Approximate cost to rewire...

[vlv8vic]

Hey all, have been going though the forum flat out the last couple of weeks and thought it time i joined.
Have just bought my first home, a modest 3 bedroom ex-commission brick vaneer job on the coast. very excited.
Having looked at the place myself and had others look at it the only thing weve found in need of possible attention is the wiring (1975 house, assumed original wiring - some insurance companies probably wont touch it).

Wondering if anyone here would have a ballpark figure for rewiring the place. Average number of lights and points, 3 bedroom single living with the old type black round faced meter.

i know its a hard call, but can anyone give me some idea where its headed? do they replace all the points and switches with a full rewire or is it just the main bits (new meter box bitsas).

Apologies if this sounds vague, just seeing what i can suss out!
thanks! Jon.

[journeyman Mick]

Jon,
I'm fairly sure they weren't using the old rubber insulated wiring anymore in '75 and definitely not the old cloth stuff. If tha cable isn't dodgy I can't see any reason why it would need to be rewired.

Mick

[OBBob]

1975 isn't too bad ... there are plenty of early 1900s houses round melbourne still using their orignal cloth wiring! Plenty of them have dogy 60s add ons too!

It would be worth getting a sparki in to have a look at it ... there probably isn'rt a safety switch, so get them there to install theat for a couple of hundered and just query about the wiring then.

I'm not sure about cost but if you are trying to cut back and you find a helpful electrician he may be happy for you to pull all the new wire through and then he just needs to terminate them.

Rob

[Ben (TM)]

Dunno about Warnambool - but you would be looking at around 5-6k here in Melbourne town.

[Pulse]

Jon,
I agree with the others, you probably don't need to replace all the wiring. Replacing light fixtures, switches and powerpoints would be a start. As Rob said a safety switch is a good plan as are some MCBs instead of fuses. You might consider running a new power circuit and a 15A circuit for an A/C. Throw in some hard wired smoke alarms for good measure!

Cheers
Pulse

[Bluegum]

We just had the mains upgraded at home a week ago. For a new metre box and mains cost us $1250.00. We also had a 7.1kw aircon installed (cost 2700) as well. The Sparkie reckoned a complete rewire could cost up to about 4-5k for the job. With the new mains we're set and don't need to worry about the rest as our wiring is up to scratch. Not bad since the place was built in 54 and survived the 74 floods.

[Redgy]

Going rate here (only 2hrs from Warnambool) is around 4.5-5k for a 4 br with 22 powerpoints, nominal lights, 1 x 2way switching cct, outside floodlight etc etc. This is for a new place so includes switchboard & mains etc but is way quicker to wire than existing place so labour is relatively cheap. A rewire may be a bit dearer depending if you need a new sw/bd & if you want to use new power points etc.
I don't think you need to get a 30yr old house rewired but get rcd(s) put in & have the place tested by a sparky for correctly wired power points, earthed light fittings, earthed water pipes etc.

Reg

[b1ueshift]

I live in Laverton in a 1975 house and the original wiring looks as good as new. The wiring is the white PVC stuff that is actually a heavier gauge (and better) than the stuff they use now.

Hopefully yours is the same. Some other houses in my neighbourhood which were built in the 1960's use some black insulation which is starting to get brittle. They also have bakerlite fittings which should ideally be replaced during a rewire (incase they have gone brittle), but they are a different shape to the new plastic fittings so that may not be an option.

Changing the fittings won't affect the cost much because the old fittings will need to be removed during the re-wire.

[Cobber]

If you have the new white light switches is it fair to assume there has been a rewire at some stage? An electrician came around once to sort out a problem and he had a look behind the switchboard (old one) and reckoned it had prob been rewired...dont ask me what he looked at?

So whats the cost then to replace the switch board and meter etc?

[vlv8vic]

thanks stacks for that everyone. to be honest i didnt think my post had worked because the internet dropped out as i posted, hence the reason i didnt get back here for a bit.
4-5k was about what i imagined. the insurance people said if it wasnt rewired in the last 25 years they would add an extra clause to the insurance stating that if a fault could be deemed to have been caused by older wiring they wouldnt cover the damages. now in the process of looking up different insurers as a rewire doesnt thrill me (and yes the wiring looks fine to me).
im wondering, if i dont worry about getting it wired again, can i swap a few light switches myself to save getting a sparky in? i know many of you will say get a professional, and i understand the merit in that, but it seems a waste of time getting someone in to do something i learnt doing run-around work for a sparky (before i went teaching).
any idea of the legalities of doing something this simple?

youve been a great help and i feel much better about things now!!!

[jow104]

b'o;;;y insurance companies are getting a pain, they are the same up here. Its a form of cherry picking, slash cover on everything so no claims likely and then they can then quote lower premiums.

I think the world economies need legislation that all insurance companies should offer equal cover and then premiums should equalize and service would then come into much greater play.

[Measure twice!]

If your sparky agrees you could run the cable and get him to fit off and save some dosh.

[vlv8vic]

good news guys, the insurance co (national unity) no longer discriminate (not on this policy at least) on the age of wiring. So... new carpets will happen this year rather than next which will make life much more cosy.

needless to say wiring will still be checked, as a couple of switches here and there arent much chop, but a bonus nonetheless. thanks for all the help!

[Cobber]

When i got my joint insured there was no mention of wiring (gio) or the age of the house from what i can recall?

[Cobber]

Ive been told by an electrician that it will cost me about $95 per switch/light/powerpoint to re-wire.

How does this sound for a price? I also need to pull down the ceiling plaster so he said it would be an easier job so it may even be less.

The front 2 rooms have the black rubber stuff and the other 2 rooms have the white plastic (prob done 20 years ago). He reckons i should get rid of that as well???

cheers

Cobber