Fire in the Wall

Fire in the Wall  by Tony Dawe

As you switch on the lights, plug in the TV or turn on the computer, do you ever give a thought to the wires carrying electricity to these fittings? You should:

• Almost half of all homes are at least 50 years old and often fall short of today's electrical safety standards.

• Older homes were not designed to cope with the number of electrical appliances owned by today's families.

• Electrical work in homes in England and Wales is still not protected by building regulations (unlike in Scotland).

Fixed wiring in new homes and any appliances permanently connected to the power supply—ovens, immersion heaters, showers—used to be checked by electricity companies before they switched on the supply. But since privatisation, this is happening less and less. A recent study found that 89 per cent of house buyers wrongly assume a property survey covers electrics.

Here's how to take stock of your home's potential hot spots:

If fuses continuously blow, circuit breakers keep tripping, lights flicker, or appliances stop and start for no reason, it's a sign that the wiring is faulty or the circuit's overloaded. It may be something as simple as the wrong size fuse in a plug or an unsuitable connector in a fuse in the fuse box.

The common response to a shortage of sockets for today's electrical equipment is to use double adaptors or trailing sockets.

Nearly 40 per cent of Britain's homes were built pre-1945. Old wiring doesn't necessarily mean trouble. But be alert for a smell like that of rotting fish. This could indicate that insulation protecting wiring is damaged and that the wires are overheating. There is a simple way for a qualified electrician to check: unscrew sockets or light switches and take a careful look inside. Cracked or crumbling in-sulation is a sure sign of dangerous wiring.

Lighting circuits installed before 1960 were often not earthed, creating a real risk of shocks in older homes if metal light fittings have recently been installed. Electrical fires can also result from arcing, in which a spark "jumps" between two ends of a broken wire or a loose connection. Arcs can heat nearby insulation, which could burst into flames.

House wiring should be checked every ten years. And if you're moving and your prospective property does not have the appropriate electrical certification, get an electrical survey. 

 

 

 

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