Residential service
House rewiring and aluminum wiring repair in Houston
Old wiring was not designed for the way a home uses electricity today. We replace it, or make it safe, with as little disruption to your walls as the house allows.
What rewiring is
Rewiring replaces the electrical cables inside your walls, along with the outlets, switches and connections they feed. It can cover the whole home or only the circuits that are unsafe or overloaded.
Homes built roughly between 1965 and 1973 often have aluminum branch wiring. Aluminum expands and contracts more than copper, which loosens connections over time. It can be replaced, or repaired at every connection with connectors rated for aluminum-to-copper.
Signs your home needs rewiring
- Outlets with only two slots and no ground.
- Outlets or switch plates that are warm, discolored or scorched.
- A burning smell with no obvious source.
- Lights that flicker or dim in several rooms.
- Breakers that trip often, or fuses that blow.
- Cloth-covered or brittle wire insulation in the attic or panel.
- Aluminum wiring, usually marked AL on the cable jacket.
- A remodel or addition that needs more circuits than the house has.
How the work goes
Inspection
We check the panel, the attic and a sample of outlets and switches to see what type of wiring you have and what condition it is in.
Scope and estimate
You get options in writing: full rewire, partial rewire, or connection repairs, with the price for each.
Permit
We file the electrical permit before work starts.
Rewiring
We run new cable through the attic and wall cavities, room by room, keeping wall openings small and few.
Devices and panel
New outlets, switches and breakers go in, with the arc-fault and ground-fault protection current code requires.
Inspection and close-up
The work is inspected and tested, and we go over what was done.
How long it takes
A partial rewire of a few circuits typically takes one to two days. A whole-home rewire usually takes several days to more than a week, depending on the size of the house, how many stories it has and how easy the attic and walls are to reach. In most cases you can stay in the home while we work.
Permits and inspections
Yes, a permit is required. Rewiring is new electrical work, so it needs an electrical permit and an inspection in Houston and the surrounding jurisdictions.
What affects the price
Rewiring is priced by the house, not by a flat rate. The main factors are:
- Square footage and the number of outlets, switches and fixtures.
- Attic and crawl-space access, and whether the home is one or two stories.
- Whether the panel also needs to be replaced.
- Full replacement versus repairing connections on aluminum wiring.
- How much wall and ceiling has to be opened, and who patches it.
- Permit fees for your jurisdiction.
Frequently asked questions
Is aluminum wiring dangerous?
The wire itself is not the problem; the connections are. Aluminum loosens at outlets, switches and splices over time, and loose connections overheat. It should be inspected and either replaced or repaired with connectors rated for aluminum.
Do you have to open all my walls?
No. Most cable is run through the attic and fished down the walls. Some small openings are usually needed, and we tell you where before we start.
Can I rewire part of my house?
Yes. Kitchens, bathrooms and the circuits showing problems are common places to start. We can plan the rest in stages.
Can I live in the house during a rewire?
In most cases, yes. We work room by room and restore power to the areas in use at the end of each day.
How do I know what wiring my home has?
The year it was built is a good first clue. An inspection of the panel and attic confirms it; we can do that in one visit.
