Knob and Tube Rewiring in Philadelphia
Rental Property Investor · Blue Bell, PA · Member since 2018 · 93 posts · 12 votes
Hello BP!
I'm very excited to share that I should be closing on a quad located in West Mount Airy close to Germantown in early May. The major project to be done will be to replace knob and tube wiring in two of the four apartment units (the 2nd floor and 3rd floor of the building).
I'm looking to connect with other local investors or contractors who have had experience working with knob and tube in the past in the Philadelphia area. Would love to hear about your experiences and advice/tips on how to keep costs in check while doing this rewiring work.
Thanks in advance for your feedback!
Hello BP!
I'm very excited to share that I should be closing on a quad located in West Mount Airy close to Germantown in early May. The major project to be done will be to replace knob and tube wiring in two of the four apartment units (the 2nd floor and 3rd floor of the building).
I'm looking to connect with other local investors or contractors who have had experience working with knob and tube in the past in the Philadelphia area. Would love to hear about your experiences and advice/tips on how to keep costs in check while doing this rewiring work.
Thanks in advance for your feedback!
If it is knob & tube you probably have fuses. I'd update the service to 200 amp breakers. That requires a permit and an electrician. Once you have that done, it's pretty simple and you can do most of it from there with an inspection checking your work.
When I first started out in real estate I had a couple of properties I was rewiring from knob & tube. First, look up the current code. Then draw a diagram of the house and draw lines from the service to your outlets and lights. For instance, you may want to have one half of the lights upstairs on one circuit and the other half of the house upstairs on another circuit. Same way downstairs. That way if a circuit trips you still have light coming from the other half of the house to help guide you to the breaker box. Do the same with the outlets. You may want to dedicate a circuit to a room that will have all of the computer and TV equipment. Install more outlets than you think you will need. Keep in mind that over the years more & more outlets will be needed as more devices become available. The bath room and kitchen get special treatment.
The time consuming and therefore costly part of the job is drilling the holes and running the romex. If you can properly according to code drill the holes and run the wire leaving enough wire at each end for an electrician to connect, you will save a substantial amount of money.
Ah heck, this is getting too complicated. Hire an electrician or take a class on wiring a house.
Hi @Account Closed! Thanks for the thoughtful response! i understand what you are saying and it may be the route I take with this project. I enjoy learning new skills and figuring out how things work so I may get very involved with the rewiring while at the same time leaving it to the experts to do what they do best.
Luckily in my case, the electric panels have already been upgraded. This is a quad so all four units now have 100A service with circuit breakers. Two of the four units have already been upgraded to new electrical. Two units still have knob and tube.
I was also thinking of running wires on top of drywall and to have them covered with wire trim. Is this something you have already done in the past? I imagine that this can also save some money associated with have to punch holes in drywall to fish wires around.
Thanks!
Hi @Account Closed! Thanks for the thoughtful response! i understand what you are saying and it may be the route I take with this project. I enjoy learning new skills and figuring out how things work so I may get very involved with the rewiring while at the same time leaving it to the experts to do what they do best.
Luckily in my case, the electric panels have already been upgraded. This is a quad so all four units now have 100A service with circuit breakers. Two of the four units have already been upgraded to new electrical. Two units still have knob and tube.
I was also thinking of running wires on top of drywall and to have them covered with wire trim. Is this something you have already done in the past? I imagine that this can also save some money associated with have to punch holes in drywall to fish wires around.
Thanks!
I haven't run wiring outside of the walls so I'm not sure what code is for that. I think when I was doing it years ago it had to be in special metal tubing if it wasn't inside the wall. I had lath and plaster in my case so it was pretty messy. I also ran into horizontal 2x4's inside the walls (that is used for a fire stop so flames don't go vertical inside the wall) and the wire needed to be "U" nailed and secured to the vertical stud. I'd call the city and get their sheet on installation requirements.
It has paid off a lot for me to be able to do the work myself. It is faster, I can get it done without trying to track down a contractor and of course it can save some money. It also helps in determining what can and can't be added or needs to be updated when you are buying a property. Here is a site that gives the basics. Most of the Code is universal throughout the US and Canada.