27/01/2026
Sometimes they’re not the prettiest jobs, but they’re absolutely essential for the safety of the property and the people using it.
👉 Swipe through the photos to follow the job
We were called out to change an outside light at a rental property and came across some old VIR cables.
What’s VIR cable?
VIR (Vulcanised India Rubber) cable was commonly used from the early 1900s up until around the 1960s. The rubber insulation dries out and becomes brittle with age, which can lead to cracking, exposed conductors, and a serious risk of electric shock or fire. Because of this deterioration, VIR cable is now considered non-compliant and unsafe in modern installations.
Luckily, the only bit of VIR wiring on the circuit was just at this switch that was being supplied from a junction box buried under a mountain of insulation within the attic.
So to make the installation safe for the property and the tenants, rewiring was the only proper option.
While installing the new light switch, we also found an old BICC junction box in the attic packed with old-style wire nut connections. It may have worked fine for the last 60 years, but there’s no way I’d connect new wiring into that and call it a professional job.
We replaced it with a modern Wago junction box — which turned into a bit of a challenge because some of the existing cables were too short (never straightforward in older properties!).
Removing the old switch was another story… the walls crumbled away like sand, and the plaster was already falling off before we even drilled for the new outside light. Thankfully came out the same day and left a top-quality finish so we could safely restore power before leaving.
The Metabo wall chaser was an absolute lifesaver here. clean, neat chases and way faster. Worth its weight in gold on rewiring jobs like this.
End result:
✔ New supply to the light switch
✔ New 2-way switching
✔ New outside light
✔ New junction box in the attic
❌ Old VIR cable and sketchy wire nut connections gone
Now the installation has been left in a much safer condition 👍
