Electrics and gas
The tails leaving the meter are still in old fabric braid, and the consumer unit itself is plastic. What age clue sits in the braid rather than in the board?
The age clue sits in the fabric braid on the tails, not in the plastic consumer unit. Old braid on the cables leaving the meter is a sign of an earlier installation that has not all been replaced. A newer plastic board can be fitted onto those old tails. The survey has noted that combination by looking. It has not dated the braid, tested the tails, or decided that the board is old merely because the covering on the cables is.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Fabric braid is the covering you can see. It says something about when those particular conductors were made, not about every circuit leaving the new board. Installers often change the consumer unit and leave the short tails from the meter, because that length is awkward and belongs with the supply side. The plastic case can look recent while the braid is plainly older. The home survey records that contrast. It does not electrically test either part.
Pass the braid and the plastic board to an electrician as a visual flag, not as a test result. An electrical inspection is the visit that can decide what the tails need. Do not tell the solicitor the wiring has been renewed because the consumer unit is plastic. The survey has not produced an electrical certificate, and it has not aged the installation beyond the clue in the braid.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Did the age clue you recorded sit in the braid rather than the plastic board?
- Were the meter tails only seen, and not electrically tested?
- What part of the installation looked newer than the braid?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the fabric braid as the age clue, not the plastic board.
- Ask an electrician to inspect the tails as a separate electrical check.
- Do not read a new consumer unit as a new installation.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the plastic board has a recent sticker, are the tails modern too?
Not necessarily. A sticker dates the paperwork on the board, or the day it was fitted. It does not renew the fabric braid on the tails. The survey still has not tested those cables. The age clue remains the braid, not the plastic consumer unit the sticker is stuck to.
Does braid on its own prove every circuit is old?
No. The braid is a clue about the tails that wear it. Circuits leaving a plastic board may have been rewired later. The survey has not traced those circuits, and it has not tested them. A new board can sit on old tails without renewing every cable in the house.