Safety issues in old houses

[Downunder35m]

I needed a few new power outlets and decided to add the cable from an existing power point instead of the hassle going all the way to the meter box.
First shock was to see that only 2 core wire was used for the power outlet I removed.
Second shock came after checking all outlets: 5 out of 18 had been connected with 2 core cable.
Thrid shock came when I ealised that some wires were pretty loose, a bit of a wiggle and they came out!
Ended up buying a 100m roll of cable to replace all the wrongly connected outlets, checked and tightened all srews (including in the light switches) and to call a fully licenced sparky to perform a full safety check.
All good now and the safety switches can now work as they should.
With X-mas coming up and it might be worth to check (or have it checked) if your old wiring is still safe and sound.
Considering that on some of the faulty outlets heaters and ktichen tools were used it was a good wake up call for me.

[gordon_s1942]

I dont know what State your in but my 'Old House'(NSW) pre WW2 construction had a single bare multi strand Copper Earth Wire from the TWO (yes,2 GFPO's) as well as metal conduit with 2 rubber/cotton coated wires enclosed.
The house was divided into 2 circuits (Fuses) with light and POWER on each circuit. 3 lights and one GPO on each circuit from memory.
This bare Earth wire ran across the ceiling to the meter board and then to the water pipe nearby.
I had an electric stove installed just after I moved in (1965/66?) and thats how I found out about the bare earth and that it was broken in 5 places, great Earth, eh??
So if you blew a fuse on one outlet, that put the lights out on that side of the house.
In later years I had an Earth stake installed and the wire looped from it to the water pipe beside.
My guess is your place was done before they did the change over from two round pin plugs for power to the current 3 pin with Earth we use today. So I wouldnt be surprised to find out whoever was there back then had just removed the old 2 pin sockets and installed a 3 pin spade type without adding an earth.
If I read correctly that when a house was built before WW2, the builder installed the wiring himself, it wasnt mandatory for it to be done by a licensed Electrician, hence the phrase ,Builder's Wire or Wiring.
I can just remember such an outlet where I lived in Sydney pre 1954.
The 'Powerboard' had a small pilot type light (5w) on top, the switch in the middle and the outlet under.
It was also very common to use a 'Double Adaptor' on the light socket to power the Radio, an Iron or a Toaster, but not all at once.

[admin]

Wouldnt you call the electrician in the first place rather than performing illegal electrical work and then calling him?

[autotuner]

Wouldnt you call the electrician in the first place rather than performing illegal electrical work and then calling him?

I do the time consuming $$$ work myself, running the cables and getting everything ready. Then the sparky just does the terminations and sign off.

Can't see the point in paying $$$ for nothing......

[officemanager]

I do the time consuming $$$ work myself, running the cables and getting everything ready. Then the sparky just does the terminations and sign off.

Can't see the point in paying $$$ for nothing......

You must know a trusting sparky as I for one would not finish off any work done by a non licenced person.

[Downunder35m]

I'm a sparky by trade but not licensed in AU.
So for insurance purposes I do the work and let a licenced sparky check and sign.
Better safe than sorry

[BCNZ]

There are a lot of old houses around with substandard and dodgy wiring in them.
I've worked on plenty of them and it's any wonder they are still standing and haven't burned to the ground as a result of the potential fire risk.
Anyone with a house that's built prior to 1950 should have their wiring checked and replaced if necessary.
The old wiring practices aren't sufficient to cope with modern demands and appliances.
Wiring and joints that are now 80+ years old will be exhibiting degrees of high resistance, which leads to hotspots and potential fire.

The 'Powerboard' had a small pilot type light (5w) on top, the switch in the middle and the outlet under.

I've seen these before and wondered what the purpose of the pilot light is. Any ideas?