The part that gets glossed over
Living through it
This affects your life more than the price does.
The wiring is inside your walls, so we have to get inside your walls. Expect openings cut at strategic points — top and bottom plates, near boxes, at direction changes. We keep them as small and as few as the job allows and place them where they're least visible, but there will be more than you're imagining.
Cutting plaster and drywall generates it. We contain work areas and protect floors and furniture, but a rewire is not a tidy process.
We work in sections, so the whole house is rarely dead at once. Expect specific areas without power during working hours, with supply restored to the property at the end of each day wherever possible. We'll tell you in advance which areas and when, so you can plan around refrigeration, work, and children.
Anywhere from several days to a few weeks depending on size, layout, and construction. Plaster and lath is slower than drywall. Two-storey homes with finished basements are slower than bungalows with accessible attics and crawlspaces. We'll tell you promptly if something inside the walls changes it.
Openings are typically patched to a ready-for-paint condition. Final finishing, texture matching, and painting are usually handled separately — and we'll be explicit about that before starting rather than after.
We'll tell you what needs moving and what needs clearing before we arrive. Access to walls, closets, and the panel makes a real difference to the timeline.
Most rewires are done with the household in residence. It's disruptive but manageable. Where it isn't — a whole-house rewire in a small property with young children, for instance — some people choose to be elsewhere for part of it. Worth discussing when we scope.
None of that is a reason not to do it. It's a reason to know what you're agreeing to before the first hole is cut.
Where the money is
How much actually needs doing?
The honest starting position: most homes we assess don't need everything replaced.
Replaces all branch circuit wiring, devices, and boxes, usually with a new panel. Makes sense when the original wiring is largely intact throughout — a house still running mostly on knob and tube — or when the property is already open for major renovation.
Targets what's actually failing. Many homes have been updated piecemeal: the kitchen was done in a renovation, an addition has modern cable, the basement was finished properly, and what remains is two or three original circuits serving the bedrooms and hallway. Replacing those and leaving the sound work alone is the correct answer, and it costs a fraction of a full rewire.
Narrower still — grounding specific circuits, remediating aluminum connections at devices, adding circuits where the load has outgrown what's there, or replacing one deteriorated run.
An assessment establishes which. A quote given without one is guessing at the answer to the most expensive question in the project.
System, not fault
Signs it's the wiring, not a fault
Individual faults get repaired. These suggest something systemic — for one dead outlet or a single tripping breaker, that's usually a connection rather than a rewire.
- Most outlets are two-prong. No equipment ground anywhere on those circuits. It can't be solved device by device.
- Breakers tripping across multiple circuits, not just one. The system as a whole is being asked for more than it was built to deliver.
- Recurring faults in different places. When the same kind of failure keeps appearing on different circuits, the installation method or the cable itself is the common factor.
- Extension cords as permanent infrastructure. Cords along baseboards and under rugs mean too few outlets on too few circuits — a wiring layout problem, not a furniture problem.
- Fabric or rubber insulation crumbling where you can see it, particularly at the panel and at ceiling boxes.
- Knob and tube still in service. Ungrounded, damaged easily by later work, and problematic where insulation has been added around it.
- Aluminum branch circuits with a history of loose or heating connections at devices.
- Insurance questions. If your insurer has asked about wiring type, service size, or panel brand, that's not a coincidence.
Warm outlets, discoloured faceplates, or a burning smell are urgent rather than a planning matter.
Wiring types
What we replace
Knob and tube
Individual conductors run through ceramic tubes and supported on knobs, relying on air space around them for cooling. Ungrounded, and the cooling assumption fails once insulation is packed around it. Common in pre-1950s construction.
Cloth and rubber-insulated cable
The insulation embrittles with age and flakes away from the conductor, particularly where it's been bent and handled — at the panel and at ceiling boxes where decades of fixture heat have done their work.
Aluminum branch circuits
The conductors are less the issue than the terminations, which loosen through expansion and contraction cycles and heat as a result. Approved remediation exists as an alternative to replacement; we'll explain both.
