The older systems with 2-prong outlets are usually grounded. They often have a metal tube that the wires run through and those are tied in to various points in the house that are connected to ground. Lots of people spend tons of money having their entire house rewired needlessly because they don't understand this. You probably would need a heavy up if not much work has been done. You can buy an device at Home Depot that tells you whether each outlet is wired correctly or not. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Commercial-Electric-GFCI-Outlet-Circuit-Analyzer-Tester-CE-GFI6500/305286301?MERCH=REC-_-pipsem-_-206212329-_-305286301-_-N&#product-overview

Bill Hyman. Honest guy. Reasonable prices. "VOTED BEST Silver Spring Electrical Contractor - Electrician | Electrical Contractor | Silver Spring MD | 301-622-1777" https://hymanelectric.com

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yi Electric in Silver Spring. Reasonably priced and he always cleans up after himself.

Sorry, YC. Stupid autocorrect.

2nd YC. They’ve done a few small jobs for me and one bigger one and I appreciate that they always clean up whatever mess they make after going next the drywall and etc.

Dumb question: if electricians have to cut holes in the wall to add outlets, etc. can you pay them to repatch dry wall? Or that’s a task for someone else?

Our electrician could do it, but he said he was bad at drywall so we had a GC/painter do the drywall work.

We also have a 1930s colonial and did not fully rewire either. We got 3 bids and ended up going with Hawkins Electric. We paid around $13k for a ton of work including: heavy up (~$4k); added recessed lighting on 2 floors (kitchen, living room, 3 bedrooms, hallway); replaced non-grounded outlets with grounded outlets; evaluated and/or replaced cloth-wrapped or other incorrect wiring when encountered; added exhaust fans in 3 bathrooms; added smoke detectors throughout the house on 4 floors; replaced every light fixture/fan in the house (purchased separately).

I really recommend getting multiple bids. Part of it is price and part of it is getting someone you trust and don't mind working with. I really needed someone who knew what they were doing, could communicate well, and wasn't a condescending jerk. That was probably less about the company and more about the individual electrician who was available to do the work. When we ran into situations where you could do X or Y, I needed someone who could explain it to me in a way I could understand and not make me feel like a moron, and who I could trust to give me an honest, safety-conscious and cost-conscious opinion on which way to go.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yi Electric in Silver Spring. Reasonably priced and he always cleans up after himself.

Sorry, YC. Stupid autocorrect.

2nd YC. They’ve done a few small jobs for me and one bigger one and I appreciate that they always clean up whatever mess they make after going next the drywall and etc.

Dumb question: if electricians have to cut holes in the wall to add outlets, etc. can you pay them to repatch dry wall? Or that’s a task for someone else?

Great stories friends, it was interesting to read this. I had the same situation this fall, I bought a swanky house outside of St. louis with original electrical wiring and I restored quite a lot there . I didn't know anything myself, and I asked for help from my own brother, who understands this path much better than I do. We've been looking for about a week for a service that can do what we want, and my brother's colleague recommended us electrician st louis mo and we got it done in a week
It was not very expensive, relative to the prices in the area, and we expected to pay a lot, but in the end we also saved.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yi Electric in Silver Spring. Reasonably priced and he always cleans up after himself.

Sorry, YC. Stupid autocorrect.

2nd YC. They’ve done a few small jobs for me and one bigger one and I appreciate that they always clean up whatever mess they make after going next the drywall and etc.

When does a house need to be rewired? Ours is a 1940s colonial and the electricians always give me a ‘on the one hand on the other hand’ type answers when I ask.

Anonymous wrote:Yi Electric in Silver Spring. Reasonably priced and he always cleans up after himself.

Sorry, YC. Stupid autocorrect.

Yi Electric in Silver Spring. Reasonably priced and he always cleans up after himself.

i think we used Wilcox too and were very happy. we have a 1927 home in Chevy Chase, never renovated. it was a few years ago (at least 5 or 6) and we spent around 2500. we did a heavy up and a new electric box. we also ask the electrician to look at everything and fix what needed to be fixed. he found some things that needed to be grounded in the basement, made the electric outlets in the two bathroom safe, same for one under the sink that had electric wires out and was open (?!). we asked the electrician if we needed to rewire the house and he said no. we were very happy and i will call them again if we need help. we got the name at that time from a friend living in the same area who had had electrical work done and was happy. i feel they did work that was needed, charged a reasonable price and did not try to make us do unnecessary work