Whole House Rewire

A whole house rewire replaces all of the electrical wiring in your home, from the panel to every outlet, switch, and fixture. For homeowners in Bastrop, TX with older properties, house rewiring eliminates outdated or deteriorating wiring that creates fire risk and brings your entire electrical system up to current National Electrical Code standards.

whole house rewire service by all communities electric

Signs You Need to Rewire Your Home

Wiring doesn’t last forever. Insulation breaks down, connections corrode, and older materials simply can’t handle modern electrical loads. If you notice any of these in your home, it’s time for an evaluation:

  • Your home was built before 1970 and still has the original wiring
  • You have knob-and-tube wiring, which uses ceramic insulators and lacks a ground conductor
  • Your home has aluminum branch circuit wiring, common in homes built between 1965 and 1973
  • Outlets in your home only have two prongs (no ground)
  • You smell burning near outlets or switches with no visible cause
  • Breakers trip regularly or fuses blow frequently
  • Lights dim or flicker when appliances cycle on
  • Insurance companies have flagged your wiring or refused coverage

All Communities performs full wiring evaluations to determine whether targeted repairs or a complete house rewiring is the right approach. We don’t recommend a whole house rewire when partial updates would solve the problem.

What Does a Whole House Rewire Involve?

A complete rewire touches every part of your home’s electrical system. The process typically follows this sequence:

  1. Full system assessment. We inspect the existing wiring throughout the home, document every circuit, and create a plan for the new wiring layout. This includes identifying where additional outlets, circuits, or capacity improvements make sense while the walls are open.
  2. Permits. We pull all required electrical permits from local authorities. Permits are required in Bastrop and throughout Texas for rewiring work.
  3. Old wiring removal. We remove or abandon the existing wiring. In some cases, old wiring is left in place and disconnected rather than physically pulled, depending on wall access.
  4. New wiring installation. We run new copper wiring to every outlet, switch, light fixture, and appliance circuit in the home. All new circuits include a ground conductor.
  5. Panel connection. All new circuits are terminated at the electrical panel with properly sized breakers, arc-fault circuit interrupters, and ground-fault protection where code requires them.
  6. Device installation. We install new outlets, switches, and cover plates throughout the home.
  7. Testing and inspection. We test every circuit, verify proper grounding, and schedule the municipal inspection. We address any inspector concerns at no additional cost.

A whole house rewire for a typical three-bedroom home takes three to five days of electrical work. Larger homes, homes with difficult access (plaster walls, limited attic space, slab foundations), or projects combined with panel upgrades take longer.

How Much Does a Whole House Rewire Cost?

Rewiring is one of the larger electrical projects a homeowner can undertake, and costs vary significantly based on your home’s specifics. The primary factors:

  • Home size and layout. More square footage means more wire, more outlets, and more labor. Multi-story homes require more complex routing.
  • Wall access. Homes with open attics and crawl spaces are easier to rewire than slab-on-grade homes or homes with plaster-and-lath walls. Limited access increases labor time substantially.
  • Number of circuits. Modern code requires more circuits than older homes were built with. Kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry rooms each need dedicated circuits. Adding circuits beyond the original count adds to the scope.
  • Panel upgrade. If your panel needs replacement as part of the rewire (and it usually does on homes old enough to need rewiring), that’s part of the total project cost.
  • Finish work. Electricians open walls to route new wiring. Patching and painting drywall after the rewire is typically handled by a separate contractor and is not included in the electrical scope.

All Communities provides a detailed written estimate after the on-site evaluation. We walk you through every line item so you understand what you’re paying for and why. We tell the truth about what the work requires instead of what would maximize our profit.

Can You Rewire a House Without Removing Drywall?

Partially. Experienced electricians can route a significant amount of new wiring through attic spaces, crawl spaces, and existing wall cavities using fish tape and flexible drill bits. This minimizes the number of wall openings needed.

Some wall access is almost always required, particularly for outlet and switch boxes that need to be replaced or repositioned. The goal is to limit the openings to small, repairable patches rather than stripping entire walls. During the assessment, we identify which areas we can access from above or below and where wall openings will be necessary, so you know what to expect before work begins.

Slab-on-grade homes present a specific challenge because there’s no crawl space access from below. In these homes, more attic routing and some additional wall work is typical.

How to Rewire an Old House Safely

The decision to rewire an old house usually comes down to the type of existing wiring and its condition. Each type has different risks:

  • Knob-and-tube wiring (pre-1940s) lacks grounding, uses aging cloth insulation, and wasn’t designed for modern loads. Insurance companies increasingly refuse to cover homes with active knob-and-tube circuits.
  • Cloth-insulated wiring (1940s-1960s) has insulation that becomes brittle and crumbles over time, exposing conductors. This wiring often tests functional but is deteriorating inside walls where you can’t see it.
  • Aluminum branch wiring (1965-1973) expands and contracts at a different rate than the copper terminals it connects to, creating loose connections that overheat. Special connectors (COPALUM or AlumiConn) can address individual connections, but a full rewire eliminates the risk entirely.

All Communities has helped homeowners across Bastrop and surrounding communities rewire old house electrical systems with all of these wiring types. We assess the condition of what’s in your walls and give you a straight answer on whether repairs, connector upgrades, or a full rewire is the right call.

What to Expect During a Whole House Rewire

Rewiring is disruptive, but planning ahead makes it manageable. You should expect:

  • Power will be off to sections of the home during active work, sometimes for a full day in specific areas
  • Electricians will need access to every room, attic spaces, and crawl spaces
  • Small wall openings will be made and left for patching after the electrical inspection passes
  • Furniture may need to be moved away from walls in rooms being worked on
  • The project takes multiple days, typically spread across one to two weeks depending on home size

Many homeowners schedule a rewire alongside other renovation work, like a kitchen remodel or bathroom update, since the walls are already being opened. If you’re planning renovations, coordinating the rewire with that work saves time and reduces overall disruption.

Frequently Asked Questions