Five things set most of the price: the size and number of stories of the house, how easy the attic and crawlspace are to reach, whether the walls are plaster or drywall, whether the panel is replaced at the same time, and whether the house is empty or still furnished while the work happens. Most rewires take 1–2 weeks, and the family can't stay in the house during the work. The timeline runs in phases, from walk-through and permit through rough-in, inspection, devices, final inspection and patching, and each phase has its own gate.
Why a rewire is priced by the house, not by the square foot
A whole-house rewire replaces the branch circuit wiring from the panel to every outlet, switch, light and appliance. In Portland it is usually done because a house still has knob-and-tube or another ungrounded system, or because decades of add-ons have left a tangle nobody can trace. About 38.9% of Portland dwellings were built before 1940, so this is not a rare job here.
The wire itself is a small part of the work. Most of the hours go into getting new cable from the panel to each device without tearing the house apart, and into putting the finish back afterwards. That is why two houses of the same square footage can be very different jobs: one has an open attic and a dry crawlspace, the other has a finished attic, a slab floor and plaster walls.
Below are the drivers, then the phases. We do not put day counts on the phases here, because the right number depends on your house, and we would rather give it to you in writing after the walk-through.
What moves the price of a rewire
- 1
Square footage and stories
More floor area means more circuits, more devices and longer runs. A second story means cable has to travel between floors, and the middle floor of a three-story house is the hardest to reach from either the attic or the crawlspace.
- 2
Attic and crawlspace access
An open attic and a crawlspace you can move through: most runs go through them and the walls stay closed. A finished attic, a low crawlspace or a slab: more runs go through the walls, which means more openings and more patching.
- 3
Plaster or drywall
Plaster and lath is harder to cut cleanly, harder to patch invisibly and more likely to crack around an opening. Drywall cuts and patches quickly. Most Portland houses built before 1940 have plaster in the original rooms.
- 4
Panel replaced at the same time
A rewire lands every new circuit in the panel. If the panel is old, undersized or a flagged brand, replacing it now avoids doing the job twice, but it adds the service work, the utility disconnect and reconnect, and the grounding update.
- 5
Furnished or empty
The family can't stay in the house during a whole-house rewire. An empty house lets us open what we need and work room to room without moving anything; working around furniture and belongings takes longer.
- 6
Number of devices
Every outlet, switch, light and hard-wired appliance is a box, a cable and a termination. Adding outlets to bring rooms up to current spacing, or adding dedicated circuits for the kitchen, laundry and bathrooms, adds to the count.
- 7
Patching and finish
Who patches the openings, us or your painter, and to what level. A rough patch ready for paint is one scope; skim-coated plaster matched to the existing texture is another.
Plaster walls or drywall
Plaster and lath
Common in Portland houses built before 1940. Cutting an opening means going through a hard finish coat, a brown coat and wood lath, and the surrounding plaster can crack or come away from the lath. We keep openings few and small, fish cable from the attic and crawlspace wherever possible, and agree the patching with you before the first cut.
Drywall
Common from the 1950s on and in any remodeled room. Openings are quick to cut and quick to patch, so we can open more of the wall where it saves fishing time. Patching to a paint-ready finish is routine.
Many Portland houses are both: plaster in the original rooms and drywall in the remodeled kitchen and bathroom. The quote reflects the mix.
The timeline, in phases
- 1
Walk-through and estimate
We look at the panel, the attic, the crawlspace and a sample of devices, count circuits, and give you a written estimate before any work begins.
- 2
Permit
We pull the electrical permit with Portland Permitting & Development. In Oregon the person performing the work pulls the permit, so a hired contractor must buy it.
- 3
Rough-in
New cable is run from the panel to every box, and new boxes are set. Nothing is connected yet. This is the phase with the most openings and the most noise.
- 4
Rough-in inspection
A city inspector checks the cable runs, boxes and supports while they are still visible. Walls are not closed until this passes.
- 5
Devices and panel
Outlets, switches, lights and appliances are connected; circuits are landed and labeled in the panel. If the panel or service is being replaced, the utility disconnect and reconnect happen in this phase.
- 6
Final inspection
The inspector tests the finished system. The permit is finaled and stays with the property record.
- 7
Patching
Openings are closed and finished to the level agreed in the quote. Paint is usually yours or your painter's.
How long a whole-house rewire usually takes
Most whole-house rewires take 1–2 weeks. Where yours falls depends mainly on the size of the house: more rooms mean more circuits, more runs and more devices to connect. We give you the expected length in writing with the estimate.
Your family can't stay in the house while the work happens, so plan somewhere else to live for those 1–2 weeks.
A rewire is one of our bigger jobs, so we give you a start date with your written estimate. Before it starts we pull the permit, and you have time to arrange where you will stay.
Permit and inspections in Portland
Every rewire in Portland is permitted and inspected twice.
A finaled rewire permit is a record the next buyer's inspector can find. Knob-and-tube with no permit history is the reverse.
Get a written rewire estimate
PWR Pro Electric rewires houses across Portland and the greater Portland metro. Written estimate first, permit pulled by us, both inspections included. Call 503-984-1097. Oregon CCB #259813.
Book a Rewire Walk-Through