Burbank Remodeling Contractor replaces the wiring and plumbing inside older Burbank homes. Most of the housing stock here was built between the twenties and the sixties, which means a meaningful share of it still runs on knob-and-tube wiring, galvanized steel supply lines, and a panel sized for a house with one television and no air conditioning.
This is a general contractor's job rather than a single trade's, because doing it properly means opening walls and ceilings across the whole house and then putting them back. The plaster and drywall repair is often the larger half of the work. Call (747) 330-0305 and we will scope what your house is actually running on.
Signs Your Burbank House Needs a Rewire
Two-prong outlets throughout the house mean there is no ground, which is a knob-and-tube signature. A fuse box, or a panel below 100 amps, cannot support a modern household, let alone an EV charger or a heat pump. Cloth-sheathed conductors visible in the attic or crawl space are original wiring that has been embrittling for eighty years.
Then there is the retrofit problem specific to this era: knob-and-tube was designed to dissipate heat through open air, and when somebody blows insulation into an attic over live knob-and-tube, the conductors run hot inside it. That combination is genuinely dangerous and it is common in Burbank attics that were insulated in the seventies.
What a Whole House Systems Upgrade Includes
Full Rewire
New grounded circuits throughout, correct circuit counts for kitchens and baths, GFCI and AFCI protection where required, and adequate outlets so nobody is running extension cords. All of it on new home runs to a new panel.
Electrical Service and Panel Upgrade
Replacing a fuse box or an undersized panel with a 200-amp service, coordinated with Burbank Water and Power for the service connection. This is what makes an EV charger, a heat pump or an ADU subpanel possible later.
Whole House Repipe
Replacing failing galvanized supply lines with copper or PEX. Galvanized corrodes from the inside, so a house with brown water at first draw and poor pressure at the far fixture is usually near the end of that pipe's life.
Drain, Waste and Vent Replacement
Original cast iron waste lines eventually fail at the bottom of the stack and under the slab. Replacing them while the walls are already open is far cheaper than doing it later as an emergency.
Why the Drywall and Plaster Work Is Half the Project
A rewire means access to every wall and ceiling where a circuit runs. In a drywall house that is a series of channels and patches. In an older Burbank home with lath and plaster it is more involved, because plaster does not patch invisibly and the crew has to work carefully to avoid cracking whole panels loose from the lath.
That is why hiring a general contractor for this makes sense. An electrician's job ends when the wire is pulled. Somebody still has to close the walls, match the texture, prime and paint, and reinstall the trim without splitting eighty-year-old moldings. We handle the whole sequence under one contract, and on plaster houses we usually recommend restoring plaster rather than replacing it with drywall so the walls still read correctly.
If you are planning a whole-house remodel, do the rewire and repipe during it. Doing them separately means paying twice to open the same walls.
Systems Upgrade Cost and Schedule in Burbank
A whole-house repipe out of galvanized in the Los Angeles area currently runs $20,000 to $39,000 for a house around 1,700 square feet, and a full rewire with a new 200-amp service is generally comparable or higher depending on the size of the house and the wall finish. Lath and plaster raises the repair portion considerably.
Construction usually runs three to six weeks for one system and six to ten weeks for both done together. Most families stay in the house, with the water off for a day or two during the changeover and power down in sections as circuits transfer.
Talk to a Burbank general contractor about your project
Tell us what you have in mind and we will give you a straight answer on scope, permits, timeline and price.
Call (747) 330-0305Frequently asked questions
Can I rewire part of the house instead of all of it?
You can, and it is sometimes the right call when the budget is fixed. The usual approach is to prioritize the kitchen, bathrooms and any circuit still on knob-and-tube, and to install a new panel sized so the rest can transfer later without redoing the service. What we would avoid is leaving live knob-and-tube buried under insulation.
Is knob-and-tube wiring illegal?
Existing knob-and-tube is not automatically a violation, and it can remain in place in many circumstances. It becomes a problem when it is covered with insulation, when it has been extended by someone who should not have, when the insulation has degraded, or when your insurer declines to cover the house because of it. That last one is increasingly common.
How disruptive is a repipe?
Less than people fear. Most of the work happens in the crawl space, the attic and inside walls at fixture locations, and the openings are targeted rather than general demolition. Expect the water off for a day or two at the changeover and patching and painting for a week or so afterward.
Do I need a permit for a rewire or repipe?
Yes, both, and you want one. Burbank inspects the rough electrical and rough plumbing before anything is covered, which is the only independent verification you will get that the work was done correctly. A service upgrade also requires coordination with the utility, which we handle.