Branch wiring
Home rewiring and knob-and-tube replacement
Much of the housing stock between Jefferson and Adams predates modern electrical demand. Rewiring is how those houses get brought up to something safe and usable without gutting them.
Full rewire, partial rewire, or targeted repair
A whole-house rewire replaces every branch circuit back to new service equipment. It is the right answer when the existing wiring is knob-and-tube throughout, when the house is already open for a major remodel, or when previous work has left a tangle nobody can trace. More often the honest recommendation is narrower: rewire the circuits that are failing or unsafe, add the dedicated circuits the house is missing, and leave sound cable in place.
What we find in Los Angeles houses of this age
Knob-and-tube conductors buried under blown-in insulation, where they were never designed to shed heat. Original splices twisted, soldered and taped inside walls with no accessible box. Two-prong receptacles replaced with three-prong devices on circuits that have no equipment ground, which makes a grounded appliance look protected when it is not. Extension-cord wiring stapled into place decades ago. Cloth insulation gone brittle at every junction box near a light fixture.
Ungrounded circuits
An ungrounded circuit cannot simply be given a three-prong outlet. The options are running a new circuit, running an equipment grounding conductor, or protecting the circuit with a GFCI device and labeling the receptacles accordingly. We will explain which applies room by room, because the right answer depends on what the circuit feeds.
Aluminum branch wiring
Houses wired in the mid-1960s to mid-1970s sometimes have aluminum branch circuits. The conductor is not the problem so much as the terminations, which loosen through thermal cycling. Remediation with approved connectors at every device and splice is the accepted correction. Replacing the affected circuits is the permanent one.
Keeping plaster intact
Original plaster and lath is worth protecting. We route through attics, crawlspaces, closets and cabinet backs where we can, and we agree on access point locations with you before cutting. Patching is identified in the scope so it does not become a surprise line item.
Signs a house needs rewiring
- Two-prong receptacles throughout
- Cloth-covered or brittle conductor insulation
- Ceramic knobs and tubes visible in the attic
- Warm switch plates or flickering fixtures
- Extensive extension cord use
- Insurance requiring wiring documentation
What rewiring corrects
No equipment ground
Grounded appliances, computers and surge protection all depend on an equipment ground that older circuits simply do not have.
Overloaded original circuits
A 1920s house may have had two or three circuits. Modern kitchens alone require several dedicated ones.
Inaccessible splices
Junctions hidden inside walls cannot be inspected or maintained. New work brings every splice into an accessible box.
Heat-damaged insulation
Decades of load, plus insulation added over the top, degrades early conductor insulation to the point of failure.
Unpermitted previous work
Owner and handyman additions accumulate. A rewire is the chance to document the whole system properly.
Insurance and resale friction
Carriers increasingly decline or surcharge knob-and-tube. A permitted rewire resolves that with a record.
How the work goes
Assessment and circuit map
We open a sample of boxes, check the attic and crawlspace, and map what actually exists rather than what the panel label claims.
Scope and phasing
Full or partial, in what order, with what access points and what patching. Phasing lets an occupied house stay livable.
Permit and rough-in
Permit filed, new cable run, boxes set, and the rough inspection scheduled before anything is closed up.
Trim, test and final
Devices and fixtures installed, every circuit tested and labeled, final inspection attended, permit closed.
Questions about rewiring
Can we live in the house during a rewire?
Usually yes, if the work is phased. We keep the kitchen, a bathroom and bedroom circuits energized while working elsewhere, and we schedule the power-off portions.
Does knob-and-tube have to be removed?
Existing knob-and-tube is not automatically illegal, but it cannot be extended, and it must not be covered by insulation. Practically, insurance and any significant remodel push most owners toward replacement.
How long does a whole-house rewire take?
For a typical single-story house of this era, on the order of one to two weeks of field work plus inspection scheduling. Size, access and plaster conditions move that number considerably.
Will you also replace the panel?
Almost always. A rewire feeds into new service equipment, so the two jobs are scoped together. See panel upgrades.
Can you just add grounded outlets instead?
Where a circuit has no equipment ground, a GFCI-protected and properly labeled arrangement is a legitimate interim step. It is not equivalent to a grounded circuit, and we will say so plainly.
Where we do this work
Available in West Adams, Mid-City, Culver City, Baldwin Hills and Crenshaw, Inglewood, and Palms and Mar Vista. See the full service area list.
Related services
Rewiring is usually scoped with new service equipment and with device and lighting work in the rooms being opened.
Old wiring you want assessed?
Call (213) 584-4180 to arrange a wiring assessment. We will tell you whether you need a full rewire or three circuits.