Cost to Rewire Old House in Washington: Complete Price Guide

Quick Answer: Key Takeaways

• Average Cost: Most homeowners spend between $12,000 and $20,000 to rewire an old house, with a broader range of $8,000 to $30,000.
• Cost Per Square Foot: A common rule of thumb for initial budgeting is $4 to $12 per square foot.
• Biggest Cost Factors: The final price is heavily influenced by your home’s size, age (e.g., knob-and-tube wiring), and how difficult it is to access the existing wires (e.g., plaster vs. drywall walls).
• Hidden Costs: Always budget for necessary upgrades like a new 200-amp electrical panel and the cost of drywall/plaster repair and painting after the electrical work is finished.
• Why Rewire? It’s a critical safety upgrade that eliminates fire hazards from outdated wiring, increases your home’s value, and prepares it for modern electrical demands.

Figuring out the cost to rewire an old house can feel like you’re trying to hit a moving target. But what you need is a real, honest budget, not just a shot in the dark. Generally, you can expect the total price to land somewhere between $8,000 and $30,000. For most homeowners, that number settles in the $12,000 to $20,000 range.

This isn’t just about swapping out old wires for new ones. It’s a major investment in the safety, reliability, and future value of your home.

Unpacking the True Cost to Rewire an Old House

At Phase3Electric, we believe in giving you straightforward answers because we’re the reliable local experts who actually answer the phone. Unlike corporate competitors, Phase3Electric combines technical mastery with genuine care for the community’s success. Our goal is to give you the confidence to plan your project with solid, reliable numbers in hand.

Think of your home’s wiring as its central nervous system. In an older house, that system is often overworked and outdated, struggling to handle the demands of modern life. This isn’t just an inconvenience—it’s a serious safety risk. A complete rewire is a big job, and the final bill comes down to a few key things.

Key Factors for Your Budget

To get a handle on your potential costs, here are the main things to keep in mind:

• Average Cost: Most rewiring jobs land between $12,000 and $20,000. The final price depends on how complex your specific project is.
• Per-Square-Foot Rule of Thumb: A good starting point for a rough estimate is to budget $4 to $12 per square foot.
• Home Size: This is a big one. The larger your home, the more wire, outlets, and time it will take, which directly drives up the cost.
• Wall Access: How easy is it to get to the wires? Homes with unfinished basements or accessible attics are simpler. Plaster walls or tricky layouts mean more cutting, patching, and painting, adding to the labor costs.

To give you a clearer picture of how size impacts your budget, here’s a quick breakdown of typical costs.

Estimated Rewiring Costs by House Size

This table provides a quick estimate of total rewiring costs based on the square footage of a home, illustrating the typical price range homeowners can expect.

These figures are a great starting point, but remember they are estimates. The unique characteristics of your home will determine the final price.

As your local electricians, we know that rewiring an old house is one of the most important electrical projects you’ll ever tackle. It’s vital to understand why the costs can vary so much. Factors like your home’s age and construction can introduce complexities that require more time and skill. You can learn more about how these factors affect pricing in this detailed guide.

This initial breakdown should give you a solid foundation for planning. For more tips on home electrical safety and projects, check out the resources on our Phase3Electric blog. As you continue to plan, seeing how these numbers apply to different home sizes can be incredibly helpful.

Why Bother with Rewiring? A Look at the Dangers

Think of your home’s electrical wiring as its nervous system. When it’s new and healthy, everything just works. But as that system ages, things start to go wrong. It becomes brittle, unreliable, and can even become dangerous. This is why looking at the cost to rewire an old house isn’t just about an expense—it’s a critical investment in your family’s safety and your own peace of mind.

Ignoring the warning signs is a bit like driving with your check engine light flashing. Sooner or later, that small problem is going to turn into a big one. Your home gives you similar warnings when its electrical system is under serious strain.

Telltale Signs of an Overloaded System

Most houses will give you some pretty clear clues when the wiring is past its prime. Learning to spot these signs means you can get ahead of a problem before it becomes a true emergency.

Here are some of the most common red flags to watch for:

• Flickering or Dimming Lights: Do your lights dip or flicker when you fire up the microwave or vacuum cleaner? That’s a classic sign that the circuit is overloaded and struggling to keep up.
• Breakers That Trip All the Time: We have more gadgets and power-hungry appliances than ever before. If you’re constantly heading to the basement to reset a tripped breaker, your electrical panel simply wasn’t built for modern life.
• That Faint Burning Smell: This is a big one. If you ever catch a whiff of burning plastic, especially near an outlet or the electrical panel, it’s an urgent warning. Shut off the power to that area if you can and call an electrician immediately.
• Warm or Scorched Outlets: An outlet should never feel warm to the touch. If it does, or if you see any discoloration or scorch marks around it, there’s a dangerous wiring fault that could easily spark a fire.

