Whole Home Evaluation/Mapping Service

An additional option we offer when it comes to older home wiring replacement estimating, other than free estimate, is our evaluation or mapping service. Our company charges hourly for this – we go through the entire house, top to bottom, looking in EVERY switch, light, outlet etc. to see what kind of wire is present.

During this process we draw a rough diagram of the house and mark the plan with the kind of wire using a color codes. Once the entire home is gone through and we have our map/plan laid out, we go back and shut down the power to each circuit (Knob and tube, BX wire, Un-grounded romex, Aluminum wiring) found. This needs to happen one at a time, when one is shut down, we walk through the entire house again and see what went off with that circuit, making note of the circuit number on each device, outlet, light, switch etc.

We do this over and over until ALL older circuits are identified and marked on our plan.

This can be a very tedious process, and can be time consuming. If the home owner has a lot of furniture blocking the outlets and switches, it certainly slows things down. If the switch and outlet plates were painted over, this adds to the time as well.

Most homes can be completed in 2-4 hours, with 2 electricians doing the map. We have had some homes that took over 4 hours, but that is fairly rare. The longest one we had was 6 hours, it was a BIG house with a lot of furniture.

On average we do about 1 map/ evaluation every 2 weeks. Where as we are giving free estimates multiple times a week. When asking customers who opt for the mapping why they wanted to go this route, the majority say they wanted an exact cost that would not change.

Basically, the customer didn’t want any potential surprises!

Evaluation Pros:

  • Entire homes wiring is mapped! Home may have many generations of wiring, all the them are color coded and identified.
  • Map can be passed on to other electricians for competitive pricing.
  • The home may have BX wiring, ungrounded romex and Knob and tube wiring. Now you know where they ALL are! It may be advisable to replace the BX wiring at the same time as the knob and tube, as it will save the owner quite a bit of money in the long run (BX wiring will undoubtedly need replacing in the near future as well)
  • EXACT COST – There is no cost variation on estimates created from an evaluation. Makes it a great option for those who do not want a potential price change.
  • Electricians can work out a plan of attack before arriving at the home, or work one out fairly easily once on site. This is especially helpful, everything is identified and there to see before work starts.
  • The cost of the evaluation will be deducted from the estimate if the owner opts to use us for the job.

Evaluation Cons:

  • COST, no unfortunately it’s not free! As stated most homes takes 2-4 hours for 2 electricians. A 4 hour job at our current rates will cost the owner $810.00. But as stated above, this will be credited if we are chosen to perform the work.
  • If the owner is planning on being at the home during this process, it can be time consuming in comparison to the free estimate route.
  • If the home has painted on switches and outlets, the plates covering them will need to come off. This means slicing the paint around the plate, then carefully removing each one.

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Here is an example of one of our maps (1 floor). The red circled items have visible knob and tube wiring and green have visible romex. All circuits with a circuit number are ultimately circuits we identified with knob and tube wiring attached. In this case, there is quite a bit of good romex wire which needs to be refed from a new circuit and disconnected completely from the knob and tube wiring. You may also notice we identify other potential issues, such as the bathroom not having a dedicated 20amp circuit.

If you have an older home with one or multiple types of wiring you want to have evaluated / mapped, call us today!

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