Help - House Buying (plumber/elec)

[Jonny_H]

OK, been looking into getting a house for a while now,

looked at one tonight that has clearly been owned by a very old person and basically all the elec fittings are v.old and theres like 1 socket in every room so we'd need to get new 1's fitted... .and i'm worried it might need re-wiring...

also theres only 1 rad upstairs in the main bed room so we'd have to get 3 new rads fitted....

and also theres like these old heater vent type things on the floor in each room and on the walls over these is black marks as if its been burning or something... (im guessing these will be from a old heating system before the central heating was installed) also the boiler has got the burn marks around it as well... :(

so basically...

1) new/more sockets fitting - maybe re-wire
2) 3 new rads fitting
3) old heating vents and boiler with burn marks around box on walls

apart from these were happy with the house, it just needs redecorating...

so baring everything in mind would you try to find somewhere with everything already done or knock the price down and fix things

[saxowebby]

better off buying an older house mate, there more structually sound than, the new houses,

better off just buying it and rewiring and plumbing it mate

[steviet]

i would imagine a rewire would be expensive. sounds to me like it need a lot of work/money spent. personally id give it a miss

[Mark51]

a re-wire would be a night mare mate as it means ripping everything out and starting again, then all the channels and holes in the walls ould need re-plastering. your looking at about £2-£3k depending on the size of the house

as for the heating, £2k will see you all new rads and a new combi boiler fitted

you'd be better taking someone who you know that can do that stuff and let them have a look. they owner or estate agent wont mind a second viewing plus it might give you some leverage when/if you make an offer. id also get a full survey done aswell to make sure everything else is ok

bare in mind that it might be down valued by the mortgage issuer if it does need alot of work doing to it.

[Jonny_H]

see we know a lot of people who can do all the jobs needed, but either way its still going to cost alot and at the moment we havent got the money, we'd need to get a loan which at the mo we could do without paying out everymonth

[Anders0n]

better off buying an older house mate, there more structually sound than, the new houses,

Not strictly true, depends who built it.

To have more sockets put in all the rooms will mean a rewire which is very expensive and to add more rads you'll need a lot of pipework and a new boiler. Expensive stuff...

[Mark51]

i would imagine a rewire would be expensive. sounds to me like it need a lot of work/money spent. personally id give it a miss

id disagree, me and my girlfriend bought our house 12 month ago this month and ripped it to pieces so it was down to the shell. the only thing we havnt done it a re-wire.
this worked well for us becasue it meant we had a clean slate so we could do things how we wanted and not 'manage' with what someone else had done

[Mark51]

see we know a lot of people who can do all the jobs needed, but either way its still going to cost alot and at the moment we havent got the money, we'd need to get a loan which at the mo we could do without paying out everymonth

so does that mean you are getting a 100% mortgage? if you dont have any spare cash then theres no way you could get the work done, let alone furnish it



To have more sockets put in all the rooms will mean a rewire which is very expensive and to add more rads you'll need a lot of pipework and a new boiler. Expensive stuff...

copper pipe costs f**k all mate, its the labour that will cost.
as for adding more sockets in, its not actually that hard are the electrician can just take a "spur" off another live in the same room to add the extra socket on

[Jonny_H]

no we'd geting a loan for a despoit and some spare cash, should have around 3k to spend, but it all needs re-decorating as well.... so thats gonna cost us a bit... we'd be getting a 95% mortgage

[Oli_K]

copper pipe costs f**k all mate, its the labour that will cost.
as for adding more sockets in, its not actually that hard are the electrician can just take a "spur" off another live in the same room to add the extra socket on

Agree labour will be main cost, but geezer copper pipe does not cost fuck all, althought hep pipe is a good alternative, tbh if the house needs redecorating and new plumbing and electrics, 3k is going to get you nowhere.....

[Jonny_H]

3k is going to get you nowhere.....


i know! it's a big decision to make and i want to make sure im going to make the right one !

we wouldnt have to decor every room right away as we only need kitchen/living room/and 2 beds doing asap... all the others could wait for a bit... but plugs/heating is a biggy

[saxodanny]

am a painter and decorator :D

[Oli_K]

As said you plumbing will set you back around the 2k mark depending on boiler, amount of rads etc.

The re-wire can be costly depends on the house, its the labour thats going to bump the cost up at the end of the day try do as much as you can by yourself.

[bullit]

as said a rewire will be around 3k. with all new fuse boards etc

plumbing the same 3kish depends what need doing. if you have mates in trade get some qoutes off them.

[Anders0n]

copper pipe costs f**k all mate, its the labour that will cost.
as for adding more sockets in, its not actually that hard are the electrician can just take a "spur" off another live in the same room to add the extra socket on
That's what I meant, you've misread my post. And copper pipe is not cheap lol, it wouldn't be done in that anyway, more likely hep or speedfit.

[Mark51]

Agree labour will be main cost, but geezer copper pipe does not cost fuck all, althought hep pipe is a good alternative, tbh if the house needs redecorating and new plumbing and electrics, 3k is going to get you nowhere.....

That's what I meant, you've misread my post. And copper pipe is not cheap lol, it wouldn't be done in that anyway, more likely hep or speedfit.

lol, i meant in comparison to the cost of someone to fit it. hep fixings are mint, just like a jigsaw lol

am a painter and decorator :D

its not hard to do yourself mate, people that want it doing as near to 100% as they can and rich people get someone else into do it, and lazy people lol

[Cupra-Craig]

Well me an the mrs bought an house 4 months ago.

