Is Your Home’s Electrical System Up To Date?
If your home is over 40 years old, it may be time to check in on the electrical wiring hidden behind your walls. While it’s out of sight, your home’s electrical system works hard every day powering our outlets, switches, and fixtures that make modern life possible. But when wiring hasn’t been inspected or updated in decades, safety hazards can develop without homeowners realizing it.
Don’t Let Your Electrical System Become a Safety Hazard
Outdated electrical components like degraded wire insulation, insufficient grounding, and overtaxed circuits can lead to fires, power failures, or even electrocution. Where any of these symptoms arise, you may want to talk to a local electrician about whole home rewiring possibilities.
Due to the silent nature of the electrical degradation, you’d likely never suspect the danger when flipping on a routine light switch. Per the National Fire Protection Association, electrical failures spark over 30,000 house fires annually across the U.S. With a thorough inspection, your taking a step to protecting your most valuable investment by uncovering any hidden hazards.
The good news is that with Andrade Link Electric, a family-owned electrical contractor serving the San Francisco Bay Area, you have a trustworthy partner to inspect and upgrade your older home’s electrical system. With years of experience modernizing residential and commercial wiring, we know exactly how to spot issues and correct them to meet current safety codes.
In this article, we shine a light on everything homeowners should understand about electrical wiring installation – from average costs per square foot to signs you need an upgrade. Discover what’s involved, when you should consider an overhaul, and the safety benefits of bringing your home’s electrical system up to date.
What’s the Cost to Rewire a House?
Knowing whether a rewiring project fits your budget is key. Like any major home improvement project, costs vary based on the size and layout of your house, the types of wiring and circuits being replaced, the difficulty of accessing wires, and more.
According to HomeGuide, the average total cost to rewire a house falls between $10,000 and $30,000. Another way contractors often estimate pricing is on a per square foot basis. By this metric, homeowners tend to pay:
- $5 per square foot on the low-end
- $8 to $12 per square foot for a typical project
- $15 per square foot or more for larger, more complex homes
So for a 1700 square foot house, you can expect the cost to rewire around $10,000 to $30,000 to overhaul the electrical system.
Breaking down the cost to rewire further by area or room, homeowners might pay:
- Living Room (200-450 sq ft) – $1,000 to $5,400
- Kitchen (100-200 sq ft) – $500 to $3,000
- Bedroom (130-230 sq ft) – $650 to $3,450
- Bathroom (40-150 sq ft) – $200 to $2,250
As you can see, the wiring costs add up room by room. But an accurate estimate must also factor in the specialized needs of high-power rooms like kitchens that require dedicated circuits and GFCI outlets near water sources.
Cost To Rewire a Portion of Your Home’s Wiring
If for whatever reason you aren’t prepared or in need of a complete rewiring, but if your lights flicker or you experience other urgent signs of house wiring needs, it’s best to get the situation fixed immediately.
The cost to rewire a small portion of a house can vary based on many factors but expect to pay anywhere from $750-$3000 for most rewiring projects.
We recommend getting quotes from a local, licensed electrician once you decide it’s time to rewire. This allows you to make an informed decision on what you do next. And be sure to ask what is and isn’t included – some electricians handle permitting fees and wall repairs while others leave that to the homeowner.
Let us know if breaking down rewiring costs by room helps visualize what an overhaul might cost for your specific home. Andrade Link Electric offers free consultations and estimates to determine the scope and total project cost for your home or business.
Preserving San Francisco’s Historic Charm While Upgrading for Safety
Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, we take pride in the gorgeous historic homes that give our neighborhoods distinct charm. But many local homeowners come to find out that all that character can also hide aging electrical systems and outdated wiring in need of safety upgrades. Rewiring projects allow families to continue enjoying these one-of-a-kind properties for decades to come.
With intricate details like moldings, bay windows, and turrets, these architectural gems showcase the expert craftsmanship of years past. Yet, hidden behind the walls, knob-and-tube wiring installed as far back as the 1920s lacks the insulation and grounding that modern electrical appliances require. Outdated panels struggle to meet growing energy demands from the latest gadgets and home office setups.
While rewiring these homes takes extra care and expertise, the end result allows residents to live comfortably and safely. Our crew handles projects in historic neighborhoods like Nob Hill, Pacific Heights, The Castro, The Haight, and more. We help fuse the old with the new while preserving the charm of your historic home or business.
When Should You Rewire Your Home?
If you’re wondering whether it’s time to overhaul your home’s electrical system, there are some clear signs to watch out for. While codes require electrical improvements during many remodeling projects, even houses without renovations planned may need an upgrade for safety’s sake.
Homes over 30 years old should proactively assess their systems, as older wiring lifespan can last typically 40 years. Routine inspections every 5-10 years can catch issues early.
