Does your home need rewiring?
Older homes in the Twin Cities were built with wiring that wasn't designed for today's electrical demands. Harrison Electric evaluates aging systems, replaces outdated wiring, and brings your home up to modern standards — with minimal disruption.
When rewiring becomes necessary
Wiring doesn't announce when it's failing. It degrades gradually — insulation becomes brittle, connections loosen, and aluminum wiring expands and contracts until connections become unreliable. By the time something visible happens, the problem has usually been developing for years. Your home may need rewiring if:
- The home was built before 1970 with the original wiring intact
- You have aluminum wiring — common in homes built between 1965 and 1973
- You have knob-and-tube wiring — common in homes built before 1950
- Breakers trip frequently with no obvious cause
- Lights flicker or dim throughout the home
- Outlets feel warm or have a burning smell
- Your home inspector flagged wiring concerns
- You're completing a major renovation and opening walls
What Harrison Electric does
A whole-home rewire replaces the wiring throughout your home with modern copper wiring that meets current code. Harrison Electric evaluates your home before any work begins, creates a project plan, pulls the required permits, and coordinates the city inspection.
Rewiring requires opening walls to access existing wiring. Harrison Electric works to minimize disruption, discusses the scope and approach with you before starting, and takes care to protect your home during the process.
Most homeowners are surprised to learn that rewiring a home is not as disruptive as they expected. Your technician will be specific about what the project involves for your specific home before any work is authorized.
Aluminum wiring — a common concern in Twin Cities homes
Homes built between 1965 and 1973 frequently have aluminum branch circuit wiring. Aluminum wiring itself is not inherently dangerous — the problem is at the connection points. Aluminum expands and contracts at a different rate than the copper connections on most outlets, switches, and fixtures, causing connections to loosen over time. Loose connections create heat. Heat creates fire risk.
The standard correction is a process called pigtailing — connecting a short copper wire to the aluminum wire at each device. This is less invasive than full rewiring and is recognized by the Consumer Product Safety Commission as an acceptable solution when performed by a licensed electrician using the correct connectors.
Harrison Electric evaluates aluminum wiring and recommends the appropriate approach for your specific home.