dakota_murphy90•19d agoProlific Poster

I had to choose between fishing new wire or using the old stuff in a 1920s house

I was working on a kitchen rewire in this old house in the historic district. The existing cloth-covered wire looked okay at first, but when I tested it, the insulation was crumbling in a few spots. My boss gave me the call: either spend the whole day fishing brand new 12/2 through the plaster walls and lathe, or try to carefully splice onto the old wire where it was still good. I chose to fish the new wire. It took me about 6 hours to get from the panel to the first outlet box because of the fire blocks, but man, it felt good to know it was all fresh and up to code. My arms were sore from working in that tight space, but sleeping that night was easy. Has anyone else had a similar call to make on an old house job, and what pushed you one way or the other?

2 comments

2 Comments

abby_chen19d ago

My last rewire in a 1920s bungalow had the same cloth wire. I always pull new because that old insulation just turns to dust.

benflores19d agoMost Upvoted

Oh man, my buddy tried splicing onto old wire in a house like that... ended up having to redo the whole run when it failed inspection. Such a headache.