Picked a trim pull over a full rewire in a 1920s house and kinda regret it

I had to choose between a full rewire or just a trim pull for this old house in St. Louis. I went with the trim pull to save the homeowner around $2,500. But now I'm finding cloth wrapped wire crumbling in the attic and some knob and tube hidden behind lath. The client is happy with the lower price but I keep telling them that next remodel will need a full gut job. Anyone else run into this kind of decision where the cheap fix just kicked the can down the road?

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3 Comments

amyh122mo ago

Oh man, have you talked to the homeowner about what you're finding up there? I did the same thing on a 1920s bungalow last year, went with a panel upgrade and surface mount stuff to save cash. But I ended up having to come back three months later for an emergency call when a cloth wire shorted out behind a wall. The homeowner was more upset about the extra trip fee than the original full rewire would've cost. I learned that sometimes the cheap fix just buys you a headache down the road. Now I tell people straight up that old cloth wire and knob and tube are a ticking time bomb, and a full rewire is cheaper than a fire.

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abby_morgan182mo ago

Gotta admit, that sounds like a rough lesson.

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gavin_kim2mo ago

A ticking time bomb" is exactly right. I mean, finding cloth wire crumbling in the attic just from looking at it tells you everything you need to know about the rest of the house. It's wild that the cheap fix always seems to cost more in the end, especially when it's a time bomb like that.

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