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
Targeted area rewires in Santa Cruz County
One room, one floor, or one problem area — rewired without opening the whole house.
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 targeted area rewire replaces the wiring in a defined part of the house — one room, one floor, an addition, a garage, or a single circuit that keeps causing trouble — and leaves the rest alone. It costs less than a whole-house rewire and disrupts far less of your life. Its honest limitation is right there in the name: you only fix what you open.
It is the right scope more often than people expect, because most county houses are not one vintage. A 1930s cottage with a 1980s addition, a bungalow where a previous owner remodeled the kitchen properly and nothing else, a garage that was converted into a room by someone working without a permit, a back bedroom on a circuit that trips whenever two things run at once. In those houses the modern wiring is fine and does not need touching. What needs replacing is the one part that was never done right, and paying to rewire the rest would be paying for nothing.
The part of this job that matters most is not the wire. It is the boundary. Before anything gets opened we write down which circuits are in scope and which rooms are in scope. A circuit in scope is replaced whole, from the panel out, and nothing new is spliced onto old wiring. You finish the project knowing on paper what was replaced and what was not. That is what makes a targeted rewire an honest partial fix rather than a patch that conceals the rest of the problem, and it is what the next electrician, inspector, or buyer will need.
We will also tell you when this is the wrong scope, which is the half of the conversation that costs us work. If your carrier is asking about the wiring in the whole house, a room-sized answer generally does not answer the question they asked. If knob-and-tube runs through walls you are not opening, targeted work does not touch it. And if you are realistically going to do the rest over the next few years anyway, doing it as one project usually costs less in total than doing it as four — you pay for mobilization, permits, and access holes once instead of repeatedly. We would rather say that at the first free inspection than at the third one.
When you need this
- A kitchen, bath, or addition remodel is opening walls anyway — wiring is cheapest when the framing is already exposed
- One circuit trips over and over and the cause turns out to be the wiring itself rather than what is plugged into it
- A previous owner's garage conversion, addition, or workshop was wired without a permit and it shows
- An upstairs, a back half, or a single wing still has old wiring while an earlier remodel already modernized the rest
- You are turning a room or a garage into a home office, studio, or ADU space and the existing circuits will not carry it
- Knob-and-tube or old aluminum in one identified area, with the rest of the house on sound modern cable
04What's included
Exactly what we handle — and the two things you handle.
Sunrise provides
- A written scope boundary before work starts: which circuits and which rooms
- New branch circuits with home runs back to the panel for everything inside the scope
- New boxes, devices, and cover plates throughout the area, plus dedicated circuits where the room's actual use calls for them
- Each circuit in scope replaced whole, from the panel out — nothing new spliced onto old wiring
- GFCI and AFCI protection where current California code calls for it in the space being rewired
- Building permit pulled and inspection coordinated — a partial rewire is permitted work exactly like a full one
- Panel directory updated for the circuits that changed, so the labels still match the house when we leave
Warranty: 20-year workmanship warranty, transferable — see warranty terms · Permits: pulled + inspection coordinated by us, built into the quote · Cleanup: the work area gets sheeted off from the rest of the house, drop cloths down, and a tidy-up at the end of each day. Removed wire, old devices, and debris hauled out. Patching where access holes were needed is finish-contractor scope — we keep them minimal and document each one.
You provide
- Access to the area, and a clear sense of how the space will actually be used so the circuit count is right
- Decisions on outlet, switch, and fixture locations before the walls close up
- A finish contractor for patching where access holes were needed
05How it works
Start to finish, with real times.
1scheduled with you
Free home electrical inspection
A tech looks at the area you are worried about and at the rest of the house, so the recommendation accounts for both. Sometimes the honest answer is that the targeted scope is exactly right; sometimes it is that you would be better off doing more at once. You get that in writing either way.
2set by the building department
Draw the boundary
The scope goes on paper: circuits in, circuits out, rooms in, rooms out. 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
The rewire
New circuits go in as runs from the panel, and the old wiring on those circuits is disconnected. Nothing new is spliced onto old wiring. Because the footprint is small, the rest of the house stays normal while we work — one area sheeted off, the rest of your life untouched.
