Rewiring Older Homes in Tampa Bay

The bay has three generations of wiring that insurers and inspectors ask about. The 1910s to 1940s houses of Hyde Park, Seminole Heights, Tampa Heights and St. Petersburg's Old Northeast can still have knob-and-tube and cloth-covered cable. The block houses of the 1950s and 1960s often have no ground. And houses wired from about 1965 to 1973 may have aluminum branch circuits.

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Knob-and-tube and cloth wiring

Knob-and-tube was installed as open, separated conductors in the air. Decades of attic insulation, splices into newer wire and brittle insulation are the problems, more than the original design. Cloth-covered cable from the 1940s and 1950s has insulation that cracks when the wire is moved.

Insurers ask about both on the four-point inspection, and many will not write active knob-and-tube. The usual answer is replacing the circuits that still use it, which an electrician can map before quoting.

Aluminum branch wiring

For a few years around 1965 to 1973, some builders used aluminum for the 15- and 20-amp circuits instead of copper. The wire is not the problem by itself; the connections are, because aluminum expands, oxidizes and loosens at devices made for copper. The Florida Building Commission's electrical committee has published on it, and insurers ask about it on the four-point.

There are two accepted answers short of a rewire: crimping a short copper tail onto every aluminum connection with a COPALUM connector, or using connectors listed for joining aluminum to copper, such as AlumiConn. Both are named on the Citizens four-point form, and the insurer may ask for documentation from a licensed electrician.

Partial or full

A full rewire means new cable to every outlet, switch and fixture, a new panel in most cases, and patching. Plaster walls in pre-war houses make it slower than drywall in a 1970s ranch. A partial rewire replaces the circuits that carry the problem and leaves good wiring in place; it is common when the insurer's concern is a few rooms of knob-and-tube or an ungrounded kitchen.

• A circuit-by-circuit survey before quoting
• Replacing knob-and-tube and cloth circuits
• COPALUM or listed aluminum-to-copper connectors on aluminum circuits
• Grounded circuits for kitchens, baths and laundry
• Arc-fault and GFCI protection where the code asks for it
• Permit, inspection and paperwork for the four-point