It was a mess i've had to have centre heating all plasted electrics kitchen bathroom etc basicly a new house!

As for money i have spent about 12k mates have done alot lots of work now a proper company in yet.

its been hard work but worth it

[gouldy87]

alright mate. im a qualified heating engineer an my mate is a spark, could av a look for u if u like, we do bits on the side so we cud do it cheaper than proper firms that add VAT and all that rubbish. i cant touch the gas though as im an industrial heating engineer not domestic so i wud not come under corgi. u cud get the gas on the boiler done for not much thogh if its just the gas pipe work, there is not alot too it in domestic installations. wot eva u do dont let anyone install that plastic pipe rubbish in ur house mate! its aload of crap honestly. moves all ova the place, fittings blow off, and the washers and seals in the fittings only last for so long compared to if u had it done in copper or ma-press steal

[flee123]

Do this shit every day! Deffo a new combi in. £3k should get you this with all new pipework and rads all round. I would definitely get it done in copper as said above.

Probably a re-wire by the sounds of it too mate.

Nothing you can do, if work needs to be done so you can live in it.

gouldy87 - Could you not get your work signed off by someone who is reg'd?

[Marcos]

wot eva u do dont let anyone install that plastic pipe rubbish in ur house mate! its aload of crap honestly. moves all ova the place, fittings blow off, and the washers and seals in the fittings only last for so long compared to if u had it done in copper or ma-press steal

nothing wrong with pushfit only time we have had problems is when is dosnt get pressure tested as it dusnt dig into grab rings properly but we test it to 18bar so pulls it tight and alot cheaper and lot less hassle doubt he could affird steal tbh and copper will be expensive

[bullit]

and it will take the plumber twice aslong

[Marcos]

id say more than twice aslong as got to notch all joists and cut perfect length plastic just drill holes and throw pipe in

[Anders0n]

wot eva u do dont let anyone install that plastic pipe rubbish in ur house mate! its aload of crap honestly. moves all ova the place, fittings blow off, and the washers and seals in the fittings only last for so long compared to if u had it done in copper or ma-press steal

That's bollocks. We fit plastic in new houses and it's fine, it only moves all over the place if your a mong and don't fix it correctly.

[Oli_K]

That's bollocks. We fit plastic in new houses and it's fine, it only moves all over the place if your a mong and don't fix it correctly.

Agreed, if it isnt clipped down then the installer was a fool, and fixings only break if not pushed in far enough, once knew a guy who was helping out laid loads of hep pipe down everywhere done all the runs etc, his boss was happy as larry untill they came to presure the boiler and realised he hadnt put any inserts in .....

[Mark51]

^^^ hahaha, bet that was fun to redo

[Matty-VTR]

so does that mean you are getting a 100% mortgage? if you dont have any spare cash then theres no way you could get the work done, let alone furnish it



copper pipe costs f**k all mate, its the labour that will cost.
as for adding more sockets in, its not actually that hard are the electrician can just take a "spur" off another live in the same room to add the extra socket on

Correct me if im wrong but regulations say u can only spur once off every socket in said ring so you'd only end up with 2 sockets per room

[flee123]

I use push fit at work everyday. Never had too many problems with it. But personally, if I was doing it in my house, I would do it in copper.

What push fit do people use? I use Hep2O, tried SpeedFit, had problems with that!

[Oli_K]

hep20, also had probs with speedfit

@mark, luckily i had nothing to do with refitting it

[Marcos]

we use hep2o but have used speedfit and osma gold in the past hate speed fit dosnt feel like the fitting pushes in fully when it does, and got to becarefull O-ring isnt dirty as that can cause leaks

[Jonny_H]

UPDATE!!!!!

had the survey done:

1) needs rewiring
2) Poss asbestos in the prop - recommended asbestos report
3) cracks in wall - probably not serious - recommended another report
4) damp - only in utility room - not too serious
5) Boiler might be nackered - but might just be because it hasnt been used for about 10 months so recommended a engineers report..

at this stage were quite worried as to pay for all the extra reports is going to cost lots plus the cost of getting the extra work done could be expensive...

so were thinking if the vendor will drop a few grand on the asking price then we'll go ahead but if not were thinking of dropping out...

[Jonny_H]

what u think?

doesnt look too good does it? :(

[Danr]

Has the lendor agreed to lend you the money for the property?

That report is exactly why i dispise the majority of surveyors. If you actually read what you have put the surveyor actually hasn't got a clue what they are talking about. It might have this, it might have that. Such a waste of money but they have to be done.

[azzy]

as for adding more sockets in, its not actually that hard are the electrician can just take a "spur" off another live in the same room to add the extra socket on

Correct me if im wrong but regulations say u can only spur once off every socket in said ring so you'd only end up with 2 sockets per room

Yes mate think you are right. If your gonna add more to circuits then in need of rewire & an Electrical Installation Certificate.

If you were just adding a socket to a ring then a Minor Works Cerfticate.

Both these would need testing.

[bullit]

what u think?

doesnt look too good does it? :(

well if the value of the house doesnt take these problems into consideration then yes. knock them down

rewire could be 3k

boiler a 1k

reports- god knows

say knock 5 off, see what they say