_iron wrote:

2. Dig a trench, run armoured cable out, and install a mini fuse board in the garage itself. Supply should be from main board.

What would you need in this mini fuse board?

Avns1s

Keeks wrote:

What would you need in this mini fuse board?

32A RCD, 20A MCB for sockets, 10A MCB for lights.

Stoner

well I agree, I'd put in a mini fuseboard too if lighting and power were required
I'd simply have a main breaker, a 10Amp lighting circuit and something for the sockets depending on the amount needed either one or two 20Amp RCBOs or an RCD with 20 Amp MCBs.

If its only a light in the garage I'd use a double pole switch with a deep box to joint the cable and isolate/switch the circuit

Keeks

Stoner,

What type of main breaker would you use or would the 32A rcd be ok as Avns1s has described?

If you were using the RCD as a main breaker would you then really need the RCBOs for the sockets?

Stoner

em, no the RCD would not be used as a main breaker, just a 32 Amp isolator switch, it is purely to turn off the power at the board so it can be worked on safely, the RCD and RCBOs are only for sockets, you do not pass lighting circuits through RCDs or RCBOs.

RCDs are combined with MCBs to give you the same level of protection as an RCBO (RCD also = ELCB)

So it's into Main breaker (32 , 40 Amp) then the 10 Amp for the lights, then into an RCBO per Socket circuit or into an RCD that then feeds 20 Amp MCBs per circuit.

Keeks

To give an example, a shed with one light and one socket what youwouldput in the mini fuse board is:

a 32/40 Amp main breaker, a 20 amp RCBO for the socket and an ordinary 10amp MCB for the lights.

Or if there wasnt an RCBO, an rcd which feed a 20 amp MCB for the socket circuit.

Stoner

that's exactly what I'd put in Keeks, the RCBO option would be cheapest

ethernet

A wealth of knowledge as always. Plenty to go on now.

€5,800 seems reasonable for the work involved. Well worth it too.

If you were to run a clean connection to the fuse box, how would you do this? Don't worry -- no intention of doing it; just curious.

Thanks for the replies.

Stoner

I'd do it as cast_iron advised, SWA (steel wired armour) cable in a trench,

Or if you just want light, get a car battery and a twin 9W Solar kit from
www.cpc.co.uk for about €130 ( might be cheaper ones out there) you get some cable, the lamp holders, the lamps and a light switch along with the solar panel.

Keeks

Thanks for the info lads...much appreciated

Beach Head

Stoner wrote:

I'd do it as cast_iron advised, SWA (steel wired armour) cable in a trench,

Dont forget to Earth the armour. It is not just for mechanical protection as a lot of people think. If a shovel etc were to pierce the cable then the first core they hit if the armour is earthed is Earth. Therefore the electrical fault current should not pass through the shovel wielder!

ethernet

Don't think earthing the SWA would have occurred to me in all honesty [mabe after an incident].

That solar kit looks promising -- an easy solution. Floodlights might be better after having visitors in our garden in the early hours a few nights back.

Another question: how many years can you expect out of an electric shower/how long is a piece of string? Ours just died! It's a Triton T90i. Had it for maybe five or six years and used daily. Had been behaving unusually lately -- cold then hot. It wasn't as loud the day it died; sounded like it was 'choking'.

Stoner

4-8 years I'd say for a shower
T90is are easy ton change anyway, some connections and pipework from unit to unit

GreeBo

ethernet wrote:

Another question: how many years can you expect out of an electric shower/how long is a piece of string? Ours just died! It's a Triton T90i. Had it for maybe five or six years and used daily. Had been behaving unusually lately -- cold then hot. It wasn't as loud the day it died; sounded like it was 'choking'.

I think I have one of them in my attic if you are interested.
Its not that old and was working fine before we removed it (bathroom remodelling)

FX Meister

For the shed outside you can always just run 2.5 SWA, fed from a 20A MCB coming from the RCD, into a switched fused spur in the shed. In the incoming side of the spur have the 2.5 SWA and a 2.5 T&E to loop to your sockets. On the outgoing side you can have a 1.5 T&E to feed your lights using the switch on the spur (fused down to 10A) to switch your lights.

Beach Head

FX Meister wrote:

For the shed outside you can always just run 2.5 SWA, fed from a 20A MCB coming from the RCD, into a switched fused spur in the shed. In the incoming side of the spur have the 2.5 SWA and a 2.5 T&E to loop to your sockets. On the outgoing side you can have a 1.5 T&E to feed your lights using the switch on the spur (fused down to 10A) to switch your lights.

Thats the way I would go!

As for the shower, I have seen them lasting up to 12 years (Old T-90's). That problem, the hot-cold-hot, I think is a stat problem that is easily repairable. Contact Earthridge (Not sure of spelling), they are in Maynooth. If its repairable, they will tell you.

Keeks

Ok i know what SWA (steel wired armour as mentioned above) stands for but what is T&E?

cast_iron

Twin and earth, though I've never heard it abbreviated like that before.

ethernet

Going to buy a replacement shower, but cheers for the offer, GreeBo. The hot-cold-hot was going on for a while, Beach Head. Oddly, cleaning the shower head often helped fix this. They just don't make them like they used to. Couldn't be bothered with the si version. As far as I know, this needs another tank in the attic. Water pressure here is perfectly acceptable.

SWA seems to be the way to go so. 20 A seems ample for the garage, even if some heavy duty tools were to be used there.

Thanks for the suggestions .

davelerave

i'd plump for a small outdoor fuseboard as outlined previously and a 3*4 swa min. from the box.