We have had an interesting and extremely chilly 2 days finding out about our house. Naturally this is going to generate some questions, partly to get advice and partly to try to ensure we don’t end up paying le prix Anglaise.
So electrics. The house looks like it’s been rewired in the last 20 years, possibly with a new ballon etc fitted in the last 5 years. Almost all sockets are 2 pin (definitely not aux norms) except for a couple in a recently fitted bathroom, and some of the electrical kit looks recentish. The electrics have a name (Hamy R et Fils) and telephone number for a local sparks, and there’s still someone - probably one of the fils - with the same surname doing electrics from the same town. They are likely to be my first port of call to ask about making it ‘aux norms’, since they may even recognise the work.
My first question (and more will certainly come along) is about wiring inside the walls to sockets. This appears to be 3 core flexible wire - looks like 13 amp flex with a white sheath - rather than a solid core wire that I wold have expected, the earth wire having been snipped off as un-needed. Is this ever likely to have been acceptable? When I saw it, my immediate thought was that this is never going to be legal, and a complete re-wire would be needed.
If this IS legal, is it likely to be a case of just changing 2 pin for 3 pin sockets and connecting up the earth wire too?
It’s not a question of “legality”, more about conformity with current "normes ", which it obviously doesn’t. Probably worth getting a full rewire/new tableau. Enedis will want to change the meter too. On the other hand, it probably all works just fine (but those old 2 pin sockets can wear internally)
Possibly than 20 years old IMHO. Replaceable fuses became banned/obsolete in 2015 (for new builds or total renovations). I don’t know that you have to change them if they still work, but modern housing electric distribution boxes generally include some kind of 30mA differential trip switch to protect the circuits (in theory) and use dipole switches that are plugged into a distribution feed behind the differential trip switch.
Can we assume correctly that you have either just moved into the property and/or recently made it your main residence? If so, then the mandatory inspection report produced as part of the sale process should have highlighted any serious problems.
One thing that I should mention, is that some old French two pin sockets are ONLY for low powered table lights etc.
I would be inclined to live in the house for say another 6 months, so that you will have a better idea of exactly where you want new & replacements sockets, lights, white goods etc, (which need dedicated circuits).
Rewiring will give the opportunity to have the latest sockets with USB charging ports and to perhaps also have network cabling installed at the same time.
We had around 90% of our house rewired in 2018/19 at a cost of around £10,000.
Interesting. If we can avoid a full rewire and remain safe & fulfill all the requirements of insurance companies then that is what I should prefer.
Obviously some of the stuff is much older than 20 years, but some things appear fairly recent too, like the big disjoncteur in the middle of the downstairs board.
We aren’t going to live there full time in the foreseeable future, since this will be a holiday home, and it really needs heating sorting out (3 degrees in the livingroom today - I don’t want the water on yet either, just in case!).
Oh the joys of old wiring… we had a blackout the first night … candle-light might be ok in romantic films but not much fun in reality when nothing works…
Seriously, as has been suggested… I would plan my finances for a complete renewal… but, do wait and work out what should go where.
You can ask the local chap to quote now, discuss some ideas… and this will give you a figure to consider…
Technically multistrand cable could be used as installation cable, but it’s really not advisable, especially as you will struggle to connect to modern push-fit connections that are intended to be used with solid conductors. EDIT: It’s also more expensive than the right wiring…
All the kit you’ve photographed only makes things point in one direction - towards a total rewire. I wouldn’t waste time, energy & money on trying to make do & mend (& the price of copper is high at the moment so there’s scrap value in what you rip out).
The lack of earthing, the use of fuses, & a total lack of any “protection des personnes” by 30mA différentiels makes your installation very non-compliant, not to say dangerous.
P.S. I think you might have a three phase supply - the main disjoncteur looks wide enough, but to confirm have a look at the meter - it will state triphasé somewhere on the plate behind the viewing glass.
If it is tri then there’s even more reason to rewire as the system will almost certainly have some circuits that share a common neutral, which is a real pain if the final circuits are actually monophasé.
I would say that if we CAN continue to use the existing cabling without compromising safety then I should prefer to do so, simply because it’s already in situ and therefore there’s no chasing out etc and therefore reduces costs of materials, labour & waste (even if it can be recycled). In the next week or so I will try to contact firms with a view to getting quotes for making safe & complying.
Just to add, the roof was redone in 2016, and there’s lots of neatly laid corrugated trunking on the beams that all looks quite recent.
Seems to be drained (nothing emerges from taps, and toilet cisterns are empty). The house has been empty a couple of years now. They appear to have fitted a new bathroom with a shower that could never be used because there’s no space for a cubicle and nowhere for the tiled floor to drain if the shower were ‘Italian style’ - I think the system hasn’t been used since then.
Enedis came last week and now I have been converted from partial tri- and partial monophase to all mono, the board and associated boxes are all brand spanking new and the Linky is blinking but yet to be commissioned [I think]
However, I am still blessed with these bonkers sockets, fitted in barmy places, under light switches by doorways.
Apart from plugging in a vacuum cleaner, maybe, what was the rational for installing these sockets and are there any inherent issues with them? I don’t think the sales survey [last Sept] mentioned them.
Look, go to three-different French electrical-experts and ask for an estimation of thorough rewiring of the house.
If you have a problem that is provoked by the wiring then expect your French house-insurance to announce some surprises about your contract with them! In excellent French legalise …
It’s a hangover from when wiring was minimal & those sockets were run from the same circuit as the lights (which is now interdit). The habit has remained & yours may well have their own circuits, but may not be earthed (despite the presence of an earth pin). They may have separate phase conductors but use the same neutral as the lights - this is an especial pain when trying to rationlise/mise aux normes an old installation.
They would not do so specifically, but they will have mentioned that at least one socket has no earth connection - blatently obvious in your first photo.
Fun fact; for a residence to comply with disabled living regulations then any room that is part of the everyday living accomodation for a disabled person must have a socket adjacent to the entrance into that room, situated between 0,9m & 1,3m from the floor i.e. a socket below the light switch.
I think I would listen to Jonathan’s expert advice and price up a full rewire - the fact that someone has used equipment cord would make me wonder when other surprises were lurking, the tableau needs to be completely replaced anyway.
You might get lucky and be able to pull new wiring through the gaine using the old - the wiring is in gaine isn’t it?
Jonathan might be able to offer a more reliable opinion but the blue/brown colour of the conductors definitely makes me think that is not designed for permanent installation and would originally have been sold as equipment flex.
I know naff-all about wiring except from experience (my partner worked on power station wiring so is considerably more au fait with things). However, I would be VERY nervous about equipment flex. My little house in the UK had been rewired very recently when I bought it, but the hidden connection cable to the outside utility turned out to be flex when we ripped everything out - and it had already started smouldering behind the plaster…
