Rewiring a house is a common project for our electricians in Springfield. That’s because lots of homes in first-time homebuyers’ price range tend to be older and have wiring and other electrical equipment more than 60 years old.

In the same regard, if you’ve lived in your current home for more than two decades, it’s worth the safety and peace of mind to have an electrician take a look at your electrical system.

Homes with older wiring and electrical components are harder to sell because of the associated safety risks and inconvenience. However, it’s also because lenders or insurance companies won’t allow a buyer to proceed.

Local fire departments responded to an estimated average of 35,150 home fires involving electrical distribution and lighting equipment per year in 2012-2016.

In fact, issues that could be solved by rewiring your house started almost half of all electrical fires over that span. 

So, let’s take a look at common signs that you may need to rewire your house so you can quickly identify any problems with your electrical system and call an electrician if needed.

When you need to rewire an old house

If an older house has not already been rewired within the last 60 or so years, it likely needs rewired or other electrical components to get it up to code.

Not only is the wiring potentially outdated to a dangerous point, it may struggle or not be able to support a modern lifestyle.  

You can usually tell if an old house needs rewired by checking the electrical panel. 

If it’s a fuse box with ceramic fuses, the electrical system is all but guaranteed to be outdated and needs rewiring.

Modern homes should always contain a circuit breaker with simple switches to reset circuits (no replacing fuses).

You can also tell by looking at any exposed wiring around the electrical panel. In most cases you will have to remove a switch or socket.

The wiring should be PVCu coated with twin cabling as seen here: 

Now, that’s the latest pvc-coated wiring known as “twin and earth cable” that started to be used in the 2000s. 

Your wiring may have white pvc coating and have different color wires inside the coating. That means it is an older version and, if you are experiencing any of the other signs in this blog, may need replacing.

However, if your wiring has vulcanized indian rubber (looks like waxy cotton similar to shoelaces) or black rubber, you absolutely need to rewire your house.

Signs you need to rewire your house

Old or damaged wiring in your house creates some tell-tale problems. 

You will likely notice these problems if your home needs rewiring: 

• Circuit breaker keeps tripping or fuse box keeps blowing fuses
• You smell burning or smoke
• Outlets are loose or have burn marks around them
• Constant flickering or dimming of lights
• Very few outlets
• You have any two-prong outlets or a lack of GFCI outlets (ones with reset and test buttons) in wet areas
• Sizzling or loud buzzing from the electrical panel

Remodels or additions may require rewiring

If you decide to remodel a room or add on to your home and you find out you have older wiring, you’re going to have to rewire your home. 

So, before you start your project it’s best to try to self-inspect or hire an electrician to look over your electrical system. 

Old wiring was not built to support our high-tech, modern lifestyles. 

If you overload an old circuit, it’s a recipe for a house fire.

How much does it cost to rewire a house in Springfield?

The cost to rewire a house in Springfield, Missouri depends on its size and accessibility of electrical components but it’s typically around $10,000 to $20,000 for many homes in the area.

If you do a search online you might see articles claiming you can do math per the square footage of a home to get a good average. 

What these articles don’t tell you is labor costs get much higher if we have to take down and repair walls. Jobs also cost more if the wiring is harder to get to than normal.

Further, it’s often commonplace new circuits, switches, and outlets need to be added and electrical panels replaced.

For example, not too long before this blog was published we did a rewire of a 1,700-square-feet house for $16,000. 

Whoever you hire to rewire your house should provide an itemized quote. If you don’t understand what’s in it be sure to ask questions. 

How long will it take?

Obviously, this will depend on the size of the job and age of the home but you can expect anywhere from a few days to two weeks. 

You will not want to be in the rooms electricians are working in due to the noise and mess.

So, be sure to find out the schedule of work because you may want to find somewhere to stay in the meantime. 

Who should I hire to rewire my home?

Rewiring a house is not a job you should trust a handyman to do. A job of this magnitude should only be done by a licensed electrician.

Levi Bonnivier of Bonnivier Electric is a licensed Master Electrician with nearly two decades of experience.

Furthermore, as is the case with all of our work, we clean up after we rewire homes for no extra charge. That way you can get right back to your life when you return. 

Feel free to give us a call or fill out the form below to give us the details of your project so we can provide you an accurate quote.