It's all gone wrong

I can sort of understand it some where as big as America, but wasn't the accent a give away that she wasn't American?

Iago said:

I have been amazed at how useful to me it was to know about the place.

Ok, I have to ask - how was it useful?

I'm speaking as someone who has visited the place and even centred the climax of one of my novels there. But I love Neolithic and Bronze Age sites. 

I spent two unhappy years at boarding school on Anglesey.  Many times since, I have been amazed at how useful to me it was to know about the place.

Some people's ignorance is amazing. One of my friends was asked where she was from by a bus driver in the USA. When she said Northern Ireland, he said he'd never been there and asked which American state it was in!

I would be surprised, but experience has shown that this is not uncommon!  

I know I'm frequently amazed at how poor many peoples geographical knowlege of the UK is, did he know about the Isle of Wight?

This will really make you laugh, a guy my son used to work with honestly believed that Rome was a fictional place made up and mutally agree upon by Hollywood studios and the games industry! He refused to believe that it was a real place and had been a real empire and had left real ruins, you just couldn't make it up!

I once had to describe to my boss's boss where Holyhead was. He had no sense of geography and we were both working on something in my civil service department about Wales. He listened to my explanation and said, in bewilderment: "You mean, it's an island off an island off the island of Britain???" 

I live on Anglesey, we have quite a large population and two bridges connecting us to the mainland, but I think it's a psychological thing, people see an island as being more distant, even if its only a journey of 20 miles, that they'd be happy to do on the mainland.

I want things done right too.

Twice you mentioned an island in this thread; I shan't ask, and I can see how that complicates things.  A long time ago, I was in the Navy; we had no one to call upon but ourselves when things broke, so planning for unknown eventualities meant a lot of time and effort spent on carting spares around.  So I get the predicament you are in.

My concern is always that things are done safely and properly with electrics and gas.  It would be a very bad day for you if not.

We've got conduits for some of the wires and they're a pain in the bum, they get in the way of others things and they look ugly, specially as they age and get off coloured. I'm OK with plaster, dust I can deal with using a mask and the quote I've had 4-5k dosen't include redecorating, I still want to teach my son decorating and use non VOC paints, paint does bother me.

Because this house has been extended and stairs moved and stuff like that over the last 50 years, I think a lot of the stuffs been done badly, or "farmer built" as its called round here, I'd rather have it done right than have to do it all again when Mum's gone and I come to sell the place. I might see how much extra it would cost to have all the ceiling light fitting done too, as whilst they're legal, we can't use any metal fittings and I think some of the lights in the kitchen aren't so good either and it would be good to have them on seperate rigs so as we can have one set on, but not both.

I think theres som gas pipe's that could be removed too as the old ones were left when the central heating was put in, instead of the old back boiler that we didn't know was there until we had a leak.

Theres a couple of hearths that I'd like to be rid of too, they protrude into the kitchen and living room and whilst it might only be a foot or so, it's a big lump out of the middle of the floor.

I'm OK with a bit of a project and I'd rather have everything done in one swell foop than bits and pieces.

My electrician used to train electricians and although there are a few on the island there's very few that are qualified to sign off on all the work. A lot of people won't come to the island as its to far away and fuel is so costly.

With all the ripping out of the old wires you will end up having to get the walls patched with plaster, sanded and painted so it would be worth checking what products the builders need to use so that it aligns with your smell sensitivity.

Most houses need this every 20-30 years anyway as the old insulation degrades over time and the wiring regs change too. 

It may be worth asking them to put the cables in conduits so any future require does not  need you to rip all this out again - you just pull new cables through the conduits - that is certainly how it do it in all the renovations now. Just a thought - a little expense now saves a lot of expense when you are your mothers age.

I hope it all works out well.

No earth is the signal that it must be sorted.  I was an electronics tech before retirement and have rewired a few houses over the years.  So, from what you have said, it's pretty clear the work has to be done.  Also, you have said you have some trust in this electrician, and finding another is going to be difficult.  Yes, another quote would be wise, and yes, the electrician could be a wrong 'un, but the work has to be done for safety reasons.

In your shoes, I would have it done.  Make sure that the electrician certifies his work on completion.  That means a written certificate, often computer-generated and serialised by his inspecting body (probably the NICEIC), as this is your guarantee and the evidence that would be needed if things were to go pear-shaped afterwards.  A big warning sign would be if the electrician is not certified; it is a requirement today, though if he holds only a 'Part P' certificate, I would probably give him a miss.

There's a reason why it's so expensive, or perhaps I should say lots of reasons.  Training is not cheap, nor is insurance or certification.  Copper prices went sky-high and never really fell back.  To do a decent job needs time and will mean disruption, unfortunately.

I wish you well.

What a bugger! The nearest thing I've gone through to this is installing central heating in a house, and that was bad enough. Hugs.

I wouldn't know who else to call, there are so many cowboys on the island and I do trust this one, many trades are going out of business due to cost of living and the cost of being a sole trader.

He did show me the wiring and even though I'm not an electrician and can wire a plug but not much else, I could see the wires were not just old, but had been split in an odd way, then of course theres the no earth, because whoever rewired the house before did it really badly. We were told by anther firm years ago that this work would need doing at some point in the future and it seems that future has arrived.

That does sound pretty rubbish. Have you got a second quote for the job? Some will tell you they will only do it if it's a complete rewire, but others might be able to do what you want without all the hassle.  Good to see if they say the same thing (don't tell them what the other said), or if they tell you different things?