Rewiring an Old Home

A third-generation electrical contractor, Loren Wesley Vankirk leads Vankirk Electric as CEO. Responsible for all company operations, strategy, financing, and marketing, he grew the business from $5 million to more than $50 million in revenue within five years. In addition to this, Loren Wesley Vankirk is also involved in real estate acquisition and renovation, and his company recently renovated an old building in downtown Winder, Georgia.

When rewiring an old building, the first step is checking which permits and codes are necessary for the job. Typically, homeowners and property owners are free to complete electrical repairs in their building, but these repairs must be inspected to make sure they follow local rules and regulations. Because of this, having an electrician assist or advise on the project is ideal.

Once all the permits are obtained, property owners can begin figuring out how to access the old wires. Numerous holes may need to be cut in the wall so that it’s easy to run new cables and remove old cables. In some situations, old wires can be pulled out through a single hole, but this isn’t always the case. Property owners who don’t want to cause major disruptions to their home can leave old wiring in place and thread new wiring through the walls.

Sometimes old wiring systems lack the number of circuits necessary to meet the demands of modern technology and appliances. When this happens, property owners may need to plan for more circuits and change their electrical service to properly support the new circuits. The main service panel may also need upgrading if it’s under 100 amps to ensure it can properly support the new circuits.