Knob and tube insurance and quote checklist

For an insurer or a buyer: what to gather

No Massachusetts regulator sets a knob and tube rule for insurers, so each carrier's own request is the standard the work has to meet. The same papers answer a buyer, a lender or a home inspector.

• The insurer's request in writing, word for word: replacement, an electrician's letter, or proof that no knob and tube remains in service.
• Any deadline the carrier has given, and where the documents should be sent.
• Whether a licensed electrician's written findings will satisfy the request, and what they need to say.
• The page of the home inspection report that mentions knob and tube. "Observed" means the wiring method was seen, not how much of it is still live.
• Earlier permits or electricians' invoices for any past rewiring, from the seller or the house files.
• If the policy is with the Massachusetts FAIR Plan (MPIUA): its inspection includes an interior review of whether the electrical systems are safely arranged.
• For a purchase: the electrician's findings and written scope before negotiating, so any credit or repair rests on a scope rather than a guess.

What a written scope should list

Two quotes can only be compared when each one says exactly what it covers. A complete scope for a Boston-area rewire names each of these.

• Each new circuit, by floor or unit, and the rooms it feeds.
• Which old runs will be disconnected and left in the walls, and which reachable attic and basement runs will be removed.
• Every planned opening in walls or ceilings, plus a separate patching line saying who closes each one and to what finish.
• Whether the panel or service changes, and who coordinates with the utility: Eversource, National Grid or Belmont Light.
• Arc-fault protection on every new 120 volt, 10, 15 and 20 amp branch circuit supplying outlets or devices in a dwelling unit, and ground-fault protection within 6 feet of a sink or inside a sink cabinet (527 CMR 12.00).
• Lead-safe practices where the house was built before 1978 and more than six square feet of painted surface in a room will be disturbed (454 CMR 22.00).
• The permit, the rough-in inspection before any wall is closed, and the final inspection.
• The power-off plan: how long each area is without power, and how the boiler or furnace controls stay powered.
• In a two- or three-family building: the order of the units, notice to each household, and how the common hallway and stair lighting will be fed.
• What you receive at the end: a labeled panel schedule and a written summary that no knob and tube remains in service.

Mass Save insulation barrier steps

A Mass Save Home Energy Assessment that finds knob and tube stops wall and attic insulation until a licensed electrician addresses the wiring. Work through these in order; doing them out of order can cost you an incentive.

• Keep the assessment report that lists the recommended insulation or air sealing and notes the knob and tube.
• Ask the program, in writing, what the electrician must certify for your house. The standard asks that the areas where work is recommended be free of active knob and tube.
• Check eligibility before signing a contract: the enhanced barrier incentive for moderate-income households in one- to four-unit homes needs income verification, and the HEAT Loan's 0% financing for barrier work is for homeowners with a residential account from a Mass Save sponsor.
• Get a signed proposal from a licensed electrician before work starts. The HEAT Loan asks for it on contractor letterhead.
• After the work, collect the signed completion form, the paid invoice and the electrician's written certification for the work areas. The HEAT Loan also requires a verification inspection.
• Then book the insulation and finish the rest of the recommended weatherization.
• In Belmont and other municipal-light towns, Mass Save's electric offers don't apply. A home heated with natural gas from a Mass Save sponsor may still qualify, so confirm with the program first.

Source: Mass Save HEAT Loan.

Boston permit and inspection records

In Boston, Inspectional Services issues the electrical permit and only a licensed contractor can apply for it. Cambridge, Somerville and the other cities and towns have their own wire offices; the records worth keeping are the same.

• The permit, issued before any work began. Boston Inspectional Services warns that starting early can mean double the permit cost or a code violation.
• The name of the licensed contractor on the permit application.
• The rough-in inspection, passed before any wall or ceiling was closed. The state code allows up to 72 hours after notice for it, weekends and holidays excluded.
• The final inspection that closes the permit. In Boston the licensed contractor has to be on site for it.
• If the service or meter changed, the utility's confirmation of the new service.
• Outside Boston, the record from that city's or town's own wire office. Ask the contractor which office issued the permit.
• The contractor's written summary: circuits replaced, runs left disconnected in place, and anything that could not be reached or verified.

Source: Boston Inspectional Services, electrical permit.

Questions for comparing quotes

Ask every contractor the same questions and write the answers beside each quote. Compare the answers before the totals.

• Does the price cover every live knob and tube circuit, or only those in certain rooms?
• How were the circuits traced, and what could not be reached or verified?
• What happens to the old wiring: disconnected in place, or removed where it can be reached?
• How many openings, where, and who patches them to what finish? Is the patching in this price?
• Does the panel or service change, and is the utility's part included or separate?
• Are the permit fee and both inspections included?
• How long will each area be without power, and how will the heating system stay on?
• In a house built before 1978, are lead-safe practices included wherever the openings need them?
• What documents come at the end, and will they answer the insurer's or Mass Save's request as written?
• Which licensed electrician will pull the permit?

Fill in before you call

A few facts make the first conversation far more useful.

• Property address and ZIP
• Building type and number of units
• Year built (approximate)
• Who flagged the wiring, and when
• Insurer or buyer request (exact words) and any date
• Mass Save assessment: date and areas listed
• Electric utility: Eversource, National Grid or Belmont Light
• Attic access: walkable, tight, or none
• Basement ceiling: open or finished
• Panel: fuses or breakers
• Anything already rewired, and when