What to Expect During a Home Electrical Rewire?

Jul 21, 2020 | Electrical Rewire, Residential Electric

Rewiring a house is a significant home renovation project that will affect every wall in your home - but, it’s all to ensure your safety! New wiring will need to be run throughout your entire house, from the basement, to the crawl space, to the floor joists, to the attic. Many holes (10’’x10’’) will be made in your walls and ceilings so we can get to the wires. Once the wires are replaced, we will seal everything with new drywall and texture to match existing walls. You will be responsible for repainting.

An electrical rewire can take up to 3 weeks for a 2 bedroom /1 bath home. Larger homes will take more time. Based on experience, we recommend customers find somewhere else to stay during the rewire. This is because your home will be under construction and until final city inspection takes place, the home is uninhabitable.

The rewire might feel like a hassle at the beginning, but the benefits are worth it. Just remember, we are doing this to ensure your home is safe!

Before We Arrive:

Before we begin the rewire project, we want to make sure you protect your furniture and belongings as much as possible, as this is a very invasive and dusty process because your home is now under construction and we want all your valuables to be well protected!

We ask you to please:

• Clear the area of any small items or objects that you do not want to get dusty. Remove all personal items, picture frames, paintings, and essential electrical equipment. Box them up and put them in the center of the room in your home. NOTE: make sure to leave enough room between the walls and the boxes (anywhere between 30 inches and 3 feet) so the technicians are able to move around the room and have access to all the walls.
• Protect your furniture and place it in the center of the room. If there are items of furniture that have to stay in the space and/or cannot be moved, make sure you cover them with thick tarps or sheets (as seen in the picture below). Use tape to attach the tarps or sheets to the bottom of the furniture so they are fully covered and protected from dust. Items we recommend using to protect your furniture include:
  • https://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-1-ft-x-360-ft-Translucent-Hand-Masker-Masking-Plastic-MPL12/301094667
  • https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-12-ft-x-400-ft-0-31-mil-High-Density-Painters-Plastic-Sheeting-HSHD12-400/204711644
  • https://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-ScotchBlue-1-41-in-x-60-yds-Original-Multi-Surface-Painter-s-Tape-2090-36AP/202077779
• If your floor needs to be protected, protect it by laying down a board surface protector. Tape them down with masking tape. Here is an item we recommend using to protect your floors: https://www.homedepot.com/p/TRIMACO-35-in-x-100-ft-X-Board-Surface-Protector-12370/300095507
• If you wish to protect your walls, hang plastic sheets on the walls from the ceiling to the floor. Secure the plastic sheets with masking tape. You should also cover all closed doors with plastic sheets. You can then add a layer of plywood or foam-board insulation on the walls and doors to protect them from dust. Items we recommend using to protect your walls and doors:
  • https://www.homedepot.com/p/ZipWall-ZDC-4-ft-x-8-ft-Zipdoor-Commercial-206624/203391029

Pre-Construction Meeting:

Four (4) days prior to your rewire, we will do a walkthrough with you to discuss:

1. The rewiring plans and make sure you understand how the home will need to be prepared for the project.
2. Confirm the placement of outlets, switches and light fixtures and tag important locations.
3. Tag placement of light fixtures.NOTE: outdoor lights will have to be replaced with dust to dawn lighting (as required but California Title 24).
4. Note the guest bathroom the electricians will be able use. If you feel uncomfortable sharing a guest bathroom with them while the project is taking place, Mario Castillo Electric can rent a portable bathroom at an additional cost.
5. Discuss an area for placement for construction debris. The debris can be disposed of little by little in your trash at no additional cost or Mario Castillo Electric can dispose of it for an additional $350.
6. Remind you that the food in the refrigerator must be addressed as home will be out of electricity for some weeks.
7. Receive the keys that will be placed in a lockbox outside of your home.
8. Answer any additional questions you might have.

During The Renovation:

During the 3 weeks we will be in your home, you will most likely get to know the team of 2 - 4 electricians working on your rewire. Here are some other things to consider while we work on your rewire.

• Expect a team of 2 to 4 electricians to be in your home every day. The team will do their best to take great care of your furniture and floors and clean up after themselves.
• ALL your walls will be impacted. Approximately 10 x10 holes will be made on them.
• Approximately two weeks into the project, a rough inspection by the city will be requested to approve our "rough" electrical work. The inspector will check our work to verify that all the wiring was done properly and up to current code standards.
• After we get the inspector’s approval, we will proceed to seal the holes with new drywall and patch. This will take up to 4 days. We will do our best to match wall textures but cannot guarantee the wall texture will be exactly the same and we will leave the wall ready to paint (as seen in the pictures below).
  • After the drywall is patched, the technicians will need 1-2 days to install switches, outlets, ceiling fans and light fixtures.

Project Completion - Handing Back The Home:

• Final inspection will be requested. Please note that sometimes it is necessary to leave one or two holes unpatched for the inspector. If necessary, we will send a technician back after the inspection to take care of any wrap-up items.
• Upon final inspection approval, we will carry out a thorough clean up. However, the dust usually takes a further 2-3 days to settle, so you might need to do a bit of extra dusting after we’ve left.
• After home is cleaned up, we will meet with you to do a final walkthrough to make sure all is in order
• The home will be handed back to you.

How do I know if my home needs rewired?

There are a few ways to know your home needs a rewire. The most obvious signs are flickering or dimming lights that need changed regularly and breakers that trip frequently. Aluminum wiring, out of date plug sockets, a home that was built 25 years ago or longer, broken or cracked sockets, and paneling with wooden backing are all indications it’s time to upgrade. For more details on how to know if your home needs rewired, you can read our blog post about it here.

If you’re still not sure if it’s time for a rewire, give Mario Castillo Electric company a call and we will come out and inspect the wiring at your home! We’ll let you know what issues we find, how much it will cost to fix it, and how long it will take. We offer a 6 month warranty on our work, so you can rest assured you’re making the right decision when you choose us! And, we know the cost of rewiring a home can be daunting, so we offer month-to-month payments through our financing program Let’s make sure your home is safe, up to code, and ready to handle the electrical needs of today and the future.