Updating An Old System...

RJC

A friend of mine has an 125 year old home in the midwest and wants to "update" the electrical. The house has already been "updated" probably 4 or 5 times in its history and so there's some unorthodox wiring to deal with. He doesn't want to rewire the whole house because in general most things work fine. But there's a couple heavily overloaded circuits and some obsolete outlets, etc. Not being an electrician I told him I'd check on this site to see if there's a way to do a kind of comprehensive assessment/evaluation of the wiring to just see what needs to be done. He wants to have a electrical contractor come in and fix what's bad or unsafe without going to the expense of a total overhaul. Wondering what you guys would recommend.

Glasshousebltr

Overhaul it, hit and miss repairs can cost more than a clean slate.

Bob

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Bob

Rounders

Start with a new service. gas appliances you can go with 100amp electrical appliances go 200amps. Figure out what kind of wiring is in the house: knob and tube, BX, cloth romex etc. knob and tube is absolutely a hazard so it should be replaced. You can work your way up from the basement replacing everything as you go. Hope that helps.

oldgoat

The first house I had I found out the wires were run through insulators. Scared the heck out of me when I crawled into the attic to insulate it and saw that. Never felt quite safe after that.

RJC

Thanks for the input. I know there's lots of BX and some knob and tube visible in basement. Since we're talking 4 floors (basement to attic) of "livable space" to overhaul, I'm guessing there'll be a need to open up walls - correct? Meaning, with cosmetic repairs added, this is going to get costly, no?

fridaymean

If your friend decides to pay someone, which I suggest for liability and quaility reasons, don't get the cheepest guy around. Pay someone (an electrical contractor, not a handyman) that will do a good job. Yes, it will cost a bit of money, but isn't the safety of your friends home worth it? Don't forget, around here everything is done in conduit. No romex, BX, etc.

joasis

Nothing like a short circuit / fire to place abstract value on cost to REWIRE CORRECTLY as opposed to modify and make shift. What is their life worth, worst case? I remember several years ago, a large crow got in an attck of an old house with knob and tube wiring and somehow, crossed the hot and nuetral, and presto...fried crow...and the house was on fire next. Actually, the fire was quickly contained and I believe it smoked awhile before actual ignition, and the firemarshal found the bird.

JAL

I would definitely have an Electrical Contractor or Electrican come out and look at the house. Maybe more than one if you can. Rewiring an old house can either be just like wiring new construction or down right difficult. You never know what you are going to run into. There is going to be a trade off when comes to cosmetic repairs versus cost. It all depends on how much cosmetic repairs your friend is willing to accept in order to save money on the electrical. Logical place to start is at the service drop and work your way back to the meter socket, then the circuit breaker panel and then the individual circuits. Good Luck.

RJC

Alright. I'll tell him he better beef up the budget a little so he's prepared for what may turn out to be a total overhaul of the electrical system. Thanks for all the input.

Craig

If you're concerned about opening walls, with a 125 yr old house you may be in luck in that the house may be baloon framed with open cavities extending to the attic level. The only framing obstruction should be fire stops in the cavities. I know, at least in this area, our predecessors were somewhat less than diligent about fire stops.

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"Send lawyers, guns and money."
Craig

Rounders

If you can get above the second floor and below the first you should be able to get to everything. To rewire a house like that should take about 1 week for 2 skilled guys. Definately hire licensed guys. You should not need alot of holes. Usually just a notch above switches to get into the ceiling. Getting from the basement to the attic is the tricky part. Good luck.

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Brett
Boylston Electrical Company

RJC

You're right that it's balloon framed, so that's good. And a couple guys for a week doesn't sound like as big a job as I was imagining. If there aren't rules against talking numbers on this site, any thoughts on how much he might be looking at here? The house is roughly 3000 sf including basement and attic and will need to be upgraded to 200 amp.

fridaymean

Don't forget everything is in conduit. Most likely it would be T&M for most contractors.