Tell me what to expect with rewiring

4 years ago

last modified: 4 years ago

I've been getting bids to rewire my new-to-me 1915-ish house. About 25% of the wiring has been updated, according to one of the electricians I've talked to, but I have a lot of ungrounded circuits.

It's obviously an expensive big project.

I should just bite the bullet and do it, righit? Is there any reason not to do it all? I keep thinking, the previous owners lived here a long time without any trouble, but....

I asked one electrician how long the project will take and how disruptive it will be, and he said, 4 weeks, and extremely. Does that sound about right? I was hoping that by going with a bigger company we might speed it up. My partner and I work at home so power and internet disruptions are not ideal.

Do they start at the bottom of the house and work up? Is it room by room?

I have heard of some companies that remove baseboards and route the wires through those, as opposed to opening up walls. A guy I spoke with today said he would make holes in the walls and remove any existing K&T. He said this would be messy but implied it was better. Thoughts?

Finally, what is typical in terms of adding additional outlets, changing switch placement. Is this a good time to rethink those things?

Sorry for the muddle of questions, I have never given much thought to house wiring before and am trying to think through what I need to ask.

Appreciate any advice or experiences if you've done this.

Featured Answer

cat_ky

4 years ago

I agree, get the electric done. Its a safety hazard, especially, since it also sounds like there is knob and tube wiring in there. I would do without some other things, to get it done, if thats necessary. Safety is always the best choice.

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Comments (7)

tozmo1
4 years ago
Go big or go home. I don't know the best approach but having remodeled a similar aged house, you can't do any updates to appliances, HVAC, etc. without updating electrical. Don't piecemeal it. We lucked out in that it turned out the house had no wall insulation so it was easy to run new wiring in the walls. We added insulation later.

Add outlets to code, move switches to where you need them when you do the work. No one wants to come back for a small job these days. Over plan the circuit breaker box's capacity for future growth.
circonium thanked tozmo1
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circonium
Original Author
4 years ago
Thanks, I appreciate this. Had just decided to go forward and it helps to feel like we're doing the right thing.
kudzu9
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
There is no reason knob and tube wiring can't be abandoned in the walls as long as it's disconnected at the breaker panel. Whoever told you it was necessary to make a bunch of holes in your walls to remove the old knob and tube wiring, and that this would be "better," is a weasel trying to run up his bill. Go with someone else who won't gouge you. If you think it's dangerous to not remove the old wiring, just google "abandon knob and tube wiring" and you'll see that this is a standard, widely-followed practice.
Dave
4 years ago
get it done right

sometimes having it 25% done is even more annoying that it all being knob and tube

so many times ive seen romex feeding a juction box and knob and tube diving down into all the walls.

besides the wiring not being grounded, its 100 years old. it has a cloth insolation on the wire that breaks down over time. its worth the money to upgrade the service if its old and have all the old wire replaced.
Sigrid
4 years ago
We have old, disconnected knob and tube wires in our basement, in crawl spaces and other unseen places. I don't know if some is still in our walls. Some of it is pretty scary-looking, a fire waiting to happen if it actually was live. Our house was built in 1910, so pretty much the same vintage as yours. Pulling/fishing wire through walls is a royal pain, Hard to see what's blocking the new wire your are trying to run through tge wall. . Old knob and tube in the walls and in your way may be the reason the electrician preferred to remove it.
kudzu9
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Sigrid- It may sometimes help to use old knob and tube wiring to pull new romex cable but it typically is not "in the way" in the sense it makes new wiring more difficult. I still think someone who wants to bust open walls to remove all the old knob and tube wiring is either incompetent or a huckster.