Ungrounded two-conductor cable
Functional until there's a fault, at which point there's no safe path for the current.
Undersized circuits and services
Adequate when installed, insufficient for how the house is used now.
Previous unpermitted work
Frequently found during rewiring, and frequently the worst of what's in the walls.
Scope of work
What a rewire includes
- New branch circuit wiring throughout the areas in scope
- Grounding on every circuit, and grounded receptacles
- New outlets, switches, and boxes
- Dedicated circuits for major appliances and high-draw equipment
- GFCI protection in kitchens, bathrooms, laundry, garages, and exterior locations
- AFCI protection where current requirements call for it
- Additional outlets to eliminate reliance on extension cords
- Panel replacement or service upgrade where existing equipment can't support the new system
- Circuit testing and a legible panel schedule
- Permits, inspection coordination, and handover documentation
Why Artesia calls us
What you get when you call Summit
We scope before we quote
The assessment tells us how much is original and how much has already been replaced. That number drives everything, and guessing at it serves nobody.
We'll recommend the smaller project when it's right
Partial rewires are common and often correct. A company that only ever proposes full rewires isn't assessing.
The scope is written down
What's being replaced, what's staying, how many openings, what condition they'll be left in, and where our work ends. Ambiguity on that last point is where these projects go wrong between contractor and homeowner.
Permitted and inspected
Rewiring is permitted, inspected work. We handle it and hand over the documentation — which matters at resale and with insurers.
Licensed, insured, background-checked
Every technician on every job.
What we do
Our rewiring services in Artesia, CA
Whole-house rewiring
Complete replacement of branch circuit wiring, devices, and boxes, typically with panel replacement.
Partial rewiring
Targeted replacement of original circuits in properties already partly updated.
Knob and tube replacement
Including staged approaches where a full project isn't practical at once.
Aluminum wiring replacement and remediation
Full replacement, or approved connector remediation at devices where that suits.
Grounding upgrades
Bringing ungrounded circuits up to standard, including grounding electrode system work.
Panel and service upgrades
Where the existing equipment can't support the new system.
Circuit additions
Dedicated circuits for kitchens, workshops, EV charging, and heating equipment.
Rewiring during renovation
Coordinated with other trades while walls are open.
Multi-unit and rental property rewiring
Staged around tenancies and building access.
Post-purchase assessments
Establishing what's actually in the walls of a property you've just bought.
Timing
The cheapest time to rewire
If a renovation is anywhere in your plans, rewire during it.
Open walls remove the most expensive part of the job — the access. Fishing cable through finished construction, cutting openings, and patching afterward is a substantial share of the cost of a retrofit rewire, and all of it disappears when the studs are exposed.
The reverse is worse: finishing a renovation over old wiring and then deciding to rewire means cutting into new drywall, new tile, and new paint. It's the most expensive sequence available.
Even where a full rewire isn't warranted, running conduit or additional circuits while things are open costs very little compared with revisiting it later.
If you're planning a kitchen, a bathroom, a basement, or an addition, tell us at the assessment. The sequencing advice is free and it's usually worth more than the assessment itself.
Paperwork
Permits, inspection, and why it matters
Rewiring is permitted, inspected work in essentially every jurisdiction. That's not bureaucracy for its own sake — it's the only verification you'll ever have of work that's now sealed inside your walls.
- At resale, documented rewiring is an asset. Undocumented electrical work raises questions during inspection, and questions become negotiating points.
- With insurers, wiring type and documented upgrades come up routinely — particularly where knob and tube or aluminum was previously present. Proof that it's been replaced is frequently what resolves a coverage condition.
- For you, the inspection is independent confirmation that what's behind the drywall was done correctly.
We pull the permits, coordinate inspection, and hand over the sign-off along with a labelled panel schedule. Keep it somewhere you'll find it in ten years.