These aren’t just little quirks to live with. They’re your home’s way of screaming for help.

“Many homeowners get used to resetting breakers or seeing lights dim, but these are direct signs that an electrical system is failing. Ignoring them is a significant risk, as outdated wiring is a leading cause of preventable house fires.”

The Fire Hazards Hiding in Your Walls

The danger is very real. Older homes often have outdated systems that are now known to be major fire risks.

For instance, knob-and-tube wiring, found in homes built from the 1880s to the 1940s, is a perfect example. It has no ground wire, which is a non-negotiable safety feature in every modern electrical system.

Then there’s aluminum wiring, which was a popular, cheaper alternative to copper for a brief period from 1965 to 1972. The problem is, aluminum expands and contracts with temperature changes far more than copper does. Over time, this loosens connections at outlets and switches, creating a serious fire hazard.

Don’t just take our word for it. The U.S. Fire Administration recently reported that electrical problems cause over 26,000 house fires every single year. That staggering number makes it clear that replacing these old, compromised systems is one of the most important things you can do for your home.

When you explore how these issues impact home safety, the conversation quickly shifts from what it costs to what it’s worth.

So, What Really Goes Into the Cost of Rewiring Your House?

Trying to nail down the exact cost to rewire an old house can be a bit like trying to guess the weather—a lot of different elements come into play. The final number on your invoice is a direct reflection of your home’s unique story, including its size, age, and even what the walls are made of. Getting a handle on these key factors is the best way to build a realistic budget and avoid any unwelcome surprises.

Think of it this way: rewiring a straightforward, single-story home with an open attic and a clear basement is like taking a direct flight. It’s a relatively smooth and efficient trip. On the other hand, a historic two-story home with thick plaster walls and lots of architectural quirks is more like a flight with a few layovers and a bit of turbulence. It simply takes more time, expertise, and resources to get the job done right.

Home Size and Age: The Two Big-Ticket Items

When it comes down to it, the two biggest drivers of your rewiring cost are your home’s square footage and its age. A larger home is going to need more of everything: more wire, more outlets, and, most importantly, more hours of labor to get it all installed. This is why many electricians will give you an initial estimate based on a per-square-foot price.

The age of your home brings its own set of challenges to the table.

• Homes Built Before the 1950s: These beautiful old houses often have knob-and-tube wiring. It was the standard then, but it’s completely outdated and unsafe now. Removing it is a delicate process that can easily add 25% or more to your labor costs.
• Homes from the 60s and 70s: This was the era of aluminum wiring in some builds. We now know it’s a significant fire hazard that absolutely must be replaced with copper.
• Any Home Over 30 Years Old: Even if you have copper wiring, it might not be up to snuff for today’s world. Older systems often lack proper grounding or the capacity to handle all our modern appliances and gadgets, making a full upgrade a necessity.

This image helps break down where your money is actually going when you tackle a rewiring project.

As you can see, while you have to buy the materials, the real variables that can swing the final price are labor and how easy it is to get to the old wiring.

Wall Access and Construction Materials

This is a huge one: how easily can an electrician get to your existing wiring? If you’ve got an unfinished basement, a crawl space, or an open attic, you’re in luck. These areas provide clear, easy pathways for running new wires, which helps keep labor time—and costs—down.

The real challenge begins when everything is hidden behind finished walls.

• Drywall: This is the modern standard for a reason. It’s fairly simple for an electrician to cut into it to run wires and just as simple to patch and repair afterward.
• Plaster and Lath: If you live in an older home, you probably have these. Plaster walls are much tougher to work with. They’re brittle, create a lot of dust when cut, and repairing them so they look seamless again takes a true craftsman (and costs more).

If there’s one thing that catches homeowners by surprise, it’s the fact that walls will need to be opened. A great electrician will be as surgical as possible to minimize the mess, but you should always plan on some level of patching and painting after a full rewire.

Labor Rates and City Permits

Labor is, without a doubt, the single biggest piece of the pie in any rewiring project. It often makes up 50% to 70% of your total cost. What you’ll pay for a licensed electrician’s time varies quite a bit by location, with rates in major cities usually being higher than in rural areas.

