I'm looking at purchasing a raised ranch built in 1970 with a single car garage underneath. My plan is to add a second garage alongside it. My problem is the house has fuses, not breakers. How much of a job is it to upgrade to breakers, and is 1970's wiring OK? Would the outlets be the old two prong style or modern 3 prongs? Finally, how expensive is it to upgrade to 200 amp while I'm at it? The house already has central air and electric stove and drier, and I'll want a compressor for the shop, as well as the usual power tools, so I think I'll need the extra power. Thanks in advance!
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
1970's Wiring
- Thread starter ted13b
- Start date
ddawg16
Well-known member
My house was built in the 50's....it had circuit breakers but only 60 amps worth....and no 220 Vac.
I think my upgrade to a 200A panel cost me $500 total....I did all the work...and this included the 4 new circuits to the kitchen.
If you do the work...expect it to cost about that much or maybe a bit more.
Keep in mind that the electrical code has changed quite a bit....in the old days the wire from the pole was landed on a couple of ceramic studs on the roof. Now you are going to need a poll with the weatherhead on top....and don't think about trying to do it without permits....the power company won't even talk to you unless you have permits and the installation is approved by the inspector.
I think my upgrade to a 200A panel cost me $500 total....I did all the work...and this included the 4 new circuits to the kitchen.
If you do the work...expect it to cost about that much or maybe a bit more.
Keep in mind that the electrical code has changed quite a bit....in the old days the wire from the pole was landed on a couple of ceramic studs on the roof. Now you are going to need a poll with the weatherhead on top....and don't think about trying to do it without permits....the power company won't even talk to you unless you have permits and the installation is approved by the inspector.
shamrock12
Well-known member
If this house were built in 1970 then I would definitely check for aluminum wirings! During the mid 1960s to early 1970s it was common to use aluminum in construction. It is a serious fire hazard because aluminum is soft and is easily compressed and then get loose. When there is a loose connection under load, arcing will likely occur and eventually it will get hot and can cause fire. If you have aluminum service cable coming from the outside - they are fine to use. It is common to use aluminum for feeding the main today but not for most branch circuits.
Fuses still will work, but they are "outdated" for modern world. So upgrading to breaker type should be put into consideration if you are going to make an offer on the house.
Fuses still will work, but they are "outdated" for modern world. So upgrading to breaker type should be put into consideration if you are going to make an offer on the house.
I'm looking at purchasing a raised ranch built in 1970 with a single car garage underneath. My plan is to add a second garage alongside it. My problem is the house has fuses, not breakers. How much of a job is it to upgrade to breakers, and is 1970's wiring OK? Would the outlets be the old two prong style or modern 3 prongs? Finally, how expensive is it to upgrade to 200 amp while I'm at it? The house already has central air and electric stove and drier, and I'll want a compressor for the shop, as well as the usual power tools, so I think I'll need the extra power. Thanks in advance!
Make sure you have homeowner's insurance lined up before you go to contract. Many, (if not most,) homeowner's insurers will NOT write a contract on a home with fuses. And aluminum wiring could be another turn-off. There are some companies that will write a house like this, but you will definately need to shop around, and you will probably need an insurance broker with a lot of company connections. I have also seen a situation where a homeowner was given a short period of time (right after purchase), by their insurer to rewire their whole house. It was a bit of an ordeal, and not a job that they were going to do immediatly, but they were given no choice. Most of the other insurance companies would not even consider this particular older home. And keep in mind...no homeowner's insurance...no mortgage.
VHF
Well-known member
Cost to upgrade to 200A service can very a lot, from under $1000 to several thousand. The weatherhead (assuming overhead feed), mast, meter can, and incoming wires would all need to be upsized in addition to the main pannel itself. If the the incoming overhead wires are too close to the ground, windows, roofline, etc., you might have to relocate where the power comes in when upgradinjg to comply with current requirements.
If you find aluminum wiring inside, at a minimum you should have every switch, receptical, light fixture, and junction box inspected for loose connections or signs of arcing or overheating. Using arc fault (AFCI) breakers would be a good idea ($1000-1500). Rewiring the whole house to copper would probably be prohibitivly expensive ($6000+).
Does the house have 2-prong recepticals now? If wired with metalic conduit (EMT) you may be able to install 3-prong grounded recepticals using the conduit as the grounding conductor. If wired with 2-conductor Romex w/o a ground, you should pull new Romex with ground from the outlet back to the pannel--I would only do this where you really need a grounded outlet--computer/TV with surge suppressor, power tools, etc. but not just for lamps or vacuum cleaner.
