Momof3littles Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Are you an old house expert? Long story, but there's a chance DH and I would have the opportunity to buy out his siblings one day and possibly live in an old stone farmhouse that currently belongs to his grandmother. I know that old houses are a can of worms, and this house certainly would be as it needs a lot of repairs. I do not think it is 100% doable since I think we would need a rehab loan and it would all be rather complex. My first and foremost concern would be addressing the old k&t wiring. There are plaster walls, and I imagine it would be an enormous project. House was built in late 1700s or early 1800s IIRC. GrandMIL has been living there for 50+ years, but it is definitely in serious disrepair. Anyone want to toss out a ballpark figure for k&T? I am guessing the house is maybe 2000 sq feet, maybe less. I realize once you open the walls, it is a whole different ball of wax, and likely a hot mess (and money pit LOL). However, this is DH's dream. Soooo...I need some numbers to at least mull over, if you are an old house expert (I am not!). FIL is very handy (ex contractor) and DH is reasonably handy but has little experience with *this* type of old home renovation. We would obviously outsource wiring to an electrician. We live in the very outer burbs of an east coast city for COL comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 We didn't tear out any walls. We were able to access it through the attic and the basement, and dropped lines down through the walls. Oh- we did cut a small square out of the wall/ceiling in our bedroom to install a ceiling fan, but other than that, it was ok. We did the rewire project over a period of years so I have no idea of the cost. We made friends with a few electricians and they were willing to let us do a lot of the grunt work and they came in and finished the stuff that needed a real electrician. We bought all the new wire, etc, and the two new circuit boxes, and the supplies cost us under $800. I know we paid $200 for the guy to hook everything up to the new boxes, and a few hundred for an afternoon that one guy spent in our attic. Really, you can save a lot by running the wiring yourself and just paying for the connection time. And the permits, which are dirt cheap in our town. Our house is way newer than yours- ours is only 130 years old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted June 18, 2012 Author Share Posted June 18, 2012 We didn't tear out any walls. We were able to access it through the attic and the basement, and dropped lines down through the walls. Oh- we did cut a small square out of the wall/ceiling in our bedroom to install a ceiling fan, but other than that, it was ok. We did the rewire project over a period of years so I have no idea of the cost. We made friends with a few electricians and they were willing to let us do a lot of the grunt work and they came in and finished the stuff that needed a real electrician. We bought all the new wire, etc, and the two new circuit boxes, and the supplies cost us under $800. I know we paid $200 for the guy to hook everything up to the new boxes, and a few hundred for an afternoon that one guy spent in our attic. Really, you can save a lot by running the wiring yourself and just paying for the connection time. And the permits, which are dirt cheap in our town. Our house is way newer than yours- ours is only 130 years old. I asked DH and it was built in the 1800s. Not sure of when, but there is a marker there. The year is escaping me. DH and FIL could do grunt work, and yes, there is an attic and basement. I have seen #s all over the map, and since replacing it would be on my "must do" list, I just thought I'd see what people paid roughly. I realize various scenarios can be really different once you open things up. Thanks for the info. If we could do it for that price, I'd be thrilled, LOL. Not sure how much DH and FIL would want to tackle, but they are definitely capable. FIL has built several houses on his own, subbing out a little bit here and there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 We've replaced some, where we've opened walls/ceilings. I'm not worried about replacing it in its entirety, though. Our electrician replaced his over about 15 years, one room at a time. He removed the plaster and put in drywall. I didn't get the impression he did it specifically to replace the wiring, just because he was rehabbing the walls/insulating/adding new outlets, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laundrycrisis Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 I had an old house rewired. I don't remember how much it cost, but it wasn't terrible, and it was all accessible through the attic and with existing wire drops. Shutting off the power, disconnecting and pulling out the old stuff was not a big deal and neither was putting in the new wiring to the existing outlets. I think the biggest part of the project was the brand new circuit panel I had put in. After it was done, the whole house was up to code electrically and that was fantastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 I agree with not having to tear out walls, or tear out much. And if you do knock a few holes, - no biggie. I have plaster walls in this 1906 house and have patched a LOT over the years. With plaster patch kits. It is doable. Just takes a while as plaster repair is more than slapping spackle onto damaged drywall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureMoms Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Ours is being replaced little by little. Our walls are plaster but in really great shape, so we're not taking any walls out. Is the house insulated? We did a lot of our outside walls before we had the house insulated, because it is pretty easy to access stuff in non-insulated walls. We've had to drill holes here and there but they were pretty easy to patch. We're doing most of it ourselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted June 18, 2012 Author Share Posted June 18, 2012 (edited) Thank