Finally, don’t forget about the permits. Every full rewiring project requires a permit from your local building department, which can run anywhere from $75 to over $1,000. This isn’t just bureaucratic red tape; it’s a critical safety step. It ensures all the work is done correctly and up to code, and it’s followed by an inspection for a final seal of approval. Any reputable electrician will handle this entire process for you. Just as permits ensure safety in homes, businesses need to ensure their systems can handle the demand; a professional power quality auditing service is key to maintaining a stable electrical system in a commercial setting.

To bring it all together, here’s a quick summary of the main factors that will shape your project’s budget.

Cost Factor Breakdown

Understanding these variables from the start helps you have a much more productive conversation with your electrician and ensures you’re prepared for the true cost of the project.

Planning for Hidden Costs and Smart Upgrades

A good budget for rewiring an old house does more than just cover the number on the initial quote. It’s about preparing for the real-world costs of the project, especially the ones that aren’t immediately obvious.

These “hidden” costs aren’t a sign of a shady electrician. They’re simply the necessary follow-up work and critical upgrades needed to do the job right. Thinking about these from the get-go is the secret to a realistic budget that won’t leave you stressed and scrambling for funds later on.

The Upgrades You Can’t Afford to Skip

When you rewire an old house, you have a golden opportunity to bring the entire electrical system up to modern standards. Frankly, many of these upgrades aren’t just good ideas—they’re flat-out required by today’s safety codes.

• A New Electrical Panel: That old 60- or 100-amp panel in your basement was fine for the 1960s, but it was never built to handle today’s power demands. Upgrading to a modern 200-amp service is almost always part of the job. It’s the only way to safely power a modern home with its HVAC, computers, and kitchen gadgets.
• GFCI and AFCI Protection: Safety codes have gotten much smarter over the years. You’ll need Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) outlets anywhere there’s moisture (think kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, and outdoor plugs). You’ll also need Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter (AFCI) protection in bedrooms and living areas to help prevent electrical fires.
• Dedicated Circuits for Big Appliances: High-draw appliances like your microwave, refrigerator, washing machine, or electric dryer can’t share power. They each need their own dedicated circuit to run safely without tripping breakers or creating a fire hazard.

Think of it this way: you’re not just replacing old wires. You’re giving your home a brand-new electrical backbone, one designed for modern safety and convenience. Expect these upgrades to be a standard part of any legitimate electrician’s proposal.

While the core rewiring work often lands between $10 and $20 per square foot, that’s just a baseline. Factoring in necessary additions like a new electrical panel, which can add $1,000 to $3,000 on its own, is crucial for an accurate picture. To get a feel for how these numbers add up, you can review insights on comprehensive rewiring costs.

The Messy Part: What Happens After the Wires Are In

Here’s the reality check that catches many homeowners off guard. Your electrician is an expert at wiring, not drywall and painting. To run all that new wire, they have to make holes in your walls and ceilings. It’s just part of the process.

Even the most careful and skilled electrician will leave behind some cosmetic damage. This means you need to budget separately for the cleanup crew.

1. Drywall or Plaster Repair: Once the new wiring passes inspection, all those holes and channels need to be patched up. If you have older plaster walls instead of drywall, be prepared—plaster repair is a specialized skill and costs significantly more.
2. Painting: After the patching is done, you’ll need to paint. It’s nearly impossible to perfectly match old paint, so you should probably plan on painting the entire wall or even the whole room for a seamless, professional finish.

Forgetting to budget for this finish work is probably the single most common mistake people make. A good electrician will be upfront that their quote doesn’t cover these repairs. Be sure to ask them directly so you can plan for it. It’s the final, essential step to getting your home back to looking its best, only now it’s a whole lot safer.

How to Get a Rewiring Estimate You Can Trust

Getting a quote for a major electrical project shouldn’t feel like a shot in the dark. A trustworthy estimate is your roadmap for the entire job. It brings clarity to the cost to rewire an old house and helps you avoid nasty surprises down the line. This is where partnering with a reliable, local expert who actually picks up the phone—like us at Phase3Electric—makes all the difference.

Step 1: Vet Your Electricians

First things first: you need to find qualified, licensed professionals. Never, ever settle for a handshake deal or an electrician who can’t show you their license and insurance. A legitimate contractor carries proper coverage to protect both you and their team. It’s non-negotiable.

Look for electricians with a solid reputation right here in your community. Check their reviews online. Are people happy with their work? A history of satisfied local customers tells you they combine technical skill with genuine care, which is exactly what you need for a project this big.

