Your insurance company wants that old wiring gone. You want your walls intact. Most electricians will tell you those two things can’t happen at the same time.
They’ll cut into your walls, notch your studs, and leave you hunting for a plasterer who can match 80-year-old horsehair plaster. If you’re in one of Cranston’s older homes—especially around the historic neighborhoods near Pawtuxet Village or Edgewood—you know that’s not just inconvenient. It’s expensive, time-consuming, and often impossible to get right.
Our camera-based inspection system changes that equation completely. We insert a specialized camera through your existing outlets to locate every wire, junction box, and potential problem inside your walls. Then we remove the old knob and tube wiring without opening up your plaster. No cutting. No notching. No matching 1940s craftsmanship with 2025 materials.
You get modern, grounded electrical service that satisfies your insurance requirements and keeps your family safe. Your walls stay intact. Your home keeps its character. And you avoid the nightmare of coordinating electricians, plasterers, and painters just to bring your electrical system up to code.
We’ve been serving Rhode Island homeowners for over 30 years. We’re licensed master electricians—not general contractors who farm out the electrical work. We’re members of the Rhode Island Electrical Inspectors IAEI and hold NFPA Code of Ethics certification.
We developed our camera-based removal process specifically because we kept seeing the same problem in Cranston’s older neighborhoods. Homeowners with beautiful historic properties were being forced to choose between insurance coverage and preserving their original plaster. Traditional knob and tube removal meant cutting open walls, and horsehair plaster is nearly impossible to match once it’s damaged.
So we invested in technology that solves that problem. Our camera system lets us see inside your walls without opening them. We can identify every wire, diagnose issues like mouse damage or covered junction boxes, and plan the removal before we ever touch your plaster. It’s a process no other electrician in the area uses, and it’s specifically designed for homes like yours.
We start by inserting our specialized camera system through your existing outlets. This gives us a complete view inside your walls—we can see the knob and tube wiring, identify any junction boxes that might be covered, and spot problems like deteriorated insulation or rodent damage. This inspection phase is critical because it lets us map out the entire removal without guessing.
Once we know exactly what we’re dealing with, we plan the removal route. In most cases, we can pull the old wiring out through the same access points we used for the camera. If we need additional access, we make small, strategic openings—nothing like the wall-cutting other electricians do. We’re talking minimal notches at most, not gaping holes that require full plaster repair.
Then we install your new wiring. You get properly grounded circuits that meet current electrical code, enough capacity for modern appliances, and the peace of mind that comes with knowing your electrical system is safe. Your insurance company is satisfied. Your walls are intact. And if we did need to make any small openings, they’re easy to patch—not the kind of damage that requires hiring a specialized plasterer.
The whole process typically takes less time than traditional methods because we’re not spending days cutting into walls and then waiting for repairs. You get faster results with better outcomes.
Ready to get started?
Cranston has some of Rhode Island’s most beautiful historic properties. Homes in neighborhoods like Edgewood, Pawtuxet Village, and the Garden City area were built when horsehair plaster was standard. That plaster is incredibly durable—when it’s left alone. But once it’s damaged, matching it is nearly impossible. The mix of lime, sand, and actual animal hair that gives it its strength also makes it impossible to replicate with modern materials.
That’s why our camera-based approach matters so much here. Traditional knob and tube removal requires cutting through that plaster to access the wiring. Even if the electrician is careful, you’re left with repairs that never quite match. The texture is different. The color is off. And if your home has any decorative plasterwork, the risk of permanent damage is even higher.
Our method preserves your original plaster completely. We work through existing access points, using our camera system to navigate inside your walls. You keep the architectural character that makes your home valuable. You avoid the expense of trying to match irreplaceable materials. And you still get the modern electrical service you need.
Beyond the plaster preservation, you’re also getting a more thorough inspection. Our camera catches problems that other electricians miss—covered junction boxes, deteriorated wiring, and potential fire hazards that aren’t visible until you can actually see inside the walls. That means fewer surprises and a safer end result.
Not with our camera-based system. Traditional electricians have to cut into your walls because they can’t see where the wiring runs. They make large openings, notch studs, and leave you with significant plaster damage that’s expensive and difficult to repair properly.
We use a specialized camera that we insert through your existing outlets. This lets us see exactly where every wire runs, where junction boxes are located, and what condition everything is in—all without opening your walls. In most cases, we can remove the old knob and tube wiring through the same access points we used for the camera.
If we do need any additional access, we’re talking about minimal openings—small notches at most, not the gaping holes that require major plaster repair. And because we can see what we’re doing, we can plan those access points strategically to minimize any impact on your walls. For homes with horsehair plaster, which is nearly impossible to match with modern materials, this approach is the difference between preserving your original walls and living with visible repairs that never quite look right.
