REDWOOD CITY — If your home was built prior to the 1960s, it may still have its original knob-and-tube electrical wiring, a precursor to modern Romex wiring. While it would be excessive to say knob-and-tube wiring is dangerous, there are some potential safety concerns. The main one is that its sheathing tends to decay and fall apart over time due to high heat exposure. This can create an unsafe condition—you don’t want heat conductors coming into contact with metal boxes and light fixtures.
To avoid this safety risk, consider replacing your knob-and-tube wiring with Romex. In a Romex cable, all wires are securely housed within a vinyl sheathing, which insulates and protects them. Plus, unlike knob-and-tube wiring, Romex wiring is grounded. That’s why modern homes have three-pronged electrical outlets while older homes have two-pronged outlets—that third prong connects to a ground wire, which knob-and-tube wiring doesn’t have.
An ideal time to upgrade your wiring is during a home remodeling project. Since the walls will already be opened up, this measure can be done for little additional cost—a small price to pay for the increase in safety.

Upgrading Your Electrical Wiring

Learn essential tips for upgrading your home's electrical wiring to enhance safety, efficiency and compliance with modern standards.

Upgrading Your Electrical Wiring by Greg Danz

Preparing for a Contractor Meeting

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Video: Electrical Upgrades for a Remodel


if you're having your home remodeled
take the opportunity to upgrade any
outdated electrical components today
we're in Redwood City with diamond
certified expert contributor Greg Dans
of GD Enterprise to learn more hi
today's tip is to talk about electrical
upgrades when you're doing a
remodel as you can see a lot of homes
built back in 40s 50s and 60s Ed knob
and tube wire wiring knin tube wiring is
fine it it's fairly safe but as you can
tell each conductor is independent
neutral Hots are run independently from
each other modern wiring which is called
RX all your conductors are inside of
vinyl sheating which protects them first
of all it's an
insulator the benefits of replacing noin
tube is it's safer the knob and tube
wiring over time the sheathing on this
wiring gets hot old brittle and it falls
apart and decays you'll notice many
times when you change a light fixture
you go to touch the wires and all the
sheathing on the wiring is gone is
decayed from the heat that's unsafe you
do not want heat conductors touching
metal boxes and metal light fixtures
with RX it's all contained plus it has a
ground knob and tube wiring does not
have a ground that's why you'll see some
homes have two two prong receptacles
versus a three prong receptacle the
third prong is a ground wire which knob
and tube does not have so when you're
taking the time to do a remodel take the
time to spend a little extra money and
remove as much knob and tube wiring as
you can and upgrade to RX your insurance
company will be happy and it'll be much
safer for you and your family thank
you to learn more from local top rated
companies visit our Diamond certified
expert reports at experts. Diamond
certified. org

Video: Preparing to Meet with a Contractor


prior to meeting with a contractor to
discuss your upcoming remodeling project
make sure you do your homework
today we're in Redwood City with diamond
certified expert contributor Gregg Dan's
of GD enterprise to learn more hi
today's tip is some things to have in
mind when you meet with a contractor for
your prospective project take the time
to do your homework make a list of
things that our wants needs and also the
budget that you're planning on you'd be
surprised how many people don't take the
time to do this before they meet the
contractor I walk in they meet with me
and expect me to have all the answers
I'm here to make your project the best I
can for you unless I know what you want
from a budget materials style I can only
do so much to make it a pleasant
experience sometimes it'd be better to
meet with a designer and architects
before the contractor gets brought in
I'm here to basically take your ideas
building the best I can at a reasonable
price for you the consumer take this job
for example this started off as a simple
laundry upgrade and a small bathroom
after the walls are down the homeowner
started getting ideas of what could be
we are now on the third phase of this
project and it's growing and the cost
overruns and change orders end up even
though it's going to be a beautiful
project when it's all done if we took a
little more time up front with this
project we'd have a much smoother
transition both from a timeline
as well as a price point so take the
time to do your homework get a wish list
materials list talk to your contractor
and hopefully they can explain to you
the pros and cons from both the cost and
usable standpoint so you're not wasting
valuable time and money thank you
to learn more from local top rated
companies visit our Diamond Certified
expert reports at experts diamond
certified org


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