Commercial
Commercial and multi-unit rewiring
We handle rewiring for offices, retail, restaurants, warehouses, and multi-unit residential buildings across Artesia.
Commercial and multi-unit work brings three-phase supply, distribution across multiple panels, equipment-driven loads, and buildings that have often been repurposed more than once with undocumented modifications layered in.
The dominant constraint is usually operational: which areas can be out of service, when, and for how long. We phase the work around trading hours, production schedules, or tenancy turnover, and define outage windows in advance so nobody discovers them on the day.
Pricing
What affects the cost
- Full, partial, or targeted scope — the largest factor by a wide margin.
- Property size — square footage, storeys, and number of circuits.
- Construction type — plaster and lath, brick, and finished basements are slower than drywall over open framing.
- Access — attics, crawlspaces, and open framing speed things up dramatically; their absence does the opposite.
- Occupied or vacant — working around a household takes longer than an empty property.
- Panel or service upgrade — often required alongside, and a significant component.
- Added circuits and outlets — kitchens, EV charging, workshops, and heating equipment.
- Permits and inspection — required, and variable by jurisdiction.
- Restoration — patching is typically to ready-for-paint; finishing usually isn't included.
You'll get a written scope and price before anything begins.
Service area
Areas we serve near Artesia
Summit Electrical Services proudly serves Artesia, CA and the surrounding neighborhoods, rewiring residential, multi-unit, and commercial properties throughout the area. Unsure whether you're in range? Call and ask.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a full rewire?
Often not. Many homes have been partly updated already, and replacing only the original circuits is both cheaper and correct. That's what the assessment determines.
How much does rewiring cost in Artesia?
It depends overwhelmingly on scope — full, partial, or targeted — then on size, construction, and access. The assessment establishes which, and you get a written scope and price before committing.
How much damage will there be to my walls?
Access openings are unavoidable in finished construction. We keep them small and few and place them discreetly, and they're typically patched to a ready-for-paint condition. Final finishing and painting are usually separate — we'll state that up front.
Do I have to move out?
Most rewires are done with the household in residence, working in sections so the whole property isn't without power at once. Some people choose to be elsewhere for part of a large project. We'll discuss it when we scope.
Will my power be off the whole time?
No. We work in sections, and supply is restored to the property at the end of each working day wherever possible. You'll know in advance which areas are affected and when.
How long does it take?
Several days to a few weeks depending on size, layout, and construction. Plaster and finished basements are slower than drywall and open framing.
Should I rewire before or after renovating?
Before, or during. Open walls remove the most expensive part of the job. Rewiring after new finishes go in is the most expensive sequence there is.
Is knob and tube wiring illegal?
Existing installations aren't automatically prohibited, but they can't be extended, they're incompatible with modern insulation, and many insurers will not cover properties that still have them.
Can aluminum wiring be remediated instead of replaced?
In many cases, using approved connectors at every device. Whether that's appropriate depends on condition and sometimes on your insurer's requirements. We'll give you both options honestly.
Will rewiring affect my insurance?
Frequently in your favour. Insurers regularly ask about knob and tube, aluminum, fuse panels, and service size. Documented replacement is often what resolves a coverage condition — keep the permit and inspection paperwork.
Do I need a permit?
Yes. Rewiring is permitted, inspected work. We handle it and hand over the documentation.
Can you just add grounding without a full rewire?
Sometimes, depending on the wiring method and route. Where it isn't practical, GFCI protection with correct labelling is a recognised alternative on some circuits. We'll tell you which applies.
I just bought an older house. What should I do first?
An assessment. Knowing what's actually in the walls shapes every other decision you'll make about the property, and it's far cheaper than finding out during a renovation.
Find out how much is actually in question
The difference between a full rewire and a partial one is usually tens of thousands of dollars, and it's decided by what's already been replaced over the last few decades — which nobody can tell you without looking.
Summit Electrical Services assesses what's there, scopes it in writing, and tells you exactly what the project involves before you commit.