Knob and tube replacement service areas

Other Boston neighborhoods

Every Boston neighborhood shares the same permit office, fee formula and utility, so these sections point to the area page whose buildings match. Housing shares are from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey; permit counts are from the City of Boston's open data and undercount knob and tube, because many descriptions say only "rewire".

South Boston

Nearly half of South Boston's housing (46.5%) was built before 1940, and 35.4% of units sit in three- and four-unit buildings. The Boston Preservation Alliance notes that South Boston's triple-deckers are mostly flat-roofed, which matters for wiring: with no walk-in attic, new cable for the top floor can't simply drop from above, so ceilings take more openings. The triple-decker page covers how that work is staged.

East Boston

East Boston has the same three-decker profile as Dorchester: 53.2% of homes built before 1940 and 40.0% of units in three- and four-unit buildings. Ten electrical permits between November 2021 and October 2026 described a rewire. The Dorchester page walks through a multi-meter job in an occupied wood-frame building, which is the usual shape of the work here too.

Roxbury and Mission Hill

In ZIP 02119, 16 of 97 electrical permits from November 2021 to October 2026 described a rewire, the highest share in the city. Two architectural conservation districts sit here: Highland Park, designated in 2022, and the Mission Hill Triangle, where front, side and visible rooftop work is reviewed and rear elevations are not. Inside either district, ask about design review before any visible exterior electrical work, such as a new meter or service mast; the historic district guide explains the order.

Mattapan

The Boston Preservation Alliance ties the triple-decker to the trolley lines that ran into Mattapan, Roxbury and Dorchester, and 40.9% of Mattapan's housing predates 1940. Ten permits in the five years to October 2026 described a rewire. Where the house is a triple-decker, the work runs as it does in Dorchester, floor by floor with the shared stair lighting as its own scope; see the Dorchester page.

Hyde Park

Hyde Park has the city's highest share of 1940s housing (9.8%) on top of 32.7% built before 1940, and 36.4% of its homes are detached. Houses wired across those decades can carry knob and tube, cloth-sheathed cable and later cable in the same walls, which is the subject of the mixed wiring guide. The Jamaica Plain, Roslindale and West Roxbury page covers detached houses with partial updates.

Brighton and Allston

Most housing here is in larger buildings: 56.8% of Brighton's units and 68.9% of Allston's are in buildings of five or more, so the work is often one unit at a time. Boston's open data shows six knob and tube permits in Brighton and two in Allston since 2010. In Brighton's Aberdeen Architectural Conservation District, all exterior work visible from a public way is reviewed, including a new meter or mast where it can be seen. See condos and multi-family buildings.

Charlestown

Half of Charlestown's housing (50.3%) was built before 1940, 23.8% of units are in three- and four-unit buildings, and seven permits in the five years to October 2026 described a rewire. The Boston Landmarks Commission lists Monument Square as a study for a landmark district, not a designated one. The Back Bay, Beacon Hill and South End page covers rewiring attached houses and converted units.

Cities just outside the area pages

Each of these sets its own wire office and fees, which are confirmed per address. The housing is old enough that knob and tube is a fair question.

Quincy

Quincy is National Grid territory, like Medford and Malden, so a rewire that includes a service upgrade follows National Grid's service request process rather than Eversource's. Its housing is younger than the inner core's, with 37.1% built before 1940, and 40.5% of units in buildings of five or more. The city's electrical fees are set in its municipal code. The Medford and Malden page explains the National Grid steps.

Arlington

Arlington sits next to Belmont but buys its power from Eversource, so Mass Save's knob and tube help works there the usual way. Of its housing, 47.1% was built before 1940 and 23.9% of units are in two-family houses, the same pre-war two-family stock the Belmont page describes. The town's wiring inspector issues the permit.

Everett and Chelsea

Both cities are Eversource territory with old, dense housing: 53.3% of Everett's homes and 49.6% of Chelsea's were built before 1940, and about 27% of units in each are in three- and four-unit buildings. Their permit rules haven't been confirmed for this site, so the permit path is checked per address. The triple-decker page covers the building type.