Is This Home Safe? When Homeowners Find Knob And Tube Wiring In Their Homes

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Is This Home Safe? When Homeowners Find Knob And Tube Wiring In Their Homes | Mike Holmes Podcast

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Clip taken from Episode 5 of Mike Holmes' Holmes On Homes Podcast "The ABCs Of Your Electricity". • The ABCs Of Your Elect...
Electricity is a crucial aspect of any home, without it, our homes simply wouldn’t function. However, we don’t often pay too much attention to it, thinking that if everything is working then our home's electrical system must be in good shape and operating properly. That is not the case! Just like anything in our home we must take the right steps to make sure our electrical is done right and meets our needs, especially if buying a new property or renovating.
In this podcast episode, Mike Holmes speaks with special guest and long-time friend Frank Cozzolino, Licensed Electrical Contractor as they discuss the basics of electrical safety, who you should hire for your electrical work, and what you need to know to protect yourself and your family from a possible fire hazard. They also talk about what to watch out for when buying a house, especially an old property, and why an electrical inspection is important -you’ll leave this episode with the proper knowledge to own it right and protect it right.
For more episodic behind-the-scenes content, notes, and to watch the full episode, head to www.MakeItRight.ca.
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Пікірлер: 44

@cgschow1971 8 ай бұрын

If someone told me they have to "come in and chop up my home", they ain't getting the job. Done plenty of rewires and with long bits and fishtape, the house remains mostly intact. The few holes that are cut are left for clean patches. we even carefully cut wallpaper and folded it back.

@SudburyMan 2 жыл бұрын

As an electrician, any home I have ever moved into since obtaining my licence, I gut and redo all wire and devices. I need my peace of mind to know it was correct.

@antoniofranklin6312 Жыл бұрын

Lol I personally don’t believe that!!

@SudburyMan Жыл бұрын

@@antoniofranklin6312 should see what scab work I have found even by licensed work..

@SudburyMan Жыл бұрын

@@antoniofranklin6312 why not? It doesn't cost me in labour and I enjoy it very much. Best time to renovate too!

@cgschow1971 8 ай бұрын

@@SudburyManK&T I would leave. Fed Pac breakers and aluminum wire have to go.

@dioniciogamez6175 11 ай бұрын

2k bucks and about 8 hrs, you ask "why aren't we doing this" because the average person is making 18-20 dollars an hour, they are making about $160 in an eight hour shift, and you're gonna charge them a months worth of wages for 6-8 hrs of time, that's why

@williamnewman8850 Жыл бұрын

Mike been watching your shows for years first time I caught your utube channel One about home inspection here in Maryland USA. There is no grantees on who you get. And who they represent. Have had 2 experiences myself that they are not worth it. Problem is they are involved with realtors. They “overlook” a lot of stuff which are not minor issues. Roof was completely shot had to be replaced (sheathing rotted 70% had to be replaced) Flat roof over bed room leaking had to replace rotten beams in sealing Turns out Realor and inspector where working together and he wanted to sell the house. Also house was built in 1920s and attic and 2nd floor was all nob and tube. So inspections are meaningless too much bs going on. Same happened 2nd house here in md. Same thing. You are right people get caught up in buying end loose sight of what’s important! Congratulations on such a great show. I only wish a lot of what you where saying could somehow protect the new home buyer. They seem to be on the wrong end of the stick!! All the problems end up with new owner. Government is protecting wrong people.m why not new owners? Lawyers!!! That’s who!!

@busman2000 3 жыл бұрын

You should adopt the standard procedure that they use in the U.K. That of doing an E.I.C.R ( Electrical, Installation, Condition, Report) That has to be completed with every property sale or change of tenancy prior to occupation of the dwelling.

@KoiBoy6 3 жыл бұрын

Where I live in FL you can access building permits online for almost any property for free. You won't get specs but you can see what was pulled, when it was pulled, what stage it hit (applied, opened, failed, closed pass, closed no action, pending final, etc). We knew our roof was not permitted, neither was the replumb, kitchen, or bathroom. We negotiated based on that and with a home warranty. We were expecting to redo it all anyways so the hold over was fine. Pool enclosure was never a closed permit but it was standing for 20 years through so many hurricanes that we trust it and its been almost another 20 years since we bought the place.

@cyborgmemoirs Жыл бұрын

I'm in PA, but was this a state/govt online resource for you in FL?

