Sheet E-104 / Circuit 4

Rewiring older homes.

Old wiring is not an emergency by default. It is a project with a beginning and an end. A full rewire on a typical 1,800 square foot home runs $9,000 to $32,000, depending on access, plaster and how many circuits you want when we are done.

Get a wiring surveyHow we fish wire
Note 1

Knob and tube, without the scare.

Two separate wires on ceramic knobs, common in homes built before the 1940s. When it is untouched and dry it often still works. The trouble is what time adds: brittle insulation, insulation blown in on top, splices someone added in the 1980s, and no ground for modern outlets.

Insurers and lenders increasingly ask for it to go. We map what is live, what is dead and what is spliced, then you decide the pace.

Note 2

Aluminium branch wiring.

Some homes from about 1965 to 1973 were wired with aluminium. The wire itself is fine; the connections are where it heats up. You do not always need a full rewire. Often the fix is a rated connector on every splice and device, about a third of the cost.

We test, we show you, and we price both options side by side.

How we fish wires.

Opening every wall is how rewires get a bad name. We work from the attic and the crawl space, drop new cable down the stud bays, and cut small holes only where a run has to cross a beam or a fire block.

  1. 1

    Survey and map

    Every outlet and switch tested and drawn on the plan.

  2. 2

    Run new home runs

    New circuits from the panel, room by room, old wiring left in place until each room is done.

  3. 3

    Swap devices

    New grounded outlets, GFCI where code calls for it, and hardwired smoke alarms.

  4. 4

    Patch and paint ready

    Plaster and drywall patched smooth and primed. Most rooms take a day.

Two hands driving a screw with an insulated red and yellow screwdriver into a walnut wall plate on a white wall
Photo 6: Sample photo. Last step in a room: the plate goes back on.

Patching is part of the price.

We do not leave you a ceiling full of holes and the name of a drywall guy. Patching to primer is in every rewire quote. You paint, or your painter does. Lived in homes stay lived in: we work room by room and you keep power everywhere else at night.

Rewiring often pairs with a panel upgrade and new recessed lighting while the ceilings are open. Book a wiring survey to see what yours needs.