4end of project
Inspection + handoff
Building-department inspection, an updated panel directory, and a written record of exactly what was replaced and what was not. On a partial scope that second document matters as much as the first — it is what tells anyone later where the new work stops.
06Pricing transparency
Every quote is free. The range depends too much on your home to fake it.
A targeted rewire is priced on access more than on square footage. The circuits themselves are ordinary work; what varies is how hard it is to get a new home run from your panel to that room without tearing up the house in between. A ground-floor room below an open attic, a room on a slab, and an upstairs room over a finished ceiling are the same wiring job and very different projects. Quotes are free, and the boundary gets written down before the number is written down. The factors below are what actually move it.
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 of the area is already open — an in-progress remodel is by far the cheapest moment to do this · Circuit count for the space, which is driven by how the room will be used rather than by how big it is · Where the panel sits relative to the area — home runs across a house cost more than home runs across a wall · Attic and crawlspace access along the path between the panel and the area, which is the whole game on a partial scope · Wall and ceiling construction, and whether the runs can be fished or have to be opened · What turns up once walls are open — a circuit in scope that also feeds rooms outside it is replaced whole, which can move the line outward · Whether the panel still has slots, and whether a subpanel near the area is the better answer than long home runs · 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 a partial rewire worth it, or should I just do the whole house?
It depends on how much of the house is genuinely sound. If the rest is modern cable in good condition, a targeted scope is the right call and spending more would buy you nothing. If the house has several failing wiring generations and you will end up addressing them anyway, doing it once is usually cheaper in total than doing it in stages — you pay mobilization, permits, and access holes one time. The free inspection is where that math gets done honestly, and we will tell you which situation you are in.
Will a targeted rewire satisfy my insurance carrier?
Often not, if the carrier's question is about the whole house. Carriers differ and we are not going to tell you what yours requires — ask them in writing what they want to see before you commit to a scope, because the answer changes what you should buy. Our old wiring and insurance guide covers how these conversations usually run.
How do you connect the new wiring to the old?
We don't. A circuit in scope is replaced whole, as a new run from the panel to the last device on it, and the old wiring on that circuit is disconnected rather than spliced onto. Circuits outside the scope are left as they are. If a circuit in scope turns out to feed rooms outside it, we tell you before we go on, because replacing it whole moves the line.
Do I need a permit for just one room?
Yes. New branch circuits are permitted work regardless of how many rooms are involved, and we pull it as part of the project. For unincorporated addresses the building department is the County; Santa Cruz, Capitola, Scotts Valley, and Watsonville run their own. Either way the permit and inspection coordination is built into the quote.
Can you do this while a remodel is already underway?
That is the best time to do it. Open walls remove most of the access work, which is the expensive part of a rewire, and the inspection sequencing lines up naturally with the rest of the project. We coordinate with your general contractor on timing so the wiring inspection does not become the thing holding up drywall.
What happens if you find something worse once the wall is open?
We stop, show you what is there, and requote before going further. Nothing gets closed up that we have not walked you through first. On older houses this happens often enough that we plan for it rather than treating it as a surprise — the boundary on paper is written knowing it might move.
Does the panel have to change too?
Sometimes. New dedicated circuits need slots, and older panels often do not have them. Depending on the area, the answer might be a subpanel close to the work or a full service rebuild if the main panel is due on age or capacity. Either way it is its own line on the quote, never folded quietly into the rewire number.
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. On a partial scope, ask specifically how they document the boundary between new and existing wiring — if the answer is vague, keep looking. The work should always include a permit and an inspection.
Browse our field guidesNot sure how much needs doing?
The whole-house scope page lays out what a full rewire actually covers, which is the clearest way to see how much of it your house does and does not need.
Compare the whole-house scopeWant it scoped in person?
A free whole-home inspection tells you which parts of the house are genuinely sound and which are not, so the boundary gets drawn on evidence instead of guesswork. 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
Fix the part that needs fixing
Free inspection, a written boundary before any work starts, and a 20-year guarantee on everything we replace.