Compare rewiring quotes on scope before price. Line them up on the same points: which circuits are replaced, what happens to the old runs, how many openings are needed and who closes them, whether the permit and inspections are included, what protection and panel work come with it, and what records you get at the end. Only then are the totals measuring the same job. Decker Boston Knob and Tube arranges knob and tube replacement across Boston and nearby cities, carried out by licensed and insured electricians, with a written scope that separates the electrical work from the patching.
Homeowners report it can take a lot of calls to get more than one quote for knob and tube work. Once you have two or three, this guide is the checklist.
Why two quotes for one house differ
Quotes usually differ because they describe different work, not because one contractor is overcharging. Five things account for most of the gap.
- How much of the wiring is included. One quote replaces every live old circuit; another replaces what’s visible in the basement and attic.
- Patching. One includes closing every opening to a paint-ready finish; another leaves holes for someone else.
- The panel. One includes a new panel or service; another assumes the existing panel can take the new circuits.
- New circuits and outlets. One adds kitchen circuits and outlets; another replaces like for like.
- Lead-safe work. In a pre-1978 house, one plans openings and containment for the state’s lead-safe rules; another doesn’t mention them.
Each of these can move a price by thousands. The cost guide shows how much each driver weighs.
The lines a complete quote covers
Use this as a side-by-side checklist. A quote that leaves a line blank isn’t necessarily wrong, but you should know what the blank means.
| Line | What a complete quote says | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Circuits replaced | Each circuit, the rooms it serves and what it’s made of (circuit tracing) | Shows whether every active knob and tube circuit is included |
| Old wiring | Which runs are disconnected and left in walls, which are removed from reachable attics and basements | Avoids surprises about what stays behind |
| Verification | How the electrician proves no old circuit is still connected through a hidden splice | Underpins the “no knob and tube in service” summary |
| New circuits and devices | Added circuits, outlets, switches and fixtures, and any relocated ones | Rewiring is the cheapest moment to add them |
| Protection | Arc-fault breakers on new circuits, ground-fault protection near sinks, tamper-resistant receptacles where required (AFCI and GFCI guide) | Massachusetts code requires them on new work |
| Panel and service | Whether the panel stays, is replaced, or the service is upgraded, and who files the utility request (panel upgrades) | Panel work is a separate scope with its own range |
| Openings | Approximate number and location of access openings per room | Drives patching cost and the lead-safe threshold |
| Patching and finish | Who closes each opening, and to what finish: rough patch, paint-ready or painted (plaster wall rewiring) | The most common gap between quotes |
| Lead-safe work | Whether openings exceed six square feet of painted surface per room in a pre-1978 house, and how that’s handled (lead paint guide) | Changes setup, containment and cost |
| Permit and inspections | Permit filed by a licensed electrician, fee included, rough-in and final inspections | Walls can’t close until the rough-in is inspected |
| Schedule | Areas in order, power-off windows, where inspections fall (living at home guide) | Shapes life at home during the work |
| Records | Labeled panel schedule, written summary of what was replaced, closed permit | What an insurer, buyer or Mass Save will ask for |
What “remove all knob and tube” should mean
This is the line most worth reading twice. The phrase can describe two very different jobs.
Visible-only versus every live circuit
Replacing the runs in an open basement and attic is quicker and cheaper than replacing every live circuit, including the ones that only run through finished walls. Electricians on a trade forum discussed exactly this: a homeowner who needed knob and tube gone for insurance wanted only the basement runs replaced, and the replies warned that a claim could be denied if the insurer had been told all of it was gone. A quote should say which it is.
Removed versus disconnected
Old runs inside finished walls are normally disconnected at both ends and left in place, because pulling them out would mean opening the plaster. Runs in a reachable attic or basement are taken out. Homeowners report confusion on exactly this point, from being told every unused run must come out to finding dead knob and tube left in place to save money. Writing it down settles it. The removal service explains both.
Red flags
Most differences between quotes are honest. A few things deserve a direct question before you sign.
- No circuit list. Without one, neither side can say later what was included. Homeowners report quotes that misread the wiring altogether.
- No mention of patching. Ask who closes the openings and to what finish. Homeowners report ceilings left damaged after otherwise finished work.
- No permit. In Boston only a licensed contractor can file the electrical permit, and starting before it’s issued can mean double the permit cost. The permit guide covers the rules.
- Promises nobody can keep. No contractor can guarantee an insurer will accept the house, or that no wall will be opened.
- A price with no visit. A rewiring price set without tracing the circuits is a guess about what’s live.
Two illustrative quotes for the same house
This example is illustrative; no house was priced to write it. Both quotes are for a two-story plaster house with most circuits still on knob and tube.
| Quote A | Quote B | |
|---|---|---|
| Circuits | Every live old circuit, listed by room | “Replace knob and tube,” no list |
| Old runs | Attic and basement runs removed; wall runs disconnected | Not stated |
| Panel | New panel with space for arc-fault breakers | Existing panel reused |
| Openings and patching | Openings listed per room; closed to paint-ready | “Patching by others” |
| Permit | Included, with both inspections | Not mentioned |
| Records | Panel schedule and written summary | Not mentioned |
Quote B will very likely be lower. It may also be a smaller job with the expensive parts left for later. Ask Quote B’s contractor to fill in each blank, then compare again. The partial vs full guide helps if one quote really is a partial scope.
Price context to check a quote against
A whole-house replacement falls in a typical Boston-area budgeting range of $8,000 to $25,000 or more; a panel or service upgrade alongside it falls in a typical Massachusetts range of $3,000 to $6,500. Labor is part of why the Boston numbers run high: electricians in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro earn a mean $40.08 an hour against $34.37 nationally, about 17% more, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That figure is a wage, not a billing rate: what a contractor bills per hour also has to cover insurance, licensing, vehicles and overhead. The cost estimator shows how a house’s details move the range.
When a program is paying part of it
If a Mass Save barrier incentive, the HEAT Loan or a Boston Home Center loan is involved, the quote has to fit the program, and the order of steps matters.
- Mass Save enhanced barrier incentive: up to $7,000 of eligible removal costs for moderate-income households, working from a licensed electrician’s signed proposal.
- HEAT Loan: 0% financing for pre-weatherization barriers after a Home Energy Assessment; work finished before authorization isn’t covered.
- Boston Home Center: work done before approval isn’t reimbursed.
Contractors arranged through this site can supply the licensed-electrician proposal and completion documents these programs ask for. The grants guide covers eligibility, and the insulation barrier service covers the certification Mass Save needs.
If you have quotes in hand, or want a written scope to compare against them, call Decker Boston Knob and Tube at (617) 405-3599 or ask for an estimate.