Annette
“Ian and his team did a fantastic job at our house which had a lot of old wiring and required patience and a lot of investigation. Super friendly and efficient!”
Annette
Old wiring troubleshooting
Knob-and-tube rewiring in Santa Cruz County
Fish-cabled K&T replacement that preserves plaster and period detail — a Westside Victorian specialty.
4.9 stars, 162 reviews on Google — See the reviews behind this rating (opens in a new tab)BBB Accredited · A+ (opens in a new tab)CSLB #C10-109723720-year workmanship guaranteePermit + inspection handled
What this is
A knob-and-tube rewire replaces the live knob-and-tube circuits in your house with new grounded wiring, fished through the walls you already have rather than opened out of them. The plaster, the crown, the picture rail, and the cased openings stay where they are.
What knob-and-tube is
Knob-and-tube is the wiring method used in American houses from roughly the 1880s into the 1940s. Two separate conductors — one hot, one neutral — run through open air, held on ceramic knobs along the framing and passed through ceramic tubes where they cross a joist or a stud. No sheathing. No equipment ground. The insulation is rubber or cloth, and after a century it is brittle where it has not already gone. It was careful work for its era. What it never anticipated was blown-in attic insulation packed around runs that were designed to shed heat into open air, decades of renovation splices made by whoever was handy, and a household that runs a microwave, a hair dryer, and a space heater at once.
Live runs and abandoned runs
Most of these houses are not entirely knob-and-tube. Decades of partial upgrades leave a mix, so the first real job is telling live knob-and-tube from abandoned knob-and-tube, and both from the cloth-insulated cable somebody ran alongside them in the 1950s. The live runs are what we replace. Genuinely dead historical runs can stay where they are — pulling them out of a finished plaster wall does damage for no gain — and we write down what stayed, what came out, and why. That record is the thing an underwriter or a buyer's inspector asks for later, and it is worth more than a verbal assurance that the house has been done.
How the new wire goes in
Fish-cabled means the new wire travels through cavities that already exist: down stud bays from the attic, up from the crawlspace, often along the same paths the original installers used. Access holes happen only where framing blocks a run. In a Victorian that matters more than it does in a tract house, because lath and plaster does not patch the way drywall does, and the period detail that makes the house worth keeping is exactly what a gut-and-rock approach destroys. We keep the access holes minimal, document every one, and hand the patch list to your plaster or finish contractor. Wall repair itself is not our scope, and we say that before you sign anything.
When the rewire is done
When it is done, every circuit has an equipment ground, so three-prong outlets are legitimate instead of an adapter over a two-prong hole. GFCI and AFCI protection goes in where current California code calls for it, and hardwired smoke and carbon-monoxide detectors go in per code. The panel stays a separate question — houses of this vintage often still have a fuse panel or a small service, and if yours does, that is its own project on its own line. Rewiring an occupied, finished, plaster-walled house is a different craft from wiring a job site, and it is the craft this company is built around.
When you need this
- Ceramic knobs and fabric-wrapped conductors visible in the attic, basement, or crawlspace of a pre-1950 house
- A home inspection on a Westside, Seabright, or downtown Capitola house that flagged knob-and-tube
- Insulation has been added over old attic runs — the original system was designed to shed heat into open air, and buried runs cannot
- Your carrier is asking about the wiring at renewal, or a new policy is being held up over it
- Two-prong outlets throughout, with no equipment ground anywhere in the house
- You are restoring the house and want the wiring done before the plaster and paint, not after
04What's included
Exactly what we handle — and the two things you handle.
Sunrise provides
- A wiring survey first: which knob-and-tube runs are live, which are abandoned, and what other wiring generations are in the walls
- New grounded branch circuits fished through existing wall and ceiling cavities, replacing every live knob-and-tube run in scope
- New boxes, devices, and cover plates, keeping existing outlet and switch locations where the house's layout still makes sense
- GFCI and AFCI protection where current California code calls for it, plus hardwired smoke and carbon-monoxide detectors per code
- Access holes kept minimal, mapped, and handed over as a patch list for your plaster or finish contractor
- Building permit pulled with your city or county building department, with progress and final inspections coordinated
- A written record of what was replaced and what abandoned wiring was left in place — the document carriers and buyers' inspectors ask for
Warranty: 20-year workmanship warranty, transferable — see warranty terms · Permits: pulled + inspection coordinated by us, built into the quote · Cleanup: drop cloths, daily tidy-up, and dust control matter more in a plaster house than anywhere else — century-old plaster dust travels. Removed wire, old devices, and debris hauled out. Access-hole patching is finish-contractor scope; we keep the list short and document each hole with a photo.
