# Knob and Tube Replacement in South Pasadena, California

> Knob and tube replacement in South Pasadena: a city Building Division permit, Southern California Edison for service work, pre-war homes in 91030. Map it first.

URL: https://laknobandtube.com/service-areas/south-pasadena/

South Pasadena questions

Last Updated: October 25, 2026

**City of South Pasadena** Jurisdiction

**[City of South Pasadena Building Division](https://www.southpasadenaca.gov/Your-Government/Department-Service-Areas/Community-Development/Building-Division)** Permits and inspections

**[Southern California Edison](https://www.sce.com/)** Electric utility

**91030** ZIP codes

## What starts a rewire in South Pasadena

### Not Pasadena, not Los Angeles

A new owner assumed the permit and the utility worked like the city next door. They do not.

### Edison and a bigger service

The rewire needs a 200-amp panel, and the service change goes through Southern California Edison.

### A second story on original circuits

The ground floor was updated years ago; the upstairs bedrooms were not.

### Insurance renewal in 91030

The policy is moving carriers, and the new one asks about the wiring.

## Services in South Pasadena

### Inspection

Find out which circuits are still live, what condition the reachable wiring is in, and what cannot be seen.

### Whole-house rewiring

Replace every old branch circuit, knob and tube or not, and add the circuits and protection a modern house needs.

### Panel upgrade

Replace a fuse box or undersized panel with capacity for the new circuits, coordinated with the utility and the rewire.

### Attic insulation

Certify the old wiring under California's exception, or replace the attic circuits first and insulate without conditions.

South Pasadena sits between two cities that run their own electric utilities, yet its power comes from Southern California Edison, and its permits come from neither LADBS nor Pasadena. [LA Knob and Tube](https://laknobandtube.com/) replaces knob and tube wiring in this small city between Pasadena, Highland Park and El Sereno, and knob and tube replacement in South Pasadena begins with the two offices a job may involve: the city’s own Building Division and, if the service changes, Edison.

A third of the housing is old enough to have been wired that way. The Census Bureau counts 3,574 South Pasadena homes built before 1940, 33.0% of all its housing, a higher share than Pasadena’s 28.6%. Including the 1940s, the figure reaches 43.8%. Of the pre-1940 homes, 1,806 are owner-occupied single-family houses.

## Its own Building Division

As an independent city, South Pasadena runs its own permit process. The Building Division in the city’s Community Development department reviews applications, issues permits and runs the inspections that check work against code. Applications go through the city’s online permit portal.

South Pasadena’s electrical permit requirements were not examined in detail for this page. Its fees come from the Building Division’s own fee schedule, and its rules on who may pull an electrical permit and when plan review applies are confirmed with the Building Division for each address. What does not change from city to city is the sequence: a permit before work starts, an inspection of the new wiring before walls close, and a final sign-off once everything is complete. Each stage is described in the [replacement process guide](https://laknobandtube.com/guide/knob-and-tube-replacement-process/).

## Southern California Edison, not PWP

The name suggests Pasadena Water & Power, but the California Energy Commission’s utility map places South Pasadena in Southern California Edison territory. Pasadena and Los Angeles each run a city-owned utility. South Pasadena does not.

That only matters when the service changes. Replacing branch circuits leaves the meter alone, and a rewire can keep the existing panel if it has spare spaces and is sound. Where the house still has a small fused service, though, the new circuit count can outgrow it, and the upgrade then involves Edison’s own process for meter and service work. Edison’s specific requirements and lead times fell outside this page’s sources, so they are confirmed with Edison for the address when the panel work is scheduled, before a date is promised to anyone. Swapping the panel leaves every old circuit in place. Which of the two jobs a house needs is the subject of [panel upgrade vs rewiring](https://laknobandtube.com/guide/panel-upgrade-vs-rewiring/), and the [panel upgrade page](https://laknobandtube.com/electrical-panel-upgrade/) covers the utility steps.

Edison also runs a pilot that helps with utility-side upsizing costs when a house electrifies, for example by replacing gas appliances with heat pumps. It is aimed at electrification, not knob and tube work alone, so it does not cover a rewire on its own.

## Historic character, rules confirmed per address

South Pasadena has a large stock of pre-war houses. This page does not describe the city’s historic preservation rules, because the research did not cover them. They are checked address by address with South Pasadena. The pattern to plan for is the same as in neighboring cities: interior rewiring leaves the exterior unchanged, while a new meter, mast or panel on a visible wall is the part most likely to raise a design question.

## Circuit map, cable routes and the final record

Everything starts from a circuit map. The first visit traces each outlet and light back to its source, sorts live knob and tube from runs long since cut off, flags any place newer cable was joined to the original conductors, and checks how the electrician can get into the attic, the crawlspace and the panel. Owners who want that answer before committing to a scope can book the [knob and tube inspection](https://laknobandtube.com/knob-and-tube-inspection/) by itself.

