Knob and Tube

[c9]

I trust you all studied up using that link amongst the pictures of the house, and you now know all sorts of details about why knob and tube is bad.

Can somebody remind me?

I just had an electrician walk around the house and he discovered that there is far more K&T than we thought. It's all over. And it needs to go. Does anything on this list scare anybody or set off any alarms?

New 100 Amp panel with 32/64 circuit capacity ... $1100.00

Rewire all main floor lights and switches,
Rewire living room receptables,
Rewire two kitchen counter plugs (20 Amp T-slot GFIs),
Rewire side door light switch,
Rewire front door light switch,
Refrigerator plug installed and wired,
Rewire furnace circuit,
Wire and install three basement lights ... $2850.00

E.S.A. Inspection ... $250.00

I mean, the price scares me, but not a huge amount. I wish this place had been updated before we bought it, but at least we know that we have a big sellable improvement to boast when we sell down the road.

Comments

[sarah-sosiak.livejournal.com]

Excellent icon!

[kdborg.livejournal.com]

Sounds like something was misrepresented. You should look into getting some money back.

[c9.livejournal.com]

No representation was made as to the wiring in the sale. We had a home inspection, which explicitly defines itself as finding 80% of everything, because you just can't find 100% of issues without disassembling the house.

[friendofjack.livejournal.com]

The re-wiring makes sense. Might as well get all the old stuff out of the house. You'll get some savings in the form of lower insurance premiums since you'll have all new electrical wiring (at least you would get that in the States, not sure about Canada).

My neighborhood is about as old as yours is, and old wiring is responsible for a large portion of house fires. You'll be able to sleep better with the new stuff.

[evad-cgy.livejournal.com]

Cha-ching... Would have been nice if they could have included that in the mortgage!?!

[c9.livejournal.com]

Well, we almost did in a sense. We budgeted things to pay off all debt as part of the whole transaction, so this will leave us with almost no debt even with the electrician paid. We just thought the money was going toward the roof, that's all.

[evad-cgy.livejournal.com]

Such smart boys!
We will make sure to contact you guys if we ever go down the route of owning our own place...

I'll at least be expecting another Dinosaur comic from Ryan North!

[bartok.livejournal.com]

We had to have some electrical work done to the house in Dartmouth.

You're getting off lightly, trust me.

and it's only the beginning. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

[c9.livejournal.com]

Oh good.

[bartok.livejournal.com]

although at the same time, despite all the annoyances (and the never ending stream of money-pits) it's still a million times better than apartment living.

Rewire

[(Anonymous)]

Hey Cam,
With my history in the insurance industry I am very familiar with Knob and Tube as claims from it cost my company hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years. It's not something you want to live with esp in a house that will be filled with electronics. I do have one suggestion. Upgrade to a 200 amp panel, while your current power-use may not need a panel that size you don't know what the future will bring (Hot tub, Vinny's future electric car and that new teleportation machine you have had your eye on).
While the electrician is there have him run a couple of extra plugs (on their own breaker) where your electronics are going. Add a GFI plug in the bathroom for my hot rollers when I visit.

Been there, remodeled, remodeled again ... learned from a few mistakes, repeated a few mistakes, gave up and bought the new townhouse. Now I'm bored. Shit!

Re: Rewire

[(Anonymous)]

I really need to get my own livejournal account so you know what idiot posts these messages.

Brad

Re: Rewire

[c9.livejournal.com]

Plus then you'll get notified when I reply. :)

Re: Rewire

[c9.livejournal.com]

200A, really?? The home inspector and the two electricians we had in both said 100A was plenty. I wonder what the cost difference would be? Because you're right, the future will certainly come up with ways to use it!

Re: Rewire

[gregr92.livejournal.com]

I would agree with it, given my own history with insurance claims. It may cost a little more now, but saves having to upgrade again and again in the future. I've seen some pretty nasty housefires (one just recently), from the old knob & tube!

The upgrade will also be a good selling point to a future buyer.

[skeezix1000.livejournal.com]

The price for the rewiring work seems high to me, based on similar work we had done at our old place, but I may be wrong. Removing knob and tube is expensive, but worth it. And everyone who faces this issue always seems to say "it turns out that there is far more knob and tube than we thought".

You may want to get another electrician to come around a give you another quote. Not just so that you have a price comparison, but also to see if (s)he comes up with the same list of work to be done. If you're going to go through this, want to make sure you are doing everything that needs to be done.

[c9.livejournal.com]

Good suggestion, and I already had one scheduled. He came yesterday afternoon, and found essentially the same list and gave essentially the same price. However, he was far less professional and thorough, so he's not getting the job.