# Knob and Tube Replacement During a Remodel

> Found knob and tube in a Minneapolis or St. Paul remodel? Replace it while walls are open and trace circuits beyond the room. Keep your inspection on schedule.

URL: https://northloomminneapolisknobandtube.com/remodel-knob-and-tube-replacement/

Demolition just turned up knob and tube behind your walls? We replace it while the walls are open, and trace the circuits that run beyond the room before drywall decides the scope for you.

Open walls are the cheapest moment to settle the wiring, for this room and the ones beside it.

Your crew pulled the plaster off the kitchen wall and found pairs of single wires on porcelain knobs. Now the project is stopped while someone works out whether they’re live, where they go and what the inspector will say.

At [Northloom Minneapolis Knob and Tube](https://northloomminneapolisknobandtube.com/), we replace knob and tube found during remodels in Minneapolis and St. Paul. When a kitchen, bath or attic project opens walls and finds original wiring, we trace those circuits to everywhere they go before drywall makes the decision for you.

## What do you do when you get to the job?

We come while the walls are open, and our first job is to answer one question quickly: what do these wires do?

- **In the open walls**: We identify the original runs and test which carry power.
- **Back to the panel**: We trace each live run to its circuit.
- **Beyond the room**: We find every other room, light and outlet on those circuits.
- **Your decision**: A written scope with options: the remodeled room only, the connected circuits, or the whole house while the walls are open.

## Why is now the cheapest time to deal with it?

In a finished house, most of the cost of replacing knob and tube is getting cable through closed walls: fishing, cutting openings and patching them. In an open wall, none of that applies. We staple cable to the studs, nail boxes in place, and the rough-in inspector sees everything without anyone cutting a hole.

That makes your remodel the cheapest point to rewire not just the remodeled room but anything whose circuits pass through it. A circuit that feeds a bedroom by way of a kitchen wall can be replaced at its most accessible point and fished only the short distance into the bedroom.

You’re far from the only one. About 70% of Minneapolis’s one- to three-unit buildings were built by 1939, so original wiring behind remodel walls is routine here.

## What will the remodel inspector flag?

The rough-in inspection on a remodel covers the new work. Original wiring runs into it in a few predictable ways.

| What the inspector finds | Why it can’t stay |
| --- | --- |
| New cable spliced into an original run | New work tied to original wiring inherits its age and lack of a ground |
| Original runs in a wall about to be insulated | The code bars concealed knob and tube in insulated hollow spaces |
| Kitchen outlets on an original circuit | The kitchen needs its own 20-amp small-appliance circuits with protection |
| A bathroom outlet on a shared original circuit | The bathroom needs a 20-amp circuit with ground-fault protection |

We handle these before the inspection, which keeps your remodel on schedule. In Minneapolis, the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry inspects electrical work; in St. Paul, the city’s Department of Safety and Inspections does. The [permit guide](https://northloomminneapolisknobandtube.com/guide/minneapolis-electrical-permits-for-rewiring/) covers both.

## How do you fit in with my other trades?

Your remodel already has a sequence, and our work slots into it.

- **After demolition**: Tracing and the scope decision, while every wall is open.
- **Before plumbing and ducts close in**: New circuits run so they don’t fight other trades for the same bays.
- **Rough-in inspection**: Electrical inspected with the walls still open, before insulation.
- **After drywall**: Devices, fixtures and the switch-over, then the final.

Your general contractor’s schedule sets the dates. We give them the electrical days and the inspection windows to plan around.

## Should I rewire the rooms next to the remodel too?

That’s the hardest question in a remodel. Original circuits rarely stay inside one room: a kitchen circuit may also feed the dining room lights and a back-hall outlet; a bathroom wall may carry the run to the bedroom beyond it.

| Option | When it makes sense |
| --- | --- |
| Remodeled room only | The room had its own circuit and nothing passes through |
| Connected circuits | Original circuits pass through the remodel to other rooms; we replace each one end to end |
| Whole house while open | Most of the house is still original, and it’s already a job site |

Rewiring only the remodeled room can leave original circuits feeding the rooms around it, sometimes through the very walls being rebuilt. The [partial versus full guide](https://northloomminneapolisknobandtube.com/guide/partial-vs-full-knob-and-tube-replacement/) explains how to decide, and the [mixed wiring guide](https://northloomminneapolisknobandtube.com/guide/knob-and-tube-mixed-with-modern-wiring/) covers how old and new end up spliced together.