@KoiBoy6 Жыл бұрын

@@cyborgmemoirs building permits are online in FL and hosted by the individual counties. Searchable by address, parcel number, or permit number.

@danessamize2745 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks frank for teaching us what to do

@slippinslidewayz Жыл бұрын

My inspector did a great job and let me know what rooms were retrofitted (kitchen only) and what rooms were on knob and tube. He recommended switching to GFCI outlets until I could rewire. I'm rewiring myself and have done my due diligence. I'm no electrician by any means, but I was a OSHA instructor, worked for a cable manufacturer, and worked for a general contractor for quite a few summers in my youth. I plan to only open up the ceiling in a small portion of the basement and fish all others while replacing the boxes since it's a simple 1933 colonial. I'm sure I'll end up opening at least one wall, but I'll have peace of mind that my home is well protected electrically. My last project was replumbing the home with a PEX manifold system as an upgrade from the PEX/galvanized/copper system we had before. Old homes are beautiful but know what you're getting into when you buy them. They are not a walk in the park if they haven't been gutted and upgraded.

@edwinpantoja7074 3 жыл бұрын

Hello Mike. Ive been a follower of all your programs on HGTV, DIY, Destinaron América and Discovery Channel. I'm a Handyman My self for many years since My father and and also my father un law have been. Since ive seen most of your shows ive learned many issues that lve ignored . There is an old saying that says " You can't teach an old dog new tricks." But certainly it's never to late to learned by someone like You. I would like to know if your books are still available. Please let me know. Thanks Mike Holmes for always making it right !!

@Delphinus-Keya 2 жыл бұрын

6min and the question still wasn't fully answered, at least I didn't think. I understand that if your doing any electrical work and you find knob and tube that it needs to be all replaced. But if the whole house only has knob and tube and you are not changing anything, is it safe or is it a running risk?

@MultiTurbospeed Жыл бұрын

It's banned so it will need to be replaced immediately

@mrsvirgi47 Жыл бұрын

My husband and I had to walk away from a home we were going to purchase because after we had an inspection done on the home it was revealed to have knob and tube wiring, double tapping in the panel box, tape but on electrical wires. And what the inspector said was very amateur work all around the house. He said the whole electrical system needed to be evaluated by a license electrician.

@masamune.. 3 жыл бұрын

Love this channel and love these types of conversations. Thx Mike! :)

@ronkemperful Жыл бұрын

Buying a home in 1994 I went around with a building inspector during the purchasing process of a 1923 Bungalow. He pointed out that the house had nob and tube wiring but it was nothing to worry about since the conductors are spaced apart making the house safer than having more modern wiring as they could not be shorted out by a driven nail or overheat. Upon owning the house I discovered that about 50 percent of the wiring of the house was on one circuit: the dishwasher, disposal, the front two bedrooms and bath, all of the overhead lights, and an accessible outlet in the kitchen. So, besides being nervous about what really had been done to the wiring over the years (the county the house was located in had no permit requirements until the 1970s, so no permits were used for the first 50 years of the house's existance). Buyer beware!

@jake_of_the_jungle9840 9 ай бұрын

You can just take them apart in basement where they all come together and junction them into a few different breakers till you can actually rewire. Also install a gfci breaker

@cyborgmemoirs Жыл бұрын

Oh my god so gratifying to hear you sounding off about stuff like this, Mr Holmes. Finding myself with a number of large unexpected costs after purchasing an old home in a shit market, and wish there were better resources to do one's due diligence where I'm at. Anyway, I've been a fan of Holmes Inspection and have long been curious what your Zodiac sun and rising signs are!

@Komotz 3 жыл бұрын

I can sympathize with the last bit, "Paying way over asking before even making sure the home is safe and up to code." We're looking for a house and getting over-bid one after another by 20-30k, only to have the seller contact us again in 2-3 weeks asking if we're still interested. When we inquired as to why the offer fell through, the reason is 90% of the time 'home inspection found something the buyer didn't like'. So we ask and its either knob and tube, asbestos, or poor roofing job resulting in leaks.

@peteganze6416 Жыл бұрын

It costs me $80 to have the electrical inspector show up and tell me what to do - I don't think I could get an electrician for $80 an hour.

@MultiTurbospeed Жыл бұрын

The easiest test for outlets is to plug something in each one for example if you plug in a phone charger and it falls out immediately then it's no good and needs to be serviced. That's one little bit of a tip.

