Q. Does my house need rewiring?

If the wiring leaving your fuseboard to the sockets are the old black rubber butyl wiring then you need to rewire the house. Over time the rubber becomes brittle and can break down leading to short circuits and possible fire etc.. For the last 50 years PVC wiring has been used and this is much safer although if you have a lot of appliances and gadgets you might be overloading the system and again a rewiring would be recommended. If part of the house is being wired for an extension or alteration you should take the opportunity to fully rewire the entire house and bring it up to the modern regulations. As in all matters electrical get in a properly registered (RECI or ECSSA) and recommended Electrician. Domestic wiring should be checked every 3 years, this is the current recommendation. Bear in mind that new systems have a blue RCD trip switch for monthly checking. If your question extends to other building matters contact Help My House who to date have helped over 300 householders.