## How will the new room be wired?

For what it will be, not what it was. A kitchen gets at least two 20-amp small-appliance circuits for the counters, dedicated circuits for appliances that need them, and arc-fault and ground-fault protection. A bathroom gets its own 20-amp circuit with ground-fault protection. A finished attic or basement gets outlets spaced for living space, with the protection the code lists for bedrooms and living areas. The [guide to what replaces knob and tube](https://northloomminneapolisknobandtube.com/guide/what-replaces-knob-and-tube-wiring/) covers the materials.

## I’m finishing my attic or basement. What changes?

Finishing an attic or basement turns unfinished space, where original wiring often runs in the open, into living space with insulated walls and ceilings.

- **Attic rooms**: Original runs crossing the attic floor or rafters have to be replaced or disconnected before insulation and drywall cover them.
- **Basements**: Knob and tube on the basement ceiling often feeds circuits on the floor above; finishing the ceiling hides it for good, so we trace and settle it first.
- **New circuits**: The new room gets its own circuits with the protection a bedroom or living area needs.

## What does it cost to handle it during a remodel?

We price it from the circuit list. Work inside open walls is the least expensive electrical work there is; the cost rises with each connected circuit we carry into finished rooms beyond the remodel, and with any panel work needed to hold the new circuits. When the job reaches past the remodeled room, our typical range for partial replacement is $3,000 to $10,000, about $750 to $2,500 a circuit. You get a written estimate for each option before you decide. The [cost guide](https://northloomminneapolisknobandtube.com/guide/knob-and-tube-replacement-cost-minneapolis/) explains why open walls change the math.

> What to have ready
>
> The remodel plans, your general contractor’s schedule and photos of the open walls showing the original wiring. If demolition hasn’t started yet, tell us which rooms are being opened, so we can plan the tracing for the day the walls come down. Questions:
>
> (612) 509-6597
>
> .

The record at the end covers both sides of the remodel: the new circuits in the remodeled room, every connected circuit we replaced beyond it, and each original run we disconnected and removed, with the permit and inspection dates. It goes in your house file with the remodel’s other paperwork.

## What's included

- Tracing the original circuits found in your open walls back to the panel
- Finding every other room those circuits feed
- New grounded circuits for the remodeled room, laid out for its new use
- Original runs in the open walls disconnected at their source and removed
- A decision point on rooms beyond the remodel, with the scope and price for each
- Coordination with your general contractor's schedule and inspections
- A written record of what we replaced, inside and outside the remodel

## Rewire only the remodeled room, or carry it further

| Question | Remodeled room only | Room plus connected circuits | Whole house while open |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| What changes | Wiring inside the remodel walls | Every circuit that passes through the remodel, to its end | All original circuits |
| What can stay live | Original circuits feeding the rooms next door | Original circuits that never touch the remodel | Nothing original |
| Extra openings | None | A few in adjacent rooms | On every floor |
| Best when | The remodel room was its own circuit | Circuits run through to other rooms | Most of the house is still original |

