Replace?

[Darryl Terrell]

Hello everyone, I would like some advice.

The wires in a friend's home are quite old, cloth covered, and you can't tell what is what at first glance.
One of the swithes that control a lamp comes on occasionally when flipped to the on position. Should I relace the wiring for that only, or should I take on the entire house to prevent the possibility of having to do more of the same thing in another part of the house later on?

Thanks

 

[infinity]

Darryl,
As an apprentice I must ask if you feel that you're experienced enough to perform the tasks about which you're asking? We're just trying to get a feel for your skill level before providing information that may get you in over your head.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Lxnxjxhx]

Have someone take on the entire house to prevent a fire.
Otherwise it's like driving a car even though you know the brakes will fail partially or completely at any minute.

 

[Lxnxjxhx]

one "rational" approach to risk assessment

one "rational" approach to risk assessment

CF = the cost of a house fire in property loss and/or personnel injury and/or suffering and/or loss of life, converted into dollars (a life is worth a minimum of $200K).

L = the likelihood in percent of this wiring causing a house fire that costs CF.
L is lower if the Fire Dept. is on the same block as the house, if everyone in the house is able-bodied and not asleep at the time, etc., etc..

CW = the cost of all new wiring (I dunno'; a couple $K?).


If [CF x (L/100)] is > CW
or
if you are "risk-averse" or even "risk-neutral"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_aversion

do the wiring.

E.g., if CF = $300K & CW = $10K, if your judgement of L is more than 3.3%, wire it.


But, this equation is different if you have fire insurance.
Insurance companies and actuaries know all these numbers and likelihoods to three decimal places, since it's their money riding on the gamble.

They might even deny insurance coverage on this house if the homeowner "should reasonably have known" about the defective wiring. The burden of "due diligence" is probably on the homeowner as far as protecting his insured property from obvious hazards.

If you had to pay out $300K on an insurance claim, how much money would you first spend on a private investigator or forensics specialist to try to get out of it?

 

[LarryFine]

I would troubleshoot the switch and replace it if needed.