Also plan to add some GFCI protection in wet locations... bathrooms, kitchen counter, outside, and of course basement and garage recepticals. This can be either individual GFCI outlets at point of use or GFCI breakers in your new pannel.
If you find aluminum wiring inside, at a minimum you should have every switch, receptical, light fixture, and junction box inspected for loose connections or signs of arcing or overheating. Using arc fault (AFCI) breakers would be a good idea ($1000-1500). Rewiring the whole house to copper would probably be prohibitivly expensive ($6000+).
Does the house have 2-prong recepticals now? If wired with metalic conduit (EMT) you may be able to install 3-prong grounded recepticals using the conduit as the grounding conductor. If wired with 2-conductor Romex w/o a ground, you should pull new Romex with ground from the outlet back to the pannel--I would only do this where you really need a grounded outlet--computer/TV with surge suppressor, power tools, etc. but not just for lamps or vacuum cleaner.
Also plan to add some GFCI protection in wet locations... bathrooms, kitchen counter, outside, and of course basement and garage recepticals. This can be either individual GFCI outlets at point of use or GFCI breakers in your new pannel.
Last edited:
nadogail
Well-known member
Unless your Realtor is an electrician, I would get an independent opinion. Your Realtor may have a commision depending on the answer to the question. What is he going to do? Ask the seller? another possibly biased answer.
Charles (in GA)
Well-known member
Only way to know for sure if the wiring is aluminum is to pull several outlets and switches and see what is attached to them.
I bought a house in '87 that was aluminum wired. It had baseboard heaters and they were copper wired, but all outlets and switches and ceiling lights were aluminum.
It was my first house, and the real estate agent had a home inspection done for me. I was there when he did it. Said that two outlets were wired backwards (neutral and hot reversed) and he could not fix it right away. Owners agreed for him to come back later and do this, they would pay.
Well, the guy returns, does the work, leaves. Later, as I've moving in, my parents stop by. Mom swears she hears "sizzling" in one of the rooms, dad and I poo-pooed her and they left. Later, I wondered, and pulled an outlet in that room. Found wire on one side of the receptacle burned about a foot up in the wall (house was built before co-alr receptacles were invented) I killed the circuit and set about pulling all the receptacles in the house. I found one more burned, oddly, the burned wire was on the UN-burned side of the receptacle. The burned side of the receptacle, had un-burned wire on it. This was one of the receptacles that the "home inspector" had swapped the wires on. He did this, and apparently didn't want to cause a lawsuit or issues, so he didn't say anything about it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Get this, the guy was a off duty city FIREMAN!!!!!!!!! He worked 7 days on, 7 days off, so he moonlighted as a home inspector.
I replaced all of the receptacles with co-alr type and used anti-corrosive paste on the connections. Then I set about re-wiring the house. Over the next couple of years I pulled out nearly all of the aluminum wire. I disclosed to the next owner which circuits still had aluminum wire and how I had installed the co-alr receptacles.
Charles
I bought a house in '87 that was aluminum wired. It had baseboard heaters and they were copper wired, but all outlets and switches and ceiling lights were aluminum.
It was my first house, and the real estate agent had a home inspection done for me. I was there when he did it. Said that two outlets were wired backwards (neutral and hot reversed) and he could not fix it right away. Owners agreed for him to come back later and do this, they would pay.
Well, the guy returns, does the work, leaves. Later, as I've moving in, my parents stop by. Mom swears she hears "sizzling" in one of the rooms, dad and I poo-pooed her and they left. Later, I wondered, and pulled an outlet in that room. Found wire on one side of the receptacle burned about a foot up in the wall (house was built before co-alr receptacles were invented) I killed the circuit and set about pulling all the receptacles in the house. I found one more burned, oddly, the burned wire was on the UN-burned side of the receptacle. The burned side of the receptacle, had un-burned wire on it. This was one of the receptacles that the "home inspector" had swapped the wires on. He did this, and apparently didn't want to cause a lawsuit or issues, so he didn't say anything about it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Get this, the guy was a off duty city FIREMAN!!!!!!!!! He worked 7 days on, 7 days off, so he moonlighted as a home inspector.
I replaced all of the receptacles with co-alr type and used anti-corrosive paste on the connections. Then I set about re-wiring the house. Over the next couple of years I pulled out nearly all of the aluminum wire. I disclosed to the next owner which circuits still had aluminum wire and how I had installed the co-alr receptacles.
Charles