Free tool
Knob and Tube Replacement Cost Estimator
Answer a few questions about your house. You get our typical range, the permit fee for your city, what moves the price and the programs that may apply. Nothing to sign up for.
Our typical range for about 1,300 sq ft
$10,400 to $26,000
Our typical range for a whole-house replacement runs about $8 to $20 per square foot, before panel work and wall finishing. We price your house from its traced circuit list and give you a written estimate.
Where your house may fall
- Toward the high endPlaster and lath is slower to open and patch cleanly than drywall.
- Toward the low endOne or one-and-a-half stories: the attic and basement can reach most rooms.
- Toward the low endOpen basement joists let cable climb into first-floor walls without openings.
- Toward the low endA walkable attic lets cable drop into top-floor walls.
Your answers point toward the lower part of the range. The biggest unknown is how many original circuits are still live, which only tracing shows.
State permit fee (Minneapolis)
The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry inspects electrical work in Minneapolis. For about 20 circuits, the state fee works out to $191.
Programs that may apply
- If you heat with Xcel Energy gas or electricity, Xcel's insulation rebates can follow the rewire: 40% of qualifying attic or wall insulation, up to $1,200 each.
- No program pays for knob and tube replacement on its own.
Not included
Painting, decorative plaster, vermiculite testing or abatement, lead-safe work beyond standard dust control, and insulation are priced separately. Ask every quote to say which of these it includes.
These are Northloom Minneapolis Knob and Tube's typical ranges, not a quote. We price your house in writing after we trace its circuits.
How the estimate works
The whole-house range is our typical $8 to $20 per square foot for replacing knob and tube, before panel work and wall finishing, applied to the size you choose. The range itself doesn't move with your answers; your answers show whether your house is likely to sit toward the high or low end of it.
The permit fee is calculated from the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry's fee schedule for existing dwellings in Minneapolis, or the City of Saint Paul's electrical fee table, using a typical circuit count for the size and scope you choose. Rebate amounts come from Xcel Energy's published residential insulation program; the panel grant status comes from the Minnesota Department of Commerce. Programs change, so confirm them before you rely on them.
Partial jobs and panel upgrades show our typical range for that scope. Duplexes and triplexes are priced unit by unit, so for those the estimator shows what moves the price and the permit fee.
About the estimator
How accurate is the knob and tube cost estimator?
It gives you our typical range, not a price. For a single-family whole-house job it applies our typical $8 to $20 per square foot to the size you choose, and shows which of your answers push toward the high or low end. The permit line uses the state or St. Paul fee schedule exactly. Your real price comes from tracing your circuits.
How do you price partial jobs and duplexes?
A partial job typically runs $3,000 to $10,000, about $750 to $2,500 a circuit. Duplexes and triplexes are priced unit by unit, so the estimator lists what moves your building and calculates the permit fee. We give you an exact figure in writing after tracing.
Does the estimator include the panel and wall repair?
No. The whole-house range is before panel work and wall finishing. Your panel answer shows whether a panel is likely in the scope, and the not-included list names the costs to ask every quote about.
Guides behind the numbers
- 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.→
- How to Compare Knob and Tube Rewiring QuotesYou have two quotes for the same house, and they're thousands apart. Usually that's because they cover different work. Line them up on the same points before you compare totals.→
- 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.→
- Are There Rebates or Grants for Knob and Tube Replacement in Minnesota?Nothing pays for the rewire itself. What the rewire makes possible, mainly insulation, does have real money attached.→
Get an exact quote
Your answers travel with the form. Tracing the circuits turns a range into a price.
Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 6 PM; Saturday and Sunday, 9 AM to 2 PM. Outside these hours, emergency calls only.