You provide
- Attic and crawlspace access, plus room-by-room access as the phasing calls for it
- Decisions on switch and outlet locations where the originals sit in odd places
- A plaster or finish contractor for the patching — we coordinate the list, we do not patch
05How it works
Start to finish, with real times.
1scheduled with you
Free home electrical inspection
A tech walks the attic, basement, and crawlspace, identifies which knob-and-tube is still live, checks the panel and service, and writes up what is actually in the house. Many of these homes carry three wiring generations. Written report and a real quote, no obligation.
2set by the building department
Survey and phasing plan
We map circuits to rooms and set the order of work so you keep power and a usable kitchen throughout. The permit goes in with the County for unincorporated addresses, or with the city in Santa Cruz, Capitola, Scotts Valley, or Watsonville.
3scoped at quote
Fish and replace, area by area
New cable goes in through existing cavities and live knob-and-tube comes out of service as each area finishes. Access holes only where framing blocks a run, each one photographed. Progress inspections at the milestones the building department requires.
4end of project
Final inspection + documentation
Final sign-off, every circuit labeled at the panel, the smoke and carbon monoxide detector network verified, the patch list handed to your finish contractor, and the documentation package delivered — permit number, inspection sign-off, and the written record of what was replaced and what was left.
06Pricing transparency
Every quote is free. The range depends too much on your home to fake it.
Rewires are the most house-specific work we do, and a Victorian is the most house-specific version of that. The quote is real only after a tech has been in the attic and under the floor, seen the framing and the access, and worked out how much of the knob-and-tube is actually still live. Quotes are free and phased so the numbers stay legible — the rewire and any panel work always appear as separate lines. The factors below are what genuinely move the number.
What it costs
Quotes are free. The variance on this work is too wide for an honest range — book a free inspection and we’ll give you a real number for your specific home, in writing.
What moves the number
How much knob-and-tube is actually live versus abandoned — the survey decides the scope, not the build year · Size of the house, in square footage and in the number of circuits it needs · Story count: a two-story home means runs between floors and far fewer straight fishing paths than a single-story cottage · Limited crawlspace or attic access, above and below, which in these houses ranges from generous to effectively nonexistent · Lath-and-plaster versus later drywall, and whether the framing has blocking that interrupts a stud bay · Period detail that has to be worked around — crown, picture rail, wainscot, cased openings, and original trim you want kept · How far past code-minimum you want to go: recessed lighting, extra outlets and switch locations, dimmers, and under-cabinet or closet lighting · Whether circuits are prewired now for a heat pump, electric range, heat-pump water heater, electric dryer, or EV charger, plus additions such as network cabling or a hot tub circuit · Occupied versus vacant, and how tightly the phasing has to protect daily life in the house · Whether the panel and service are due for their own project at the same time · Building department permit fees by jurisdiction: the County for unincorporated addresses, the city in Santa Cruz, Capitola, Scotts Valley, and WatsonvilleNo hidden fees. Every quote is free and detailed.
What customers say · rewiring
162 reviews on Google
Read all reviews Flowergirl Gardener
“Such a thoughtful, helpful and positive experience. Brandon and his crew (Ian and Jimmy) were efficient, responsive, friendly, informative and knowledgeable. I've never seen such an orderly and prepared work van as theirs! They initially helped me deal with an emergency outlet fire (they do emergency services!), which led to my hiring them to rewire my old outlets as well as some additional updates and repairs in my 100+ year old house. They informed me in advance about what needed to get done and kept me posted during the process. They presented options to help me deal with my issues and concerns. Sunrise Electrical is easy to contact (Jessica schedules and is the primary contact person) and very responsive to questions and clarifications. They are my go-to business for my electrical needs and I tell my friends to contact them. Wonderful team.”