you! This is somewhat encouraging. I read estimates online from 10K-50K in some instances. That would make it pretty much cost prohibitive for us, as we'd need cushion for other rehab (floors need replaced, plumbing may need reworked, etc.) eta: no idea on insulation. I've read insulation added in is a no no while the k&t is in place, but I'm far from an expert on this...the k&t needs room for the heat to dissipate? The house is in a pretty historical area, so I am guessing there are electricians experienced in dealing with old farmhouses in the region. DH would be thrilled to have one less obstacle in place ;) I would loooove to do this, but am worried about the money pit aspect of things. His thought is that we can manage to upgrade over time and live our dream, even if it is a little "rough" at first. I think perhaps we both romanticize the whole thing quite a bit and it would be an enormous commitment. Decision time is not anytime soon, but it is something we've discussed off and on for about 5 years or more. If we do want to seriously consider it, there are a lot of things I want to think about in advance. I'd actually like some estimates and so forth well in advance just to get some ballpark figures before we decide if we even want to attempt this. The house definitely needs some serious work, but has a lot of charm and the lot and property are stunning. Pond, trees, hillside that was an orchard at one time, old barn still in decent condition, root cellar, an apartment off the barn (would also need rehabbed but is much newer than the house obviously). We've even considered a yurt. But, it is a huge commitment. Right now we live in a logical, reasonable type of house LOL...a colonial on a half acre suburban lot with a 30 min commute for DH. We both grew up with chickens, horses, etc. and 3.5 acres of land for me, 5.5 for DH. So we aren't totally unaware of what is involved with respect to that end of things. I kind of think we may be nuts to even attempt this leap, but it has pulled at our heartstrings for a looooong time. DH would also likely need to change jobs (has an excellent one right now, company growing, paid well, good flexibility), which makes it a tough decision as well. Edited June 18, 2012 by Momof3littles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oraetstudia Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 We had our whole house's knob and tube replaced about 5 years ago. They didn't open up most of the walls, just fished the new stuff in. We also had to do all new plumbing. Like the pains of labor, one sort of forgets some of this with the passing of time, but I think the electrical and plumbing ran about $11K. Probably 50% for each of those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 I had an old house rewired. I don't remember how much it cost, but it wasn't terrible, and it was all accessible through the attic and with existing wire drops. Shutting off the power, disconnecting and pulling out the old stuff was not a big deal and neither was putting in the new wiring to the existing outlets. I think the biggest part of the project was the brand new circuit panel I had put in. After it was done, the whole house was up to code electrically and that was fantastic. :iagree: We brought our entire (1915) house up to code a couple years ago. It's also about 2000 sq ft (in total). The electricians didn't open up the walls at all to do it. It was SO worth it! I cannot remember the cost but it was WELL under 10K. I'm thinking probably closer to 5-6K. Love our old house! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Oh, the house WILL be a money pit. Sorry, but it's true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted June 18, 2012 Author Share Posted June 18, 2012 Oh, the house WILL be a money pit. Sorry, but it's true. Yeah, we have a few friends with old houses, or who have restored old houses. I'm quite sure it will be a money pit. The question for us is whether that's worth living out the rest of our dream, iykwim. I accept it will be a gritty, tough job and will never, ever be "done." Buuuut, it is still tempting :D DH is going to talk logistics over with his family a bit just to feel things out. We don't have to decide for a while, but thinking ahead to options over the next few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Oh, the house WILL be a money pit. Sorry, but it's true. :lol: True enough. It's always something in older homes. We're talking to contractors right now about remodeling 2 out of 3 of our bathrooms. We've had to find some inner zen about the slow going process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted June 18, 2012 Author Share Posted June 18, 2012 Okay, so Dh emailed FIL today and FIL says it is mostly BX wiring (?) and that the conductors are pretty brittle. 100 amp service. Less bad maybe? I guess it probably should be redone? I have no idea what they are talking about at this point LOL. I assumed it still had the old knob and tube stuff in place. I need an "old house" person to be my BFF and mentor me! That or kick me in the shins and tell me this is really a stupid idea and to give up the dream :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 We actually had some BX in our house, too. If it's going to something like a GFCI outlet or an appliance that wasn't around in the early 1900's, I'd replace it. So if it goes to a ceiling fixture or a light switch, it's ok. But if it goes to an outlet that is in a bathroom, kitchen, or to something like a tv or microwave, it should probably be replaced. It's not nearly the issue that knob and tube is, and if you're not remodeling and exposing the wiring, you are probably grandfathered in as far as codes. But if you remodel, you'll have to replace it. You'll want to anyway, eventually, but it can be done a room at a time as you get to it. We have 2 100 amp boxes and it's working well for us. I'm not quite sure what he means by conductors. Our BX was in a metal sheath. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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