
Checked the electrics lately? 7 signs your home needs rewiring
By Lisa Salmon. Published 2020-06-12
BOLD-LivingIt’s easy to never give the electrics a second thought, but potentially dangerous warning signs should never be ignored. TheBoldAge investigates
Electricity is something most of us take for granted, without giving much thought to its awesome power. But if your home is in need or rewiring, that awesome power may become worryingly or even dangerously obvious, potentially leading to electric shocks or fires.“Rewiring your home can mitigate the risk of a potential electrical accident occurring as a result of old and poor or damaged wiring,” says Martyn Allen, technical director at the campaigning charity, Electrical Safety First (ESF; electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk).“Home owners should be wary of the warning signs that the property’s wiring may need replacing.”The cost of rewiring can be quite shocking – Allen says it can set homeowners back anything from £3000-£5000 for an average house. And cost isn’t the only consideration – he warns that rewiring a property will inevitably cause some disruption, including the need to replaster and re-paper walls after the work is complete. Then there’s the length of time it takes – the electrical work should take around a week, with redecorating after that.However, ESF points out that if your home does need rewiring, there’s an alternative way to improve the safety of your electrics. Replacing the consumer unit or fuse box with a modern one that will include RCDs (residual current device, a life-saving unit designed to prevent fatal electric shocks if something live is touched) will protect homeowners from the dangers of mains electricity.Allen says installing such a unit will take around half a day and set you back approximately £500, and adds: “If homeowners wish to go about having their wiring checked in the home, we recommend only ever using a competent, registered electrician to undertake this work.”But how can you tell if your home needs rewiring or a new fuse box? Here are some of the warning signs…
1. Persistent burning smell
If you haven’t burned your dinner and there’s a burning smell that won’t go away, your house may need rewiring. If you smell burning and can’t identify the source, turn off the power at the circuit and contact an electrician immediately. The odour, warns Allen, is the “distinctive smell of an electrical burn which is similar to that of fish”.- Scorched or discoloured sockets or switches
- Fuses blow repeatedly
- Flickering or dimming lights
- Electric shocks
- Hanging sockets
- An old house