## Guides behind this service

- [**Knob and Tube Spliced Into Modern Wiring: What It Means** Your house probably isn't all original or all new. It's mixed, often on the same circuit, and the joins are where problems hide.](https://northloomminneapolisknobandtube.com/guide/knob-and-tube-mixed-with-modern-wiring/)
- [**Who Issues the Electrical Permit for a Minneapolis Rewire?** You call the city for most permits, but not this one. Here's who inspects your rewire in Minneapolis, St. Paul and the suburbs, what it costs you and when the inspector comes.](https://northloomminneapolisknobandtube.com/guide/minneapolis-electrical-permits-for-rewiring/)
- [**Do You Have to Replace All the Knob and Tube?** Not always. It comes down to how much of your wiring is still live, what your insurer or buyer needs to hear, and what else your house is asking for.](https://northloomminneapolisknobandtube.com/guide/partial-vs-full-knob-and-tube-replacement/)
- [**What Replaces Knob and Tube Wiring?** Grounded cable is the short answer. The longer one covers the boxes, the protection, the wire sizes and a circuit layout drawn for how you live in the house now.](https://northloomminneapolisknobandtube.com/guide/what-replaces-knob-and-tube-wiring/)
- [**How Much Does Knob and Tube Replacement Cost in Minneapolis?** Our typical ranges for whole-house and partial jobs, what goes into a Minneapolis price, the permit fees you'll pay, and why two quotes for the same house can be thousands apart.](https://northloomminneapolisknobandtube.com/guide/knob-and-tube-replacement-cost-minneapolis/)
- [**How Does Knob and Tube Replacement Work?** You've decided the old wiring has to go, and you want to know what happens next. Here's each step, from the first circuit we trace to the final inspection, and what it means for you.](https://northloomminneapolisknobandtube.com/guide/how-knob-and-tube-replacement-works/)

## What happens after I call?

### You call us

Tell us what was found and where: an inspection report, an insurer's letter, a stalled insulation job. Photos and the report help.

### We evaluate

We trace your circuits, check the panel and look at the attic and basement runs. You get a written scope that separates electrical work from patching.

### We do the work

We get the permit in place, route cable in stages, and have the rough-in inspected before your walls are closed.

### We close it out

Final inspection, a labeled panel, and the circuit record you will need for an insurer or a sale.

## What this work looks like

Room opened to the studs, new white cables stapled to new blue boxes

New outlets spaced along a tiled backsplash in a remodeled kitchen

## Replacement During a Remodel: questions

### Can knob and tube found in a remodel be extended to the new room?

Not in a way that makes sense. The code allows concealed knob and tube only to extend existing installations and bars it in insulated walls, and a remodeled wall is almost always insulated afterward. We run new circuits for your remodeled room in grounded cable from the panel, and disconnect and remove the original runs found in the open walls.

### Will the remodel inspector make me replace the rest of the knob and tube?

The inspection covers the new work. What it often reveals is that original circuits pass through your remodeled room to feed others, and those can't be left spliced into new work or buried in new insulation. We sort out which circuits are affected before drywall, so the inspection doesn't decide it for you.

### Does the general contractor's electrician handle this?

Sometimes. A remodel electrician wires the new room; tracing original circuits through the rest of your house and planning their replacement is a different job. We can work alongside the remodel's electrician or take on all the electrical work, on your general contractor's schedule.

### Will rewiring other rooms delay the remodel?

It doesn't have to. We trace while the walls are open, and the remodeled room's wiring goes in on the remodel's schedule. Rooms beyond the remodel can be done at the same time, or after the remodel closes up, with their own openings and inspection.

### What if the original wiring in the open wall is already dead?

Then it comes out, and your record notes that we confirmed it dead and removed it. It's worth confirming instead of assuming: a run that looks abandoned can be half of a live circuit, with its partner conductor in another bay. We settle it in the same visit.

## Related services

- [**Partial Replacement** Earlier owners rewired most of your house, but a few original circuits are still live? We replace just those with grounded cable, leave the rest as it is, and write down exactly where the line falls.](https://northloomminneapolisknobandtube.com/partial-knob-and-tube-replacement/)
- [**Whole-House Rewiring** Most rooms still on the original wiring? We replace every branch circuit with new grounded cable, the knob and tube and everything spliced into it since, under one permit and its inspections.](https://northloomminneapolisknobandtube.com/whole-house-rewiring/)
- [**Plaster-Wall Rewiring** Worried a rewire means tearing out your plaster? We fish new grounded circuits through the hollow spaces your house already has, make a small number of planned openings, and agree the patching with you before work starts.](https://northloomminneapolisknobandtube.com/plaster-wall-rewiring/)