How to Rewire Your Home Without Making It Look Like a Science Experiment

Why You May Want to Rewire Your Home

Upgrading the electrical wiring in your home can provide major benefits. Here are some of the top reasons you may want to rewire:

• Safety. Old wiring can present serious fire and electrocution hazards. Rewiring lets you bring your home up to the latest safety codes.

• Add Circuits. If your home's electrical panel is maxed out, rewiring allows you to add more circuits to handle increased demand from new appliances and electronics.

• Replace Aluminum Wiring. Aluminum wiring was used in some homes during the 1960s and 1970s. It's prone to overheating and arcing faults, so replacing it with copper can prevent fires.

• Higher Capacity. Upgrading wiring enables you to increase capacity to handle high wattage appliances and electronics that your old wiring can't support.

• Aesthetics. You can eliminate the unsightly tangles of wires, cables and boxes that accumulate over the years.

How Much Does a Full Home Rewire Cost?

The cost to rewire a home varies greatly based on factors like:

• Home size and number of circuits
• Accessibility to wiring
• Type of wiring being installed
• Local electrician rates

As a ballpark range, expect to pay $8,000 to $15,000 to have an electrician completely rewire a 2,000 square foot home.

Getting quotes from multiple licensed electricians is the best way to estimate your actual rewiring costs. Many provide free estimates.

Can I Do Some of the Work Myself to Save Money?

To save on labor costs, you may be able to do some of the basic prep work yourself:

• Clear access to electrical boxes by removing insulation and cutting holes in drywall
• Fish new wires through walls and ceilings
• Remove old wires once new ones are installed

However, you should always hire a licensed electrician to handle the critical connections and testing to ensure full safety compliance with electrical codes.

Attempting a full rewiring yourself as a DIY project is not advisable due to the complexity and safety risks involved unless you have professional electrical training.

Tips for an Inconspicuous Rewire

While a rewire project entails a lot of demolition and construction, you can take steps to minimize visible changes:

• Strategic wiring routes - Fish wires through closets, basement, and crawlspaces whenever possible.

• Flexible conduit - Use flexible tubing to snake wiring through finished walls.

• Low-voltage lighting - Install LED low-voltage lights instead of can lights to reduce ceiling holes.

• Paint covers all - Patch, spackle, and paint to conceal old boxes and wire holes when done.

• Retro covers - Replace standard switches and outlets with vintage style covers to match existing.

• Baseboard runs - Use wire molding along baseboards vs. cutting into walls.

• Attic and closet space - Run wiring through unfinished spaces then penetrate walls minimally.

With careful planning and a few retrofits, your home can get a much-needed electrical upgrade without it looking like a total construction zone when finished.

Choosing New Wiring

When rewiring, you'll need to decide which type of wiring to use to replace your old wiring:

• Copper - Safest and most common choice. Withstands heat and high electricity loads.

• Aluminum - Cheaper than copper but more prone to overheating and expansion/contraction issues. Generally avoided today.

• Armored (MC) - Copper wires wrapped in a metal sheath for maximum durability. Used for exposed wiring.

• Non-metallic - Copper wires encased in plastic tubing. Used to snake wires through finished walls.

• Wire gauge - Larger gauge (10 or 12) handles more power. Smaller gauge (14 or 15) for lighting circuits.

Copper wiring is highly recommended, except for instances where armored or non-metallic make sense for specific runs.

Safely Working with Electrical Panels

When rewiring, you'll need to safely shut off power and remove circuits from your home's main electrical panel. Make sure to:

• Shut off main breaker - Shut off the main breaker to disconnect power to the full panel before working.

• Double check for power - Verify power is off by testing with a non-contact voltage tester.

• Remove circuits carefully - When removing wired circuit breakers, be cautious not to touch live bus bars.

• One circuit at a time - Disconnect one full circuit before wiring the replacement to avoid confusion.

• Photos before removal - Take photos of the existing wiring to help with proper configuration of new wiring.

• Live dangerously? - Never work on wiring on live circuits. Hire an electrician if needed.

With the power off and safety checks done, you can methodically remove old circuits and wires from the panel and prepare it for the new updated wiring.

In Summary

Rewiring your outdated electrical system provides valuable safety and functionality upgrades. While a major project, you can achieve an inconspicuous rewire by:

• Planning strategic wiring routes
• Using flexible tubing and low-voltage lighting
• Finishing and painting over wire runs
• Hiring a licensed electrician to ensure full compliance

With careful planning and professional help when needed, you can attain the benefits of modern electricity without introducing sci-fi elements into your home's cozy ambiance.