Electrics and gas
Vulcanised rubber cable is visible in the loft and the consumer unit is a modern board. What old wiring has the new board not retired?
The old wiring the new board has not retired is the vulcanised rubber cable still visible in the loft. A modern consumer unit can be fitted at the wall while rubber-insulated cable remains in the roof and still forms part of the installation. The survey has seen that cable and the newer board. It has not tested the circuits, and it has not decided that a board change rewired the loft. Cable buried in the walls was not opened up. The loft run is the old wiring this visit can name.
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?
Vulcanised rubber insulation belongs to older wiring. It can stay clipped in a loft after the consumer unit has been swapped, because a new board is equipment at one point and not a rewire of every cable. The surveyor could see the rubber where it was exposed overhead. They did not disconnect it, and they did not produce an electrical installation condition report. A board that looks modern says nothing firm about the age of the conductors still running over the joists.
Ask an electrician to inspect and test, and show them the loft cable rather than only the new board. Tell the solicitor the survey saw vulcanised rubber still in place and did not test it. Do not describe the house as rewired because the consumer unit is recent. Read any certificate for the circuits it actually names. A board change is not, on its own, evidence that the loft wiring was retired.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Where in the loft is the vulcanised rubber cable still visible?
- Has the modern consumer unit retired that cable, or only replaced the board?
- Did you test the circuits, or only see the rubber insulation?
What are the typical next steps?
- Show an electrician the loft cable, not only the new board.
- Tell the solicitor vulcanised rubber is still in place and was not tested.
- Do not describe the house as rewired because the consumer unit is modern.
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 loft lights work, has the rubber cable been proved sound?
No. Lights that work only show that a circuit is energised. They do not show that vulcanised rubber insulation is sound, and the survey did not test it. The modern board has not retired the cable still visible in the loft. Working fittings are not an electrical installation condition report.
Has the new board retired old cable the survey could not see?
Not from this note. The finding is the vulcanised rubber in the loft, which the newer board has not retired. Other old cable may exist where the survey could not see it. The loft run is the piece this visit can name, and it was seen, not tested.