You’re not imagining it—your insurance company really will drop you if they find active knob and tube wiring. Most carriers in Rhode Island either refuse coverage outright or give you 30 days to remove it. That’s not a suggestion. It’s a deadline.
And if you don’t act, your mortgage company will force-place insurance at two or three times what you’re paying now. That’s the reality for homeowners in South Kingstown with older properties, especially around Kingston Village where homes date back to the 1700s.
Here’s what changes after the wiring is gone. Your insurance coverage gets reinstated—usually within days. You stop worrying every time you plug something in. Your electrical system can actually handle the demand of modern life. And if you’re selling, buyers can’t use outdated wiring to negotiate your price down.
Most importantly, your home is safer. Knob and tube wiring wasn’t designed for today’s power loads, and it’s often been modified improperly over the decades. That makes it a fire risk, plain and simple.
We’ve been working in South Kingstown for over 30 years. We’re licensed Master Electricians who understand what it takes to upgrade older homes without destroying what makes them special.
South Kingstown has one of the highest concentrations of historic properties in Rhode Island. Kingston Village alone was founded in 1723, and many of those original structures are still standing. That means horsehair plaster walls, original trim, and architectural details you can’t just patch with drywall compound.
We developed our camera-based system specifically for homes like yours. No other electrician in the area uses this technology. Everyone else will tell you they need to cut or notch your walls, then bring in a plasterer to fix the damage. We don’t work that way.
We start with an inspection using our specialized camera system. We insert the camera probe through your existing outlets and look inside the walls. This shows us exactly where the wiring runs, whether there’s mouse damage, if there are covered junction boxes, and whether any modifications were made over the years.
Once we map everything out, we remove the old knob and tube wiring by accessing it through the outlets—not by cutting open your walls. The camera lets us see what we’re doing inside the wall cavity, so we’re not guessing or making unnecessary holes.
Then we install new wiring that meets current code and can handle modern electrical loads. The whole process is designed to protect your original plaster. If there’s any damage at all, it’s minimal—maybe a small notch here or there, nothing like what you’d see with traditional methods.
When we’re done, you get a certificate from a licensed electrician and a passed inspection. That’s what your insurance company needs to restore coverage. Most of our clients have their policies reinstated within days of completion.
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This isn’t a standard rewiring job. The camera system changes everything. It eliminates guesswork, protects your walls, and speeds up the timeline because we’re not spending days cutting and patching.
You get a full inspection first. We look for active knob and tube wiring, check for improper modifications, and identify any safety hazards like open joints or damaged insulation. The camera shows us what’s actually happening inside your walls—not what we think might be there.
Then we remove the old wiring and install a modern electrical system that can handle the power demands of today’s homes. In South Kingstown, where the median home price for vintage properties is around $774K, this kind of upgrade protects your investment without compromising the character of your home.
This matters especially if you have horsehair plaster. That material is rarely used anymore, and very few tradespeople know how to work with it. It adds strength and durability, but it’s extremely hard to match if it gets damaged. Our process keeps your original plaster intact, so you’re not dealing with unsightly repairs or mismatched textures.
Most homeowners in Rhode Island pay between $12,000 and $36,000 to replace knob and tube wiring throughout their entire home. The range is wide because every house is different.
The size of your home matters. So does how much wiring needs to be replaced, how accessible it is, and whether there are complications like previous modifications or mouse damage. A small cape might cost $12,000. A larger colonial with wiring in the attic, basement, and walls could run closer to $30,000 or more.
The camera system we use can actually reduce costs in some cases because we’re not spending time and labor cutting open walls and then hiring someone to repair them. You’re paying for the electrical work—not the demolition and reconstruction that usually comes with it.
Not with our process. We use a camera system that lets us inspect and remove wiring through your existing outlets. That means little to no wall damage—and if there is any, it’s very minimal, like a small notch at most.
Horsehair plaster is one of the main reasons we developed this system. It’s an incredible material that adds strength and resistance to cracking, but it’s almost impossible to match if you damage it. Most electricians will tell you they need to cut or notch your walls, then bring in a plasterer to fix it afterward. The problem is, the repair rarely looks right.
Our method protects your original plaster completely. You’re not dealing with mismatched textures, visible patches, or repairs that stand out. For historic homes in South Kingstown—especially around Kingston Village—that’s a huge advantage.
Most projects take anywhere from a few days to two weeks, depending on the size of your home and how much wiring needs to be replaced. The camera system speeds things up because we’re not spending days cutting walls and then waiting for repairs.
We’ll give you a realistic timeline after the initial inspection. That’s when we use the camera to map out where the wiring runs and identify any complications. Once we know what we’re working with, we can tell you exactly how long it’ll take.
The other advantage of our process is that you’re not living in a construction zone. There’s no drywall dust, no major patching, and no waiting for plaster to dry. We do the electrical work, clean up, and you’re done.
Yes. Most of our clients have their insurance coverage reinstated within days of completion. Insurance companies in Rhode Island want proof that a licensed electrician did the work and that it passed inspection. We provide both.
Here’s what happens. Once we finish the job, you get a certificate showing the work was completed by a licensed Master Electrician. You also get documentation that the new wiring passed inspection and meets current code. That’s what you send to your insurance company.
Most carriers will restore coverage immediately once they see that documentation. If your policy was cancelled or you were given a deadline to remove the wiring, this takes care of it. And if your mortgage company force-placed insurance at a higher rate, you can switch back to your original policy.
Absolutely. We do pre-purchase inspections all the time, especially in South Kingstown where so many homes were built before 1950. The camera system is perfect for this because it shows you exactly what’s inside the walls without causing any damage to the property.
If you’re buying a historic home and the seller says the wiring was updated, we can verify that. If the inspection report mentions possible knob and tube wiring but isn’t certain, we can confirm whether it’s actually there. And if you know the wiring needs to be replaced, we can give you an accurate estimate before you close.
A lot of buyers use that information to negotiate the purchase price. If the home has active knob and tube wiring, you’re looking at $12,000 to $36,000 to replace it. That’s a legitimate cost you can factor into your offer.
No other electrician in the area uses this system. Everyone else will cut or notch your walls to access the wiring, then you’re left dealing with repairs. Our camera lets us see inside the walls and remove the wiring through your outlets.
The camera probe goes in through the outlet, and we can look around inside the wall cavity. We see where the wiring runs, whether there’s any damage, and if there are hidden junction boxes or open joints. That eliminates guesswork and means we’re not making unnecessary holes.
This is especially important for homes with horsehair plaster or original architectural details. Once you damage that material, it’s almost impossible to repair it in a way that looks right. Our process protects your walls completely, so you’re not stuck with visible patches or mismatched textures after the electrical work is done.
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