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
Whole-house rewire in Santa Cruz County
Pre-1950 home with old wiring — knob-and-tube, cloth-insulated, fuse-era? We bring the whole house up to current code. We do this work all the time on Westside Victorians and their neighbors.
4.9 stars, 161 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 whole-house rewire removes all the accessible old wiring — knob-and-tube, cloth-insulated, fuse-era circuits — and installs new wiring throughout, bringing the entire home up to the current California Electrical Code.
This is the signature project of Santa Cruz's older housing stock: Westside Victorians, Seabright cottages, mid-century Live Oak bungalows. The wiring in these homes wasn't wrong for its era — it's just carrying a century it was never designed for, often with insulation crumbling off the conductors and no grounding at all. Our knob-and-tube field guide covers how to tell what you have and what it means for insurance.
The essentials scope is comprehensive: every accessible outlet, switch, fixture, and box comes out; new branch-circuit wiring goes in throughout; the kitchen and laundry get the full modern set of dedicated circuits — countertop GFCI runs, refrigerator, dishwasher, disposal, microwave, washer, dryer — plus dedicated circuits for bathrooms, bedrooms, and the garage; outlets land at current NEC spacing instead of one-per-room; hardwired smoke and carbon-monoxide detectors go in per code; and a subpanel is part of the scope where distribution needs it. Permits and inspections are included through your city or county building department.
This is exactly the work we mean when we say we specialize in existing homes. Rewiring an occupied, finished, plaster-walled house is a different craft from wiring a job site — fishing walls without opening them wholesale, phasing rooms so you're never fully without power, and leaving each day tidy. Nearly all of our work is in existing, lived-in homes, and rewires are a big share of it — and it shows in how the crew treats the house.
What's not included, stated plainly: the main electrical panel is its own project — a full service rebuild, very often paired with a rewire but always quoted as its own separate line. Solar, battery, and generator wiring are separate scopes. And wall or drywall repair from the rewiring process is finish work we coordinate but don't perform.
When you need this
- Knob-and-tube or cloth-insulated wiring anywhere in the house
- Aluminum branch wiring from the mid-1960s to mid-1970s — a different era than knob-and-tube, remediated as its own scope
- Your insurance carrier is asking about the wiring — or declining coverage over it
- Fuse box or a panel full of two-prong, ungrounded circuits
- Flickering, warm outlets, or breakers that can't hold modern loads
- A remodel is opening walls anyway — the cheapest rewire is the one that rides along
04What's included
Exactly what we handle — and the two things you handle.
Sunrise provides
- Removal of all accessible old wiring, outlets, switches, fixtures, and boxes
- New branch-circuit wiring throughout the home
- Dedicated circuits: kitchen countertop GFCI (two runs), refrigerator, range hood, microwave, disposal, dishwasher, bathrooms, bedrooms, smoke detectors, garage door opener, washer, dryer, garage, furnace, and lighting runs
- Outlet placement to current NEC spacing throughout living spaces
- Hardwired smoke + CO detectors per code, all switch and fixture locations rewired inside and out
- Subpanel installation where the scope calls for it, plus all permits and inspections
Warranty: 20-year workmanship, transferable · Permits: pulled + inspection coordinated by us, built into the quote · Cleanup: drop cloths and daily tidy-up are non-negotiable in an occupied home. Old wire and debris hauled. Wall and drywall repair from the fishing process is finish-contractor scope — we keep access holes minimal and coordinate the patch list
You provide
- Room-by-room access as the phasing plan needs it
- Decisions on fixture and switch locations where the old ones were grandfathered oddities
- A finish contractor for wall patching (we coordinate; see below)
05How it works
Start to finish, with real times.
11–2 hrs on-site
Free home electrical inspection
A tech maps what wiring generations the house actually has (many have three), checks the panel and service, and scopes the phasing. Written quote with the rewire and any panel work as separate line items.
21–2 weeks out
Plan the phasing
Rewires in occupied homes run room-by-room. We sequence so you keep power and a livable house throughout — bedrooms one phase, kitchen another, never everything at once.
3scoped at quote
The rewire
Old wiring comes out as new circuits go in, room by room per the plan. Progress inspections happen at the milestones your city or county building department requires; we schedule them so they never stall the crew.
4end of project
Final inspection + handoff
Final inspection, every circuit labeled, detector network verified, and the documentation package delivered — the thing your insurance carrier has been asking for.
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 — a quote is real only after a tech has seen the framing, the attic and crawlspace access, and how many generations of wiring are hiding in the walls. Quotes are free and phased so the numbers stay legible. The factors below are what actually move them.
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
House size and circuit count (the dedicated-circuit list is long in a modern kitchen) · Attic + crawlspace access — the difference between fishing walls and opening them · Wall construction (lath-and-plaster Victorians fish differently than drywall) · How many wiring generations are present and how much is actually accessible · Whether a subpanel is part of the distribution answer · Whether the main panel is due for its own project at the same time · Building permit fees by jurisdictionNo hidden fees. Every quote is free and detailed.
What customers say · rewiring
161 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
6 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.
Do we have to move out during a rewire?
Usually not. We phase the work room-by-room specifically so the house stays livable — power stays on in the rooms we're not in, and the kitchen gets sequenced with the most care. It's disruptive the way any real work in an occupied house is, but moving out is rarely required. Nearly all of our work is in existing, lived-in homes, and rewires are a big share of it — the crew is built for finished houses, not job sites.
Does the rewire include a new panel?
It's quoted as its own line. The essentials rewire covers the branch circuits — everything from the panel outward. If the panel itself is due (age, brand, capacity), that's a full service rebuild and the two are very often done together; pairing them saves mobilization and the house ends up renewed end to end. But you'll always see them as separate numbers, plainly labeled.
My insurer is threatening to drop coverage over knob-and-tube. Will this fix it?
This is the fix carriers are asking for. Documented replacement of the old wiring, with permits and a passed final inspection, is what underwriters want to see. Our documentation package is written with that audience in mind. The knob-and-tube guide covers the insurance landscape in more depth.
How many holes are you going to put in my walls?
Fewer than you fear, more than zero. Experienced rewire crews fish most runs through existing cavities from the attic and crawlspace; access holes happen where framing blocks the path. We keep them minimal, document each one, and hand the patch list to your finish contractor — wall repair itself is outside our scope, stated up front.
Can you rewire just the worst rooms instead of the whole house?
Sometimes that's the right call, and we'll say so — a targeted rewire of the knob-and-tube portions is a legitimate scope when the rest of the house is newer Romex in good condition. The inspection tells us which situation you have. What we won't do is patch new wire onto failing old runs and call it done.
Is all of this permitted and inspected?
Yes — a whole-house rewire is permitted work with progress and final inspections in every Santa Cruz County building department. We pull the permits, schedule the inspections around the crew, and the final sign-off is part of your documentation package.
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?
Find a CSLB-licensed C-10 contractor with occupied-home rewire references — ask how they phase rooms and handle plaster. Verify at cslb.ca.gov.
Browse our field guidesNot sure what wiring you have?
Knob-and-tube has tells you can spot from the basement without touching anything. The field guide shows you what to look for and what it means for insurance.
The knob-and-tube guideWant a real assessment first?
A free whole-home inspection maps exactly which wiring generations your house carries and what actually needs attention — 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, new wiring?
Free inspection, a phased plan that keeps the house livable, and the documentation your insurer actually wants. 20-year guarantee on the work.