Free tool
Knob and Tube Replacement Cost Calculator
Enter the living area and a few facts about the house for a budgeting range for whole-house knob and tube replacement in the Los Angeles area. No contact details needed, and the result updates as you go.
Estimate your house
The range changes with the living area only. The other answers tell you where in the range your house is likely to sit.
Whole-house wiring, typical LA-area range
$15,000 to $30,000
1,500 sq ft at $10 to $20 per sq ft, rounded to the nearest $100
For comparison, a national budgeting range for a whole house: $12,000 to $35,000
Where your house may fall
- Toward the low endA single story with room above or below is the simplest layout to route new wire through, which pushes toward the low end.
- Toward the low endA tall, clear crawlspace lets first-floor runs come up from below with fewer wall openings, which pushes toward the low end.
- Toward the low endA roomy attic lets ceiling and upper-wall runs drop in from above, which pushes toward the low end.
- Toward the high endPlaster and lath takes more care to open and close than drywall, which pushes toward the high end.
Overall, your answers point toward the low end of the range. The biggest unknown is how many circuits are still live, which only a circuit map shows.
Add-on: electrical panel
If the walk-through finds the panel is full, outdated or too small for the new circuits, a 100 to 200 amp upgrade in the same location is a separate line of about $2,500 to $5,500, a typical LA-area range.
Permit: LADBS (Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety)
In the City of Los Angeles the electrical permit comes from LADBS, which charges by the circuit, panel and service. Its online fee calculator gives the current total for a given scope.
Not included
Plaster patching and paint: priced separately, not estimated here.
These are budgeting figures, not a quote. The price for your house comes after a walk-through and circuit map.
How the estimate works
The range applies the typical LA-area range of $10 to $20 per square foot of living area to the area you enter, rounded to the nearest $100. It does not use any other input to change the dollar figure.
Stories, crawlspace and attic access, and wall finish each add a note saying whether they push a house toward the high end or the low end. Those are the conditions that make routing new wire slower or faster, but there is no honest way to turn them into a percentage, so the tool does not try.
The national budgeting range of $12,000 to $35,000 for a whole house is shown for comparison. The panel line is a typical LA-area range of $2,500 to $5,500 for a 100 to 200 amp upgrade in the same location. Pasadena permit fees come from the City of Pasadena general fee schedule, and LADBS totals come from the LADBS permit fee calculator.
What the range leaves out
- A panel or service upgrade, shown as its own line when you say the panel needs one
- Plaster patching, texture and paint after the openings are closed
- Utility-side work such as a new meter, mast or service drop
- Permit fees, which the city sets
- Testing or abatement for lead paint or asbestos, where a house needs it
- Attic insulation, which follows the electrical work
What moves a house within the range
The single biggest factor is how many circuits are still live knob and tube. A house with a few live runs left over from earlier partial work sits very differently from one that still runs entirely on the original wiring, and only a circuit map shows which one you have.
Live circuits
Every live run is replaced. Dead runs left in the walls need no new wire.
Access
Open attics and crawlspaces let wire run above and below rooms instead of through finished walls.
Walls and ceilings
Plaster and lath is opened in small, planned cuts and closed with more care than drywall.
Devices and new circuits
Kitchens, bathrooms and laundry areas often need dedicated circuits that the old system never had.
Get an Exact Quote
Send the house details and a walk-through turns this range into a price for your house. Your estimator answers are added to the request.
Call (323) 831-7471LA Knob and Tube5317 N Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90042
office@laknobandtube.com