What whole-house rewiring means
Your home's wires are like its veins. They carry power to every room. In many Alexandria homes, those veins are 60, 80, or even 100 years old. Whole-house rewiring means we remove the old wiring — knob-and-tube, cloth-covered wire, ungrounded two-wire cable — and run brand-new wire to every outlet, switch, and light. When we finish, your electrical system meets today's safety code.
How you know your home needs it
Old wiring gives warnings. Watch for these: breakers that trip often. Outlets or switch plates that feel warm. A burning smell near outlets. Lights that flicker or dim when the microwave runs. Two-prong outlets in every room. Or your home inspector flagged the wiring when you bought the place. Any one of these is worth a look. Two or more means you should call soon.
Old Town and Del Ray homes
Alexandria has some of the oldest housing stock in Virginia. Old Town rowhouses from the 1700s and 1800s. Del Ray and Rosemont bungalows from the 1900s through the 1940s. Many still run on their original wiring — knob-and-tube or early cloth-covered cable with no ground wire. That wiring was fine for a few lamps and a radio. It was never built for air conditioning, computers, and phone chargers in every room.
The plaster-wall fear
This is the number one thing homeowners ask us: "Will you destroy my plaster walls?" The honest answer is no. We fish new wires through wall cavities, attics, basements, and crawl spaces. We cut small, neat access holes only where we must — usually behind baseboards or inside closets. Then we patch them. Most rooms need no holes at all. Your plaster stays standing.
What the job looks like
A full rewire takes several days to about two weeks, depending on the size of your home. We work room by room. Power goes off in sections, not the whole house at once. Most families stay in the home during the work. We clean up each day before we leave. At the end, every circuit is tested and labeled, and the work is inspected to code.
What it costs — honestly
Published cost guides put whole-house rewires at $8,000–$20,000+ for a 2,000 sq ft home, depending on size, access, and how much old wiring must come out. That is a wide range because every house is different. Your written estimate comes after we inspect your home — never before. Anyone who quotes a rewire over the phone is guessing.
Think your wiring is past its prime? Call (301) 679-9193 for a free inspection. We'll tell you straight whether you need a full rewire or something smaller.