A Local’s Guide to Modern Wiring
The truth is, your home’s wiring isn’t a permanent “set it and forget it” feature. It ages, it wears down, and eventually, it becomes a hidden risk that modern safety standards just won’t ignore.
Many houses across Clearwater, St. Pete, and the rest of Pinellas County are still running on outdated wiring that was never meant to handle our modern lives, from high-tech kitchens to EV chargers and powerful HVAC units.
At Pinellas County Electric, home rewiring is about more than just pulling new copper through your walls. It’s about rooting out fire hazards, cleaning up “DIY” messes from previous owners, and getting your electrical system up to current National Electrical Code (NEC) standards.
As a licensed and insured team, we make sure your house is ready to stay safe and powered for several decades.
Why Rewiring Is a Safety Necessity
You might be wondering if it’s finally time to call an electrician to rewire the house. While some signs are impossible to miss others are a bit more subtle. You should definitely think about rewiring an old house if you’re dealing with:
Breakers that won't stay put
Frequent trips are your system’s way of saying it’s overwhelmed.
Lights that won't stop flickering
This usually points to loose connections or wiring that just can't keep up.
Outlets that feel warm to the touch
If you see staining or feel heat at the plug, you’ve got a dangerous situation developing behind the drywall.
Insulation that crumbles
If you touch a wire and the coating flakes off like old paper, your home is at extreme risk for a fire
Understanding the "Era" of Your Home
Knowing when your house was built is the first step in figuring out what’s hiding in your walls. Rewiring the whole house is often the only way to satisfy modern Florida insurance companies.
- Knob and Tube (1880–1940): The oldest system in Florida. It uses ceramic knobs to run wires separately through your frame. It has no ground wire, and the rubber insulation is likely brittle and dangerous by now. Most insurers won't even look at a home with active knob and tube.
- Early Cloth-Sheathed Wiring (1940–1950): These replaced knob and tube but still didn't include a ground. Without that ground, your appliances can’t be safely bonded, which is a major shock risk.
- Brittle Rubber & Cloth (1950–1965): In this era, rubber was used to coat the wires inside a cloth jacket. After years of Florida heat, that rubber dries out and falls off, leaving bare copper exposed inside your walls.
- Aluminum Wiring (1965–1973): Used during a copper shortage, this wiring is notorious for expanding and contracting more than copper. That "movement" leads to loose connections and fires at your switches and outlets.
What Does Rewiring a House Actually Cost?
Budget is a huge part of the conversation. While every house is different, here is what most home rewiring projects in our area look like in 2026:
- The Big Picture: Most full-home projects range between $10,000 and $30,000.
- By the Foot: Typically, you're looking at $5 to $17 per square foot for labor and materials.
- The "Plaster" Factor: If you have an older home with plaster walls, expect labor to be about 25% to 30% higher than drywall.
- Panel Upgrades: Most older homes need to move up to a 200-amp service panel, which adds $1,500 to $3,000 to the total.
- Ease of Access: If we can do the bulk of the work through an attic or crawlspace, the price stays much more manageable.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long will you be in my house?
A full rewire usually takes between 3 and 10+ days, depending on the size of the house and how much wall we have to open up.
Can I stay in my home while you work?
For big projects, we usually recommend temporary accommodations, especially if we have to cut power for long stretches or if the drywall work gets intense.
Why is my insurance company asking about my wiring?
Old systems like knob and tube or aluminum are red flags for insurers. Upgrading usually makes your home much easier to insure and can even drop your premiums.
Schedule Your Inspection Now
Don’t let a “breaker tripped” warning turn into a disaster.
