Whether it’s an old house or a household filled with modern electrical appliances rewiring is important to avoid any electrical hazards. We are used to electrical appliances like air conditioners, washing machine, microwave ovens, and more these days, and most of them are a copart of our daily life. Changes in the wiring will boost the electrical capacity of your home and also prevent avoidable accidents.
Why is electrical wiring important?
The need for rewiring comes from two of the major areas. While you must be sure that your home and the electrical gadgets are safe and working normally, you also need to upgrade the current electrical system of your home that can suffice electricity requirements for your household. However, that may not be easy to attain.
Tips to rewire your old house safely
Before you proceed to upgrade the electrical wirings, there are a few things that you need to consider. Getting in touch with a licensed electrician should be the first step.
- Upgrade the electric panel with priority
The electrical panel is the most important part of the electrical system and therefore, should be upgraded at the start. You need to modernize it based on the latest standards else, it may end up limiting the complete electrical system. The main electrical service panel should be upgraded to a minimum of 100 amps as per current standards.
- Make a list of the electrical appliances
Prepare a list of all the electrical appliances that are currently being used in your household and in which area. The electrical system should not just suffice your needs, but should also match your requirements. You need to find out in which area you would be using electric and gauge your power requirement. This will help you determine the specifications of the job much easily.
- Place outlets along the home and keep a check
The outlets that let the electrical wires inside and makes way out, should be made at every six to eight feet across the chief rooms of your home. You should make this a rule and the aim would be to get rid of the need of extension cords with rewiring.
- Check for local regulations and obtain permits
There are regulations set in each state on how many electrical outlets can be placed in a room, what kind of wires should be used in the wiring, and more. You also need permits to perform the rewiring of your old house, without which your finished work may also be pulled out.
- Check out the current infrastructure
Check properly if the existing wiring in your home has any damage already. Make sure that no one punches a hole in the current wiring or in the plumbing. Checking on your current infrastructure should be must if you are looking to rewire your home. This will help avoid any future damages to the electrical wiring in your home.
- Find a good electrical contractor and get to work
The last and the most important step would be to now get a skilled and experienced electrical contractor who has a better understanding of older buildings. It is usually complex to work in old structures as these have an old wiring system. If required, you may even need to demolish and reconstruct to make sure that the wiring is done properly.
Each home is unique and hence, may require a different approach for the rewiring. So assess the needs of your home, figure out what matches your requirement, and get the job done by skilled electrician for successful rewiring of your old home.
