Whole-House Rewiring in Los Altos, CA

We assess it during a walkthrough before recommending anything. Many expanded Los Altos ranches have only a few aging original circuits mixed in with newer copper from past remodels, and in that case we target those circuits rather than rewiring the whole house. We will tell you honestly whether a full rewire is warranted or whether spot work solves it.

Usually to a large degree, yes. Many Los Altos homes have attic or crawl-space access, and the larger lots and single-story ranch layouts give us room to fish new copper through existing cavities. We minimize wall opening and patch what we do open, so the disruption is far less than people expect from a rewire.

In 1950s and 1960s Los Altos ranches we most often find cloth-insulated branch wiring with no ground, sometimes alongside an original fuse box. In the oldest homes in Old Los Altos there can be knob-and-tube. We replace it with modern grounded copper and add the GFCI and AFCI protection California code now requires.

Often yes. Insurers in this area increasingly ask about cloth, knob-and-tube, or aluminum wiring, and some will not write or renew a policy until it is replaced. We provide documentation of the completed, permitted, and inspected rewire so you have proof to give your insurer.

Usually, because the same older homes that need rewiring tend to still have an undersized panel or a fuse box. We coordinate the PG&E disconnect, swap in a properly sized 200-amp or larger panel, and tie the new copper circuits into it, so the wiring and the service are both brought current in one permitted project.

Mostly the pre-war pockets: the original 1907 townsite around University Avenue and the 1926 Loyola Corners subdivision, which the city's historic inventory describes as tiny lots and cottages. The 1950s ranches on the former orchards usually have grounded circuits but small panels and decades of additions.

In Los Altos the electrical permit is priced on the total valuation of the electrical work, so a rewire with a panel change is one permit at the combined value; the separate step is PG&E's Your Projects application for the meter panel, which we file as soon as the permit number exists.