It is 2018 as I am writing this and I still get an unimaginable number of people requesting help with Knob and Tube wiring in their homes. I find this totally unacceptable because this type of electrical wiring has not been installed in homes since the 1950’s at the latest but normal installs ended as far back as the 1930’s. This is basically technology from the 1800’s that was only used in later years to save money and this is why it hasn’t been replaced everywhere.. because people want to spend money on other things.
Personally when I am looking at things in my home to upgrade it is not going to be replacing laminate countertops with granite if I know that I have other more important issues to take care of first. But people don’t think that way because they have very little technical knowledge about the things around them. It is simply pitiful how some people go through life and take absolutely no interest of how things work. They couldn’t change the oil in their car or change a light fixture in their home but many of them hold professional jobs and we are expected to believe they have the skills to perform the job they have. It is just not acceptable to live this way.
What Should You Do If Your Home Has Knob And Tube Electrical Wiring
The best thing to do if you find your home has knob and tube electrical wiring is to replace it. Don’t patch the system, Don’t do a separate circuit breaker with new wire just for your kitchen to support all of your appliances and leave the rest of the home as it is. You really need to replace it and get past the problem.
Now this will be expensive for most people but there are ways that you can work with your electrician and save money on a full home rewire. Hopefully you are not living in a three story Victorian home with plaster walls that will need to be repaired all over but if you are living in a standard home you can normally run wire from the basement or crawlspace and then run wire to the attic and wire your second floor from the top down.
It is not an easy or quick process and you can expect to pay anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 depending on your needs but this is something that you really should deal with or you can sell your home with notice to your buyer that they will be dealing with Knob and Tube Wiring and then find a home that has better services.
Final Note
As you can see a pretty hard line is being taken about this older type of electrical wiring that is still found in a good number of homes.
When homes were wired with this type of service the requirements of the homes were much less. You didn’t have Televisions in every room and you didn’t have all of the electronics. You also most likely had a gas range and oven and not an electric one and you certainly didn’t have a $3500 side by side stainless steel monster refrigerator and everything else that we now look at as a necessity.
Will your knob and tube wiring burst into flames? Well there are problems with maintenance because insulators often relied on materials along with ceramic parts that will deteriorate such as leather washers and connections were not made the same they often used electrical tape and solder. That said if the system is in perfect condition and if you are well within the rated voltage then yes you can get away with using it until you can replace it but often people would put higher rated fuses in their fuse box and the wiring is not rated for that use.
Just replace it as soon as you can and have a professional come out and inspect your home as soon as possible.
This is not something you want to patch or let stay in your home and its a thing you just don’t have a choice about.
If your septic system broke in your basement then how many times would you flush the toilet before you addressed the problem. This is the same level of problem. Sure you can keep on flushing but its not going to be good.