New cable takes the open spaces first. In a two-story house the upper rooms are fed from the attic and the lower ones from underneath, but the wall cavities between the two floors are sealed, so a few routes need small plaster openings, at the boxes and at any framing the cable must pass. Every opening is itemized on the quote along with who repairs it. The house is rewired a group of circuits at a time, which keeps most rooms usable through the job. When nearly everything is original, [whole-house rewiring](https://laknobandtube.com/whole-house-rewiring/) keeps the access work to one pass. At the end the panel is labeled circuit by circuit, and a partial job comes with a written list of the circuits that remain, which is the record a later buyer, appraiser or insurance carrier is likely to ask to see.

## The attic and insulation

Attic work here is slower in late summer. NOAA’s normals for nearby Pasadena show an average August high of 91.3°F, and an attic over a sunny roof runs hotter than that. Insulation is the other attic question. California allows insulation around knob and tube only after a California-licensed electrical contractor surveys the wiring and certifies its condition, with the form filed with the building department. The [attic insulation page](https://laknobandtube.com/knob-and-tube-attic-insulation/) explains why replacing attic circuits first is often the simpler path.

## Shopping for coverage with a circuit map in hand

California FAIR Plan residential policies in 91030 grew from 126 in September 2021 to 311 in September 2025, roughly two and a half times. No reasons are published, and nothing links the rise to wiring, but more South Pasadena owners are shopping for coverage, and insurers do not all treat knob and tube the same way. What a circuit map and a final inspection can and cannot do for an application is covered in the [insurance guide](https://laknobandtube.com/guide/knob-and-tube-insurance-california/).

Nearby, [Pasadena](https://laknobandtube.com/service-areas/pasadena/) runs its own permits and its own utility, [Highland Park](https://laknobandtube.com/service-areas/highland-park-mount-washington/) is under LADBS and LADWP, and [Lincoln Heights and El Sereno](https://laknobandtube.com/service-areas/lincoln-heights-el-sereno/) have older Eastside houses in two HPOZs.

## Neighborhoods and coverage

- South Pasadena

1. 1. Eagle Rock
2. 2. Glendale
3. 3. Hancock Park & Windsor Square
4. 4. Highland Park & Mount Washington
5. 5. Leimert Park & Hyde Park
6. 6. Mid-City, Miracle Mile & Carthay
7. 7. Pasadena
8. 8. Silver Lake & Echo Park
9. 9. West Adams & Jefferson Park
10. 10. Lincoln Heights & El Sereno
11. 11. Los Feliz & Atwater Village
12. 12. South Pasadena

## South Pasadena questions

### How much does knob and tube replacement cost in South Pasadena?

Whole-house rewiring typically runs $10 to $20 per square foot of living area across the LA area, before panel and patching. South Pasadena's permit fees come from the Building Division's own fee schedule, and any Southern California Edison service work is scoped separately.

### Who issues the permit for a rewire in South Pasadena?

The City of South Pasadena's Building Division, part of Community Development. It issues permits and runs the inspections that check work against code. LADBS and Pasadena's Building & Safety have no role inside South Pasadena.

### Is South Pasadena served by Pasadena Water & Power?

No. Despite the name, South Pasadena's electricity comes from Southern California Edison, according to the California Energy Commission's utility service-area map. Any meter or service change on a South Pasadena house is arranged with Edison, under Edison's rules.

### Do South Pasadena historic rules affect a rewire?

The city's historic preservation rules were not part of the research behind this page, so they are confirmed per address with the city. Interior rewiring changes nothing outside; a new meter, mast or panel on a street-facing wall is the part to ask about.

### Is a two-story South Pasadena house harder to rewire?

Usually it takes more planning. First-floor circuits can come from a crawlspace and second-floor ones from the attic, but the walls between the floors are closed cavities, so some routes need openings in plaster. The quote lists each opening and who patches it.

## Related guides

- Learn [How does knob and tube replacement work, from the first visit to the final inspection?](https://laknobandtube.com/guide/knob-and-tube-replacement-process/)Each stage depends on the one before it. Here is what has to be known before the next step starts, and where the path splits by house.
- Decision Guide [Panel upgrade vs rewiring: which one does an older house need, and when does it need both?](https://laknobandtube.com/guide/panel-upgrade-vs-rewiring/)They are separate jobs on separate parts of the system. Here is how to tell which one your house needs, and how they fit together when it needs both.
- Learn [How does knob and tube affect home insurance in California?](https://laknobandtube.com/guide/knob-and-tube-insurance-california/)What carriers tend to ask, how to get their answer in writing, what an electrician's letter can and cannot say, and where the FAIR Plan fits.

## Nearby service areas

- [Pasadena](https://laknobandtube.com/service-areas/pasadena/)City of Pasadena Building & Safety permits, Pasadena Water & Power service
- [Highland Park & Mount Washington](https://laknobandtube.com/service-areas/highland-park-mount-washington/)LADBS permits, LADWP service
- [Lincoln Heights & El Sereno](https://laknobandtube.com/service-areas/lincoln-heights-el-sereno/)LADBS permits, LADWP service