How much would you budget to spend on ...

Not a general statement. I've based my statement on industry knowledge and quotes above by other experts. My statements are qualified. Yours are informed by what exactly?

 

I'll take the bait

Quoting from your own link esv.vic.gov.au above:

When buying a home built before the 1980s it is imperative the wiring is checked by a licensed electrical inspector or registered electrical contractor prior to moving in.

 

Slightly missing the point there. I'm yet to meet a qualified electrician, currently licenced, that would recommend a house with 1980s wiring be lived in. If you read that article in full it says as much. My other links make it clear that 25 years is the longest a house should be left before rewire. In fact you will note the fire experts say 20.

 

It also said this:
"Old wiring is dangerous and can kill
In addition to the risk of fire, contact with degraded wiring can be fatal.

For example, in 2010, a man died when he touched old split-metal conduit while installing an aerial in his roof space."

Old wiring is dangerous and can kill. It's fairly clear to me that it should be replaced at least every 25 years.

 

Still no legislation, just some recommendations for homes 30 years or older be inspected.

I've had licensed electricians through my older properties (built 1960-70) doing work on many an occasion, even replacing switchboards etc and no one has ever recommended a full house re-wire.

 

Well, when I was working in the industry I was told that this was illegal. Switchboards were to be replaced when a house was rewired. Partial rewires were not done.

Though obviously houses with newer wiring were repaired.

I quoted the legislation above. There is legislation on this. That does not mean that your electricians followed it or thought to mention that you should get the house rewired. Ultimately, an old house with old wiring is your responsibility.

We have laws on speed limits, it doesn't stop people from speeding. It gets them prosecuted when they are caught.

 

I'm happy to have an electrical safety check ... obviously if it showed an issue then whatever might need doing will get done. I don't see any need to rewire the property in the absence of any actual problem (and I don't see age as an issue), and I haven't seen any legislation quoted here either!

Can I drag this back to the original topic please?

How (or how much) would you budget or spend for an IP bathroom renovation?

 

The Australian Electrical Standard for the second time. The whole point of old wiring is you can't see it...and then, you leave it, and you have a fire. Age does deteriorate wires, like anything else, recently when I got a lamp rewired discovered it was about to short due to age. It was done just in time (was not obvious, done at 25 years, just in time).

Off the top of my head 10-20k for a decent bathroom reno but it depends what needs to be done. Talk to a builder and get a quote.

 

I would need to know if you are talking about a bathroom in a $300K house in Elizabeth or Logan, or a $1m house in Sydney etc. It would also help if we have pictures and a floor plan. Will you be doing some of the labour yourself or totally outsourcing?

 

It is a terrace house in Paddington NSW. Say $1.6m value?

 

Thanks for this, the floor plan made all the difference to my thinking.

$1.6 m. In that case I dont think 15-$20K would be overcapitalising. I have never paid a builder to do a reno, there are other people with more realistic knowledge of builder's fees than I have. Re configuring walls is pretty basic so wont cost much. The tiles, lights and hardware eat up the $$$ and you can be as frugal or exotic as you like with those. Have fun

 

We did 2 IP Reno’s a year or so ago and it came to $15k combined and we did nothing except project manage.

Looking at another - cheap house and ful Reno including moving plumbing - we’re planning on $6K.

 

I had a chat with my sparks this arvo, working on a >100yr old house. Asked directly If he'd rewire a house every 20-25 years....

It would be such a waste of resources.

Asked If he'd rewire the one he was working on, partially was his answer - there were sections which needed some work but it was generally OK (has earth leakage & no more cotton sheathed wiring).

 

Yeah, Im pretty sure the only requirement is that the switchboard must be updated each time an electrician ever does any work. I could be wrong but pretty sure its only something like that.