Flowergirl Gardener
Emergency outlet fire + rewire
Roya P.
“Sunrise Electrical rewired our house, replacing the old knob-and-tube wiring with seamless, safe, and up-to-code wiring at a very reasonable price. They were incredibly efficient, worked cleanly, and addressed all our questions and concerns with care. We can't recommend them highly enough!”
Roya P.
Knob-and-tube rewire, whole house
09Frequently asked questions
7 questions. Real answers.
Pulled from what we actually hear on quotes and on-site. If yours isn't here, ask us — we'll answer in plain English.
Is knob-and-tube illegal in California?
No. Existing installations are grandfathered. What is not done is installing new knob-and-tube, or extending and modifying the old runs as though they were modern circuits. In practice the reasons to deal with it are safety, modernization, and convenience, along with pressure from insurance carriers and buyers — not a code officer knocking on the door.
Do you have to gut the walls?
No, not when it is done patiently. Most runs can be fished through the cavities that already exist, working down from the attic and up from the crawlspace, with small access holes only where framing blocks the path. Plaster, crown, picture rail, and cased openings can generally be preserved. The patching of those access holes is finish work — we keep the list short and coordinate with your plaster contractor, but we do not do the patching ourselves.
Will this satisfy my insurance carrier?
Carriers differ, and we are not going to tell you what yours requires. Ask them in writing what they want to see before the work starts, and we will match it. What we can hand you is a pulled permit, a passed final inspection, and a written record of exactly which runs were replaced and which abandoned runs were left in place. Our old wiring and insurance guide covers how this usually goes.
Can you leave the abandoned knob-and-tube in the walls?
Usually yes, once it is confirmed dead. Pulling truly abandoned wire out of a finished plaster wall means opening the wall, which is damage for no safety gain. What we can reach in the attic and crawlspace we usually remove, and what stays in the walls we make physically unusable. What matters is that it is genuinely de-energized and that the record says so — otherwise the next inspector who spots ceramic knobs has no way to tell live from dead.
Do we have to move out during the rewire?
Usually not. The work is phased area by area so the house stays livable — power stays on where we are not working, and the kitchen gets sequenced with the most care. It is disruptive the way any real work in an occupied house is disruptive, but moving out is rarely the requirement people expect it to be.
Does this include the panel?
It is quoted as its own line. This scope covers the branch circuits, everything from the panel outward. Houses of this vintage often still have a fuse panel or a small service, and if yours does, that is a full service rebuild — very commonly done on the same trip, always priced separately and labeled plainly.
There's insulation packed over the wiring in my attic. Is that the urgent part?
It is the part worth looking at first. Knob-and-tube was designed to shed heat into open air, and insulation added over live runs takes that away. Do not go crawling around your own attic sorting it out — the wiring is fragile, the footing is bad, and live conductors up there have no sheathing. Point it out at the free inspection and a tech will assess it as part of the written report.
10Even if Sunrise isn't the answer
Here’s the honest path — wherever it leads.
We'd rather you get the right outcome than the Sunrise outcome. Some of this points away from us on purpose.
Outside Santa Cruz County?
Look for a CSLB-licensed C-10 contractor and verify at cslb.ca.gov. Ask specifically for references from occupied pre-1950 rewires, and ask how they plan to get new cable through the walls. You want to hear about fishing paths, where access holes would land, and who handles the patch list — that is the difference between a rewire your plaster survives and one it does not. The work should always include a permit and a building-department inspection.
Browse our field guidesNot sure what's behind your walls?
Knob-and-tube has tells you can spot from the basement without touching anything. The field guide covers identification, what the real risks are, and how carriers tend to treat it.
The knob-and-tube guideWant a real assessment first?
A free whole-home inspection maps which wiring generations your house actually carries and how much of the knob-and-tube is still live. You keep the written report either way.
Schedule a free inspection12Service areas
We do this work everywhere in Santa Cruz County.
From Davenport to Pajaro Dunes, San Lorenzo Valley to Pleasure Point. Same crew, same warranty, same pricing.
13One more thing
Old house, original wiring, plaster you'd rather keep
Free inspection, a survey that separates live knob-and-tube from abandoned, and a 20-year guarantee on the work.