Although Southern California doesn’t have homes of the same age as you’ll find in, say, New England, there are many houses more than 50 years old here that families happily call home-sweet-home. Older homes can continue to be great places to live, but they have special requirements for their care. This is where having an older home specialist for HVAC and electrical needs is extremely helpful.
Not every electrician in Sherman Oaks, CA or serving Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley specializes in older homes. We do. If your home was built pre-1970, you may have thought about its rewiring needs. We’ll go through several things you need to know about older home rewiring.
Take stock of your residential electrical usage
If the wiring for your house is still the same as it was when it was built, you almost certainly are using much more electricity now than the electrical system was designed to handle. Electrical loads, in general, have risen because of the increase in the number of devices we use. You’ll be able to better work with an electrician if you can take stock of the major appliances you use. Go through each room of the house and write down electrical appliances and lights used, with particular attention to newer devices or any device that has become unreliable because of the electrical system (i.e. it’s caused breakers to trip).
Always choose an electrician with older home experience
You have many options for hiring an electrician when you decide to rewire your vintage home—but for this job, you specifically want electricians who have experience with older homes. Our team qualifies. We understand the way vintage homes were constructed, the type of wiring they have, and how best to reconfigure them for electrical upgrades.
Know where you want to prioritize
Upgrading the electrical wiring isn’t just a single job: you may have priorities for what you want to achieve with the new wiring. For example, are you thinking of remodeling parts of the house, adding a security system, or putting in a backup generator? All of these considerations may affect the rewiring. Talk to your electrician about specific ideas you have for your home so they can accommodate them.
Understand the local electrical codes
This is one of the reasons you hire an experienced electrician for rewiring. It’s essential that the electrical work meets the local electrical code requirements. When you start the work with a pro who knows older homes and the local codes, you’ll save time and potentially large fines down the road.
Plan for new fixtures
A whole-home rewiring doesn’t have to just be a dull ripping out of old wires and putting new ones in. If you’re interested in having new lighting fixtures installed, now is the ideal time to have it done. There are other electrical devices you can have installed, such as ceiling fans (we think this is one of the best upgrades to make). You can also choose to have whole-home surge protection, which we strongly recommend.
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