Step 2: Get at Least Three Itemized Quotes

Collecting multiple quotes is a must. We always recommend getting at least three written estimates from different licensed electricians. This is the best way to get a feel for the fair market rate and immediately spot any bids that seem way too high or suspiciously low.

But don’t just glance at the bottom-line price. A professional quote will always be itemized, breaking down exactly where your money is going.

A vague, one-line estimate is a major red flag. A transparent quote should detail the costs for labor, materials (like wire, outlets, and a new panel), permit fees, and any other specific charges so you know exactly what you’re paying for.

A proper breakdown should clearly list:

• Labor Costs: Usually shown as an hourly rate or a total project fee.
• Material Costs: A list of the big-ticket items like the electrical panel, breakers, wire, outlets, and switches.
• Permit Fees: The cost for pulling all the necessary permits from your city or county.
• Exclusions: A good quote will also be upfront about what isn’t included, such as drywall repair and painting after the wires are run.

Step 3: Ask the Right Questions

Once you have a few estimates in hand, it’s time to talk specifics. A great electrician will welcome your questions and be happy to walk you through their process.

Here are the essential questions to ask before you sign anything:

1. Is this a fixed price or an estimate? You need to know if the price could go up if they run into complications.
2. What’s your timeline for this project? Ask for a clear start and end date, and find out how they handle potential delays.
3. Who handles the permits and inspections? A full-service contractor should manage all of this for you.
4. How do you handle surprises? What’s the plan if they open a wall and find something unexpected, like asbestos or rotted framing?
5. Does your quote include cleanup and removal of all the old wiring? Never assume this is part of the job; make sure it’s in writing.

Choosing the right partner is the single most important decision you’ll make for your rewiring project. When you’re ready for a transparent, no-nonsense assessment from a team that truly knows old homes, you can request service from Phase3Electric and get a quote you can count on.

Answering Your Top Rewiring Questions

Let’s tackle some of the most common questions homeowners have when they’re staring down the barrel of a full rewiring project. It’s a big job, but knowing what to expect can make all the difference.

Can I Live in My House During a Rewire?

Yes, you almost always can. It’s not the most convenient week of your life, but a good electrician knows how to minimize the chaos for you and your family.

They’ll typically work circuit by circuit, meaning they only shut off power to the specific area they’re working on that day. This keeps the rest of your house functional. You’ll have to deal with some dust and noise, and furniture will likely get shifted around, but it’s manageable. The key is staying in close communication with your electrical crew so you know which rooms will be off-limits and when.

How Long Does a Full Rewire Take?

The timeline really comes down to the size and construction of your home. As a ballpark, most full rewiring projects take between 3 and 10 days.

Here’s a quick breakdown to give you a better idea:

• Smaller Homes (under 1,500 sq. ft.): You’re likely looking at about 3-5 days.
• Average-Sized Homes (1,500-3,000 sq. ft.): Plan for around 5-8 days of work.
• Larger or More Complex Homes (over 3,000 sq. ft.): These can easily take 8-10 days, sometimes longer.

Things like plaster walls (which are much harder to work with than drywall), limited access to the attic or crawlspace, or major electrical panel upgrades can add time to the job. Your electrician should give you a solid, day-by-day schedule before they start.

“Many homeowners focus on the cost to rewire an old house but overlook the practical timeline. A clear schedule from your electrician is just as important as a clear quote for planning your life around the project.”

Will Rewiring My House Increase Its Value?

Without a doubt. It’s not as exciting as a brand-new kitchen, but from a practical and safety standpoint, a new electrical system is one of the most valuable upgrades you can make.

Think about it from a buyer’s perspective. Old, faulty wiring is a massive red flag for home inspectors and can scare buyers away or lead to them demanding a huge price reduction.

When you invest in a full rewire, you’re offering:

• Peace of Mind: This is the big one. You’re eliminating the fire hazards that come with outdated wiring, which is a huge selling point.
• A Modern, Capable Home: The house is now ready for anything—from power-hungry kitchen gadgets to a future EV charger installation.
• Lower Insurance Costs: Many insurance providers give you a better rate on your premium when you can prove the electrical system is up to code.

A professionally rewired home is simply a safer, more reliable, and more attractive product on the market. It shows buyers you’ve taken care of the home’s core systems, and that’s an investment that definitely pays off.

A big electrical project naturally brings up a lot of questions, but you don’t have to go it alone. For a straight-up assessment and answers you can actually trust, the local experts at Phase3Electric are here to help make your home safer. Find out more about our rewiring services by contacting us!