Winnipeg Knob & Tube Wiring Replacement

knob and tube wires

The electrical wiring in your house is an unpredictable system and can surprise a lot of homeowners. While choosing an electrical service company in Winnipeg for something as significant as knob and tube wiring replacement, you need to ensure that you are picking a company that you can trust. 

At Southcan Electric Ltd, our electricians are licensed, background-checked and certified. We are 100% committed in making sure that we will consistently take care of the job and that you will be content with our service.

In case you are thinking about purchasing an older house, you have to know how to distinguish knob and tube wiring. Keep reading to find out about the safety issues and challenges you may confront when buying or living in a home with knob and tube wiring.

What Is Knob and Tube Wiring? 

Knob and tube wiring is the first electrical system used in homes many years back. Knob and tube wiring was introduced in homes from the 1900s up until the 1970s and is still present in many older homes. Knob and tube wiring may have been a state of the art in the past but it is not prepared to deal with the electrical requirements of a modern home.

It is easy to identify. Search for knob and tube wiring in your basement or upper room. You can recognize it by its white, ceramic, spool-like knobs and tubes. Electric wires snake through the handles, which uphold singular wiring strands. Heavy ceramic tubes secure wires where they go through joists. Knob and tube wiring just comprises two wires, a dark (hot) wire and a white (neutral) wire. This varies significantly from modern electrical systems which utilize 3 wires, including a ground wire which assimilates abundance current. Without this ground wire, your house is susceptible to hazardous electrical flames and shocks.

Is Knob and Tube Wiring Dangerous? 

Not if it is properly maintained and updated, although it was designed specifically to address the security worries of mid 20th-century homes. 

Furthermore, here’s the issue—knob and tube wiring is not thought about these days. On the off chance that a home has this sort of wiring that is over eighty years of age, it is confronting serious fire risks. The material around the copper wires in the long run falls apart and the porcelain handles split, allowing wires to droop. Past homeowners may have presumably done their own fix and upkeep work in these electrical systems, and that implies numerous houses would have clumsily improvised “arrangements” to their knob and tube wiring.

A further threat is moved up to the protection in more older homes  that puts the protection legitimately over the wiring. Without enough air around the wires, they are at a higher risk of overheating. The wiring can once in a while handle the expanded energy requests of modern households, which adds another risky layer to knob and tube wiring.

Why Should I Replace Knob and Tube Wiring? 

You might be asking why knob and tube removal is so significant. The National Electric Code has expressed that knob and tube wiring in empty spaces of dividers, ceilings, or attic rooms should never be utilized. Despite the fact that this code is not required, it is imperative to consider the risks associated with having a home with knob and tube wiring  just as the higher protection expenses and fix costs that may come along with it.

Although knob and tube wiring may not appear to be perilous when it is unblemished and still properly functioning, it is important to remember that numerous homes containing this kind of wiring are old. This is a certain sign that the electrical has been exposed to long periods of wear and tear, poor mechanical fixes, and elevated electrical demand.

As years pass and the wiring gets even older, the wiring becomes far less sheltered. Circuit boxes on these old wiring systems will in general be less vigorous than current breaker boxes. Knob and tube outlets have two associations, and the absence of a ground wire can represent an electric shock hazard. 

Mice, squirrels, and different pests may bite on wires. Knob and tube wiring has slim paper or elastic protection, and as such it is more powerless to biting, and thereby creating risks.

Non-sheathed wires need space to disseminate heat inside walls. That implies no foam protection to guard against the heat loss. Protection close to knob and tube wiring traps warm and can prompt a fire. To meet code, walls with knob and tube wiring wiring must be vacant. Warming a house with knob and tube wiring will probably cost more.

Knob and tube wiring can have significant implications when purchasing or selling old homes. Today, knob and tube wiring is badly designed and dangerous at worst. Albeit outdated, you can still discover it in homes today. Fortunately, knob and tube wiring can be distinguished during a home inspection. Once identified,  the next step is most likely to replace it with a modern plastic-sheathed wiring system.

Insurance/Liability and Wiring

Protecting a home with a knob and tube wiring can be costly. There might be risks related with older wiring frameworks, including knob and tube. Insurance agencies may ask what wiring a house has, particularly older houses. When insurance agencies know a house has knob and tube wiring, they may build rates or deny coverage.

What Kind of Investment Is Required for Knob & Tube Replacement?

Knob and tube wiring redesign may seem like a staggering and costly project. It might be enticing to DIY this, however, it is best to hire a professional electrician in Winnipeg for this kind of work. In spite of the fact that this may appear to be a huge up-front investment, you cannot put a cost on the peace of mind you will have realizing your house is not defenseless against inadequately working electrical systems, fires, and deadly electrical shocks. On the off chance that you have knob and tube wiring in your home, it should be replaced immediately as it is likely already degrading and compromising your home’s electricals.

A home with  knob and tube wiring can be tricky. In case you are curious about the electrical wiring you have in your home or a home you are looking into buying in Winnipeg or in the nearby area, an electrical inspection is exactly what you need. Connect with us by visiting www.southcan.ca and one of our licensed electricians will be more than happy to help you.