More urgent rewiring signs include:
- Frequent tripped circuit breakers when using multiple devices
- Flickering lights or uneven power distribution
- Feeling tingles, shocks, or temperature changes from outlets
- Discolored/warm electrical outlets or light switches
- Burning plastic smells from receptacles
- Failed outlet grounding tests
We also recommend replacing extremely outdated electrical components found in homes built before 1960 such as:
- Knob and tube wiring without grounding
- 60 amp electrical panels vs. modern 150-200 amp service
- 2-prong ungrounded outlets
What’s Involved in Rewiring a House?
Once you decide it’s time to upgrade your home’s electrical system, you probably have questions about what the process entails. A rewiring job ranges in scale and complexity depending on factors we covered like home size and layout, wiring accessibility, and the scope of upgrades needed.
Here’s an overview of what’s involved to set expectations:
Inspection & Planning
Before touching anything, a detailed inspection maps out your home’s current wiring situation. This helps determine repair strategy, number of circuits, right wire gauge size, and material costs.
Getting Permits
The electrician will handle obtaining necessary permits from local municipalities before scheduling work crews. Permits ensure rewiring projects follow building codes and electrical safety regulations. Proper permitting is crucial to guarantee the work meets legal guidelines.
Clearing Access
Electricians will need open access to routes for running updated wiring whether through attics, crawlspaces or basements. Moving furniture, valuables, and home occupants themselves may be necessary.
Running & Connecting New Wiring
The central rewiring task involves measuring, cutting and connecting modern copper wiring between the electrical panel and all outlets/fixtures via precise diagramming. Fish tape tools pull wires through ceiling and wall routes previously opened.
Outlet & Light Installation
Upgraded electrical service panel, receptacles, switches, and lights get mounted in place of outdated ones. New GFCI outlets provide vital ground fault protection near kitchens or bathrooms.
Inspection & Cleanup
Finally, city inspectors carefully check if work complies with codes and cleanup crews haul out unused wires, drywall cutoffs and other debris.
What Are the Benefits of Rewiring Your Home?
Beyond resolving urgent safety hazards from degraded wiring, a whole house rewiring allows San Francisco residents to make a valuable investment in their home, and allow for new conveniences. There are many perks to proactively modernizing your electrical system:
Safety First
Electrical rewiring is simply necessary when risks like faulty connections are causing sparks and the lack of grounding leaves appliances vulnerable to power surges. Newer electrical panels also shut off at safer thresholds before circuits overload.
Increased Home Value
While the project’s cost can add up, rewiring is an appraisal-boosting upgrade like a remodeled kitchen or addition might be. If you are looking to potentially sell in the near future, an electrical upgrade can add peace of mind to a potential buyer.
Cost Savings Over Time
Maybe you’re here in the Bay Area for the long haul, and you can enjoy more efficient energy benefits. With greater capacity comes the ability to operate more devices without taxing systems leading to wasted expenditure. Added lighting control flexibility like dimmers can also conserve electricity.
Power for Today’s Needs
Between computers, home office gear, entertainment systems, and smart devices, energy demands have crept up over decades. Install a new electrical panel and wiring to withstand modern loads.
More Electrical Accessibility
Running short on places to plug in phones or appliances? Electricians can add extra outlets throughout the home wherever most practical during a rewire.
Enhanced Lighting Control
Replace outdated switches with convenient dimmers or smart lighting controls paired with voice assistants or app access.
Home rewiring allow you to truly customize your home electrical system around how your family uses energy today, while protecting one of your most valuable investments.
Don’t Let Outdated Wiring Hold Back Your Home
To conclude this article on rewiring homes, the key takeaways we want San Francisco Bay Area homeowners to walk away with are:
- Homes over 40 years old likely need proactive electrical inspections and system upgrades
- Frequent circuit breaker trips or other odd behaviors may indicate unsafe conditions
- Replacing degraded electrical wiring, insufficient panels, and ungrounded outlets removes fire, health, and equipment risks
- The rewiring process for a full house overhaul takes weeks and requires intense coordination
- Thousands in costs and temporary relocations are invested to reap major safety and functionality gains
We hope this helped with clarity on house rewiring costs, what rewiring involves, and when it becomes necessary. Rewiring costs seem less intimidating when you consider enhanced safety, daily convenience, house appeal to future buyers, and big-picture value protecting the home as an asset.
Ready to get an objective assessment of your home’s wiring integrity from a local, licensed electrician team? Contact Andrade Link Electric today at (415) 488-8954 to schedule a thorough inspection identifying needed upgrades. Our licensed electricians provide free consultations and competitive estimates guiding you to the best solution for your home’s unique needs.
