Changed my mind about aluminum wiring after reading a safety report

I always thought it was just an old thing that was fine if you left it alone. Then I read a report from the Consumer Product Safety Commission that said homes with aluminum wiring are 55 times more likely to have a fire hazard at an outlet. What's the safest way you've found to deal with it in an old house?

4 comments

4 Comments

elizabeth_ramirez3mo ago

Yeah that report is scary, I mean 55 times more likely is no joke. Honestly the safest thing is to just rewire the whole house with copper, but I know that's crazy expensive and messy. Some people do these special connectors called AlumiConn ones, they're supposed to be a safer fix without replacing everything. But idk, after reading that, I'd be saving up for a full rewire, it just seems like the only way to really sleep easy.

xenah123mo ago

But have you actually priced out a full rewire lately? My buddy got quoted over twenty grand for a small three bedroom. That's a down payment on a new car, not just an expense. Those AlumiConn things are approved by insurance companies for a reason, they fix the actual problem at the connection point where fires start. Spending a fortune to rip out walls feels like using a sledgehammer when a specific tool does the job.

elliotjenkins1mo ago

Yo @xenah12 I feel you on the sticker shock, for real. My cousin just went through this exact thing and he went with the AlumiConn route on his 70s rancher after getting quoted something like 18k for a full rewire. He's a mechanic so he's pretty handy and it took him a whole weekend doing all the outlets himself but he said it was way cheaper and the inspector passed it no problem. I guess it really depends if you plan on staying in the house for the long haul or not, because that copper rewire adds value but the connectors are a solid fix for now.

gibson.robert1mo ago

@elizabeth_ramirez I gotta push back on that a little, the 55 times stat is for aluminum wiring that's not serviced or messed with, but properly installed AlumiConns actually fix the weak point where fires happen. A full copper rewire is a huge job with drywall repair and painting that adds up fast, those connectors are UL listed and cost way less for basically the same protection if you tighten them right. Honestly a lot of insurance companies now accept the connector fix as a permanent solution, so you aren't really compromising on safety if you do it properly.