@chrisbeard5794 Жыл бұрын

Knob and Tube wiring is still legal and if untouched and undamaged then there is no danger threat only thing is there is no ground and you can't put insulation over top it. Personally if I bought a old house I would make it a historical home and leave the K&T but once it's a historical home you can tear down and rebuild you leave the house as is.

@cgschow1971 8 ай бұрын

The insulation coverage is a myth, hyped by insurance companies looking to deny coverage or electricians scaring people into a rewire. There are hundreds of thousands of homes (mine included) with K&T wiring covered by insulation and they haven't burned. K&T fires are caused by overloading the curcuit beyond it's original design or improper modifications from diyers. The majority of original installations were done professionally and many are needlessly torn out. I'll take an original K&T install with fuses any day over later Fed Pacific breakers, aluminum wire, and shoddy NM installs.

@_DMAC 8 ай бұрын

Been there. Contractors had well over 100 holes to rewire our home. It was old wiring with common ground? (2 wires not 3?). It was a messy process.

@laydlow87 6 ай бұрын

So ironic seeing Mike talk about stuff like this, after a bunch of homes he attached his name to are now being torn down to the ground…wow

@joanhickson1857 3 жыл бұрын

That’s so important electrical

@fxsrider Жыл бұрын

I paid cash for a great looking home in a historic neighborhood. The previous owners lost the note and HUD had possession of it. There were new service panels with loads of newer wire running out of them. In areas you could see. Go into the attic, popping up the plank floor and it is all K&T. I am insulating the floor in the attic which is the ceiling of the second story. I pulled new up to the attic and will only run it in the areas that will be filled with insulation. Junction boxes. New feed run to the ceilings of the bedrooms. I'm not even going to look or worry about the existing K&T in the walls going down from the attic. It is functioning. Ballon frame brick facade. I'll solder the connections as close to the hole they disappear into. No inspections. Paid cash. I'll inspect it. LOL Seriously... it's been up for 97 years now. Never burst into flames. If you have K&T wiring. Don't plug blow dryers or microwaves into it. Light bulbs and window fans are cool. Just watch your loads. Check make sure your fuses or breakers aren't too big for the old wire.

@tay13666 Жыл бұрын

That is so dumb. If you are already pulling new runs up to the attic, why not take a little more time to pull new down to the existing devices? If it's balloon framed, all you have to do is use the existing wire to pull the new wire. Throw in a new device while you are at it, and you are all set. No worries about what to plug in. Why only half do it, when you are already doing the hardest half?

@oscarcorral1428 8 ай бұрын

You can put an offer in, then test and troubleshoot, then submit a counter offer or back out, right?

@tww1981 3 жыл бұрын

Ok question for Frank and Mike Holmes :: what is wrong with people doing there own household wiring ? 2 how do you know the electrician knows more than you about electrical work ??

@VagabundoOMC Жыл бұрын

For the last 20 years it has been next to impossible to get an offer with an inspection condition accepted. The government needs to mandate safety inspections for every home. We already have to do it for vehicles. People who really know what condition a house is in are being outbid by non-conditional bidders who care more about the wall colors than the asbestos or knob and tube.

@alonzojohnson7955 3 жыл бұрын

What's behind the walls. Matters.yes yes 👍

@thefuturegamer9451 Жыл бұрын

Lived in a house once where they replaced the panel and decided it would be a good idea to put all the existing 14 gauge circuits on a 20 amp breaker 😅

@joanhickson1857 3 жыл бұрын

Everyone things not in their home!!

@aviation130h 3 жыл бұрын

$2000 for 1 day of work. That is ridiculous.

@Art416 3 жыл бұрын

That’s why no ones getting the service $2000 to unscrew outlets and inspect . Only 6-8 hrs. And these two ding dongs think everyone would buy these services for $600- $2000.

@cashanova_slim4027 2 жыл бұрын

It’s not ridiculous, because too many people are putting lipstick on a pig. Too many DIY want to make the home look good, but skimp on functionality. The electrical, plumbing, and insulation. These are are some of the most important things a home needs to function properly.

@jimsmith2229 3 жыл бұрын

The easy answer is just past the buck so I can make a buck. No respect for the fellow man or woman

@jasonquirke8205 2 жыл бұрын

Lol real-estate agents don't want someone like you 2 walking tru a home and giveing the buyer reasons not to buy there inventory they will deem you guys neunace and interference