Most knob and tube removal projects take between three to seven days, depending on the size of your home and how much wiring needs to be replaced. Our camera-based method is often faster than traditional approaches because we’re not spending days cutting into walls and then waiting for plaster repairs to dry.
The first step is the camera inspection, which usually takes a few hours. We map out where all the wiring runs, identify any problem areas, and plan the removal route. Then we do the actual removal and install the new wiring. Because we’re working through existing access points rather than creating new ones, the installation goes faster.
The timeline can vary if we find unexpected issues during the camera inspection—things like extensive mouse damage, covered junction boxes, or wiring that’s deteriorated more than expected. But that’s actually an advantage of our method. We find those problems during the inspection phase, not halfway through the job when we’ve already opened up your walls. That means fewer surprises and more accurate timelines. You’ll know what to expect before we start the actual removal work.
Yes, electrical work in Cranston requires permits, and we handle that entire process for you. Any time you’re replacing knob and tube wiring or doing significant electrical upgrades, the city wants to ensure the work meets current code requirements. That’s actually a good thing—it means your new electrical system will pass inspection and satisfy your insurance company’s requirements.
We pull the necessary permits before we start work, and we schedule the required inspections with the city. You don’t need to visit City Hall or deal with any of the paperwork. As licensed master electricians with over 30 years of experience in Rhode Island, we know exactly what Cranston’s building department requires and how to ensure the work passes inspection the first time.
The permit process adds a few days to the overall timeline because we need to wait for inspection appointments, but it’s not something you need to manage. And having that final inspection approval is valuable—it’s documentation that your electrical system meets current safety standards, which matters for insurance purposes and if you ever sell your home. Many insurance companies specifically want to see that permitted, inspected work before they’ll remove the knob and tube exclusion from your policy.
Yes. Insurance companies care that the old knob and tube wiring is completely removed and replaced with modern, grounded electrical service that meets current code. They don’t care how much wall damage happened during the removal—they just want verification that the fire risk is eliminated.
What matters to your insurer is the final inspection from the city and documentation from a licensed electrician confirming that all knob and tube wiring has been removed. We provide that documentation, along with the permit and inspection records that prove the work was done to code.
In fact, our camera-based method often provides better documentation than traditional approaches. Because we inspect the entire system with our camera before we start, we can show your insurance company exactly what was there and confirm that everything has been addressed. We can identify and document every junction box, every wire run, and any other issues that needed attention. That level of thoroughness actually makes insurance companies more confident that the job was done right. They’re not concerned about whether we cut open your walls—they’re concerned about whether the fire hazard is gone and whether your electrical system is now safe and up to code.
The electrical work itself costs about the same as traditional knob and tube removal—sometimes slightly more because of the specialized camera equipment we use. But when you factor in the total project cost, our method usually saves you money.
Traditional removal requires cutting open your walls, which means you’re paying for plaster repair and painting after the electrical work is done. If you have horsehair plaster, finding someone who can match it properly is difficult and expensive. Many homeowners end up paying more for the plaster repair than they did for the electrical work. And even then, the repairs often don’t match perfectly.
Our camera-based approach eliminates most or all of that repair cost. You’re not hiring a plasterer. You’re not repainting entire rooms. You’re not dealing with the time and hassle of coordinating multiple contractors. The electrical work is done, your walls are intact, and you’re finished. That’s the real cost comparison—not just the electrical bill, but the total expense of getting your home’s wiring upgraded.
We provide detailed estimates after the camera inspection so you know exactly what to expect. No surprises, no hidden costs for wall repairs, and no wondering whether you’ll be able to match your original plaster. You get a straightforward price for removing the old wiring and installing new, safe electrical service—without destroying your walls in the process.
We document everything we find and explain what needs to be addressed before we start any work. The camera inspection often reveals issues that aren’t visible from the outside—things like covered junction boxes, deteriorated wire insulation, mouse damage, or open joints where wires have come loose. That’s actually one of the biggest advantages of our system. You find out about these problems before we start the removal, not halfway through the job.
If we find additional issues, we’ll explain what they are, why they matter for safety, and what it will take to fix them. Some things are code requirements—like addressing covered junction boxes or replacing damaged wiring. Other things might be recommendations that improve safety but aren’t strictly required. We’ll be clear about the difference so you can make informed decisions.
In most cases, it’s more efficient to address these issues during the knob and tube removal rather than coming back later. We’re already working on your electrical system, we have access to the areas that need attention, and we can coordinate everything in one project. But we’ll never start additional work without discussing it with you first and providing a clear estimate for what it will cost. The camera inspection gives you complete visibility into your home’s electrical condition, and you decide how to proceed based on that information.
Local Resources
Useful Links
Other Services we provide in Cranston
