Our lights in the kitchen keep tripping and a few of our plug sockets fizzle. Does my house need rewiring?

SOUNDS LIKE A PERIODIC INSPECTION REPORT WOULD BE ADVISABLE TO ASSESS WHAT STATE YOUR ELECTRICS ARE IN.. NOBODY CAN TELL YOU WITHOUT SEEING IT FIRST. POSSIBLE LOOSE CONNECTIONS. LOOK TO BE PAYING AROUND £100-120 FOR A PIR. DONE PROPERLY IT SHOULD TAKE A COMPETENT ELECTRICIAN MOST OF THE DAY NOT THE 2 HOURS & £40 SOME ARE DOING THEM FOR!! GOOD LUCK

If the wiring is VIR wiring it is very old, (40 years plus), it does need to be replaced, as it is in danger of crumbling when it is moved. As a rule of thumb the colours of the cables going into the socket will give a clue as to what it is. outer sheath (grey) brown live, blue, neutral, earth green and yellow post 2005 OK outer sheath (white) red live, black, neutral, earth green and yellow 2005-1960 OK outer sheath (grey) red live, black, neutral, earth green pre-1960 could be vir and should be replaced But the best way to find out, would be to get a NAPIT, NICEIC, or ELECSA electrician to do a periodic inspection that will reveal all the faults on your installation. Hope this helps. Rob

Good morning Prior to spending a large sum of money on a rewire, my advice would be to have the electrical system tested in full (Periodic Inspection) to identify what is causing the faults mentioned and to see i f the system requires a rewire. Warm regards Arron - Netelect

Hi there. The sound coming from your sockets may be arcing due to poor connections. If a small gap appears between contacts, the electricity will jump from one pole to the other. This effect also generates heat which if not corrected could lead to a fire. A quick free visual should be able to determine if it needs a rewire or further investigation (periodic inspection) (It may be pointless and a waste of money to pay for a periodic inspection if its obvious that the property needs a rewire) A full rewire would obviously correct any other faults that the installation has. We recommend that you get an inspection immediately. These ten points help point into the direction of a rewire. 1, Old rubber cables in place on some or all of the installation. 2, Old type fuse box in place with fuse wire or cartridge type protection devices. 3 Under size main tails supplying the consumer unit, 4 No safety bonding to the Gas or Water, 5 No CPC (circuit protective conductor) (Earth) to lighting circuit/s 6 Unsafe additions to the installation 7 Incorrect cable sizes in place for parts of the installation 8 Inadequate number of outlets (sockets) in bedrooms and around the property 9 Poor placement of light switches and no secondary 2 way switches in halls and walkthroughs 10 No previous test results available for inspection Hope this information helps you. We specialise in home rewires. If I can be of any further assistance then please do not hesitate to contact me. Gary Secelec Uk

The first step i would take is to get a part p registered electrician in, and ask him or her to give you a electrical test on your property. Please dont compromise your saftey for the sake of expert advise. Good luck

It may not need a complete rewire, but it definitely need an inspection by a qualified person to check what is going on.

Hi weenic1984 its hard to tell from the description you have given, it may be something as simple as a loose connection.A good local electrician would be able to take a look for you possibly free of charge and tell you exactly what would be required and offer you a quote for that work.