Intro
Today marks the day I moved from a new build property into a 1979 house in sunny Ayrshire. The four-bed property has been fairly well looked after however, decoration hasn’t kept up with modern trends.
Summary of my understanding of the house;
- One Previous owner
- The garage had an extension built on top between 1990-2000
- The loft has partial 100mm insulation
- The suspended floor has no insulation
- The property is built with double brick walls and cavity wall insulation added in 1997
- The consumer unit (fuse board) is from the 1990s
- It has a system boiler with a vented cylinder in the loft
- It faces 220° south-west
- uPVC throughout although likely from the date of the extension (old)
- Wooden backdoor
Electrics
Given the house is 42 years old it’s possible that over time some of the electrical work carried out isn’t up to current standards. The consumer unit is a non-RCD board and plastic therefore not complaint with 18th edition standards. Visually it looks to be original wiring all at the board, so any new colours are likely additive or partial rewiring with junction boxes.
A quick look in a light switch at random shows some pre-2006 wiring colours and also a metal back box, strangely despite the earth being adjacent, it’s not been terminated into the box or fitting.
Plans
Roughly speaking the things high on my list to sort;
- The Consumer unit changed
- Rewire the upstairs lighting
- Insulate the suspended floors
- Insulate the loft
- Add Ethernet where sensible
- Replace front & back doors with modern composite
- New Kitchen
- New Ensuite/Bathroom
- Add Solar Panels & Battery Storage