Had to pick between a full rewire or a partial fix on a 1950s house

I got called out to a house in the old part of town, built in 1952. The owner had flickering lights in the kitchen and a dead outlet in the living room. After opening a few boxes, I saw the original cloth-covered wiring and some really old, cracked insulation. I gave them two choices: a full rewire of the main living areas, which would run about $8,000, or just fixing the two bad spots with modern wire and leaving the rest. They were on a tight budget, so we went with the partial fix. I used 12-gauge THHN for the new runs and put in AFCI breakers for those circuits. It's been three months now and they say everything is working, but I still worry about the old wire in the walls I didn't touch. For you folks, when you see old wiring like that, do you push harder for the full rewire even if the customer says no?

3 comments

3 Comments

kai_park1mo ago

Man, that's a tough spot. Did you have them sign a waiver or anything to cover yourself? I always push hard for the full rewire because that old cloth wire is just a time bomb. It gets brittle and the insulation falls apart if you look at it wrong. But sometimes people just don't have the cash, so you do the patch job and hope for the best. I sleep better knowing I at least put in those AFCI breakers, they might catch a problem before it starts a fire.

parkerp801mo ago

I saw a 1920s house last month where the cloth wiring was still perfect in the walls, untouched and dry. Sometimes that old stuff outlasts the modern Romex if it's left alone. Pushing a full rewire on a tight budget can force a homeowner to pick a cheaper, less careful contractor. A solid patch job with new wire in the problem spots and a detailed inspection report for the rest is a fair middle ground. You're right about the AFCIs though, @kai_park, those are a no-brainer safety add.

violatorres22d ago

parkerp80's right, sometimes old wiring sits dry and fine for decades untouched.