You need knob and tube replaced, or at least looked at, and the first few calls didn’t go far. Some electricians don’t want old-wiring jobs, and that’s no reflection on your house. What you want is someone who traces your circuits before pricing, works carefully in plaster, gets the permit in place, and hands you a written record at the end. The questions you ask will tell you who that is faster than the price will.
At Northloom Minneapolis Knob and Tube, knob and tube is the work we take on across Minneapolis and St. Paul. This guide is for you whoever you end up hiring, because the same questions apply to every quote.
Why is it hard to find someone for old wiring?
Because the job is different from new construction in almost every way that affects a schedule.
| New construction | Your knob and tube replacement |
|---|---|
| Open walls, clear routes | Finished plaster walls, with routes found by survey |
| A known circuit layout | Circuits traced from scratch, often several generations of wiring |
| A predictable schedule | Hidden conditions inside walls and attics |
| Nobody living there | You at home, heat kept on, cleanup every day |
| Few finishes to protect | Trim, built-ins and plaster worth keeping |
Anyone set up for this work has a method for each row. Asking about them shows you quickly whether they do.
What does Minnesota require of whoever I hire?
- Electrical work for others
- Minnesota requires a licensed electrical contractor for it.
- Doing it yourself
- A deeded owner living in a single-family house can get a homeowner permit to do their own work there; it doesn’t cover a duplex or multi-unit building.
- Checking a license
- The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry licenses electrical contractors and offers a license lookup.
- The permit
- The contractor files the request for electrical inspection at or before the start of work.
- Insurance
- Ask for proof of liability insurance for work in your house.
What should I ask on the first call or visit?
- Tracing
- How will you find out which circuits are original and which are live? Will I get the circuit list in writing?
- Scope
- Will each circuit be replaced from the panel to every device on it? How will the original be disconnected and tested?
- Openings
- How many openings do you expect, where, and who closes them, to what finish?
- Panel
- Does the panel need to change, and is the service size based on a load calculation?
- Permit
- Who files the request, and are the rough-in and final inspections included?
- Household
- How will the work be scheduled around us, and how will you keep our heat on?
- Record
- What will I receive at the end?
How do I tell a good answer from a vague one?
Good answers are specific. If you hear that the circuit count will come from switching circuits off at the panel and writing down what goes dark, that’s tracing. If you hear that openings go where fire blocks stop the cable and where new boxes sit, that’s a route survey. If the patching finish and the record are named, that’s a scope you can compare. “We’ll figure it out when we open the walls” leaves the price open too.
What if my insurer or a buyer is waiting on this?
Say so in the first conversation. Whoever you hire should be able to give each party what it needs: a letter stating whether any knob and tube is energized, a record of replaced circuits with permit dates, or confirmation that attic runs are dead. Our insurance documentation service covers what carriers usually ask for.
How do I compare the people I’ve talked to?
Once two or three have seen the house, compare their scopes before their prices. The quote comparison guide has a line-by-line checklist. A higher price that includes patching, the panel, the permit and a written record can cost you less in the end than a lower one that leaves those to you.
Can I get on someone’s calendar quickly?
It depends on the season. Old-wiring work gets busy, especially in the months before winter and during home-selling season. If an insurer or a closing has given you a deadline, say so when you first call. The tracing may be possible sooner, and the work can often be phased so the most urgent circuits come first.
What should make me walk away?
- No tracing
- A price without tracing, or without a circuit count.
- No permit
- Or an offer to skip it for a lower price.
- Partial circuits
- Replacing only the visible sections and leaving the rest of each circuit original.
- Insulation first
- Suggesting insulation can go in around live knob and tube.
- Bigger fuses
- Recommending larger fuses so they stop blowing.
How will we stay in touch during the job?
Ask, because a rewire means someone in your house for days or weeks, and communication matters as much as skill. Find out how you’ll hear about the next day’s rooms and outages, who you call if something comes up, and how changes to the scope get agreed. On an occupied house, you should hear each morning what’s happening that day and each evening what’s next. And if something unexpected turns up inside a wall, you should hear about it promptly, with what it means and what it would cost, before any extra work starts.
What if I own a duplex or rent the place out?
Ask how the work will be scheduled around your residents, how much notice each unit needs, and whether the person you’re hiring has worked in occupied rentals. Minnesota’s homeowner permit can’t be used on a duplex, so the contractor files. Ask for the record to be organized by unit, because your insurer will ask about each one.
What should I get when the work is done?
A walk-through of the record: the circuit list, the panel directory, which original circuits were disconnected and how they were tested, what was pulled out, and the permit and inspection dates. Ask your questions then, while the person who knows the job is there to answer them. Keep the record with your house papers, and send copies to your insurer or insulation contractor if they were waiting on it.
Does it matter if the same person traces and does the work?
It helps. Ask whether whoever traces your circuits will be on the job, because the tracing is where your house’s quirks get learned.
What should I have ready for the first visit?
- The inspection report, insurer letter or insulation bid that started all this.
- Any deadline that comes with it.
- Photos of your panel or fuse box, the attic from the hatch, and the basement ceiling.
- Anything you know about past remodels and electrical work, and any permits.
The guide to how replacement works explains what happens after you hire. Questions: (612) 509-6597.