ASL
The wiring inside your walls is designed to last a long time, but not forever, and it was installed for the electrical demands of the year your home was built. In older Orange County homes, that can mean ungrounded two-prong circuits, brittle insulation, overloaded circuits, aluminum branch wiring or years of amateur additions. A planned rewire replaces the old wiring with a safe, modern system sized for how you live today.
ASL Electric rewires homes across Orange County, from a few problem circuits to the whole house. We plan the work to minimize wall openings, protect your floors and furnishings, keep a working circuit where you need it each day, pull the permits, and coordinate drywall patching so you are not left with a mess. A rewire is often paired with a panel upgrade so the whole system is new and ready for the future.
Rewiring services
⚡Whole-home rewiring
Replacing the branch wiring throughout the home with new copper wiring, grounded outlets and properly sized circuits.
⚡Partial and room-by-room rewiring
Rewiring specific rooms or circuits, such as a kitchen, an addition or a problem area, often during a remodel.
⚡Aluminum wiring remediation
Replacing aluminum branch wiring with copper, or repairing connections with approved methods where a full rewire is not planned.
⚡Ungrounded circuit upgrades
Replacing two-prong, ungrounded circuits with grounded wiring for computers, appliances and safety.
⚡Correcting unsafe past work
Fixing amateur wiring, buried splices, undersized wire on large breakers and other hazards found during inspections or remodels.
⚡Rewire with panel upgrade
Pairing a rewire with a new panel or service upgrade so the entire system is new, labeled and ready for EVs and heat pumps.
Signs your home may need rewiring
Consider a rewiring evaluation if your home has any of these:
- Two-prong outlets throughout the house
- Aluminum branch wiring (common mid-1960s to mid-1970s)
- Brittle, cracked or cloth-covered wire insulation
- Frequent breaker trips on many circuits
- Lights that flicker or dim around the house
- Warm outlets, switch plates or burning smells
- Many extension cords and power strips in use
- Evidence of amateur wiring or buried splices
- A home inspector flagged the wiring during a sale
- You are planning a major remodel with walls open
Why aging wiring is worth addressing
Old wiring rarely fails all at once. Insulation becomes brittle, connections loosen, circuits are overloaded as more appliances are added, and each of these creates heat. Ungrounded circuits offer less protection for people and for electronics. A rewire removes these risks at the source, adds modern GFCI and AFCI protection where code requires it, and gives you enough circuits to stop relying on extension cords.
How we rewire a home
Evaluation and plan
We inspect the panel and a sample of outlets, switches and junction boxes, identify the wiring type and condition, and plan which circuits to replace and how to route new wire with the fewest openings.
Protect the home
We lay down floor protection, cover furnishings and set up so you can keep living in the home during the work in most cases.
Fish new wire
We run new wire through attics, crawl spaces and wall cavities, using small access openings instead of tearing out walls, then install new boxes and devices.
Inspect, test and patch
We pass the required inspections, test every circuit, and coordinate patching of access holes so the home is ready for paint.
Rewiring options
Targeted circuit replacement
Replace only the problem circuits, such as overloaded or damaged runs. Lowest cost, focused on the biggest risks.
Room by room
Rewire areas as you remodel them, spreading cost over time.
Whole-home rewire
Replace all branch wiring at once for a fully modern system and maximum peace of mind.
Rewire plus panel upgrade
A completely new electrical system, ready for EVs, heat pumps and modern appliances.
Can I stay in my home during a rewire?
In most cases, yes. We plan the work circuit by circuit, so the kitchen, a bathroom and the bedrooms have power at the end of each day, and we work through the home in phases. Single-story homes with attic access are usually the simplest; two-story homes and homes without attic access take more planning but are routinely done.
We will walk you through the plan, the schedule and what to expect each day before we start, so there are no surprises.
Rewiring and the age of your home
Wiring needs often follow the era of the house. Many homes from the 1950s and 1960s, common in Costa Mesa, Tustin and parts of Huntington Beach, may have ungrounded circuits and small electrical services. Homes built from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, including many in Laguna Hills, Laguna Woods, Mission Viejo and early Irvine villages, may have aluminum branch wiring. Older cottages in Laguna Beach and other coastal neighborhoods can have wiring from several different decades.
The only way to know is to look. A rewiring evaluation tells you what you have, what is safe, and what should be replaced first.
Selling or buying a home with old wiring
Older wiring often comes up during a home sale, through the inspection report or the buyer's insurer. Sellers can get ahead of it with an evaluation and targeted repairs; buyers can use our findings and pricing to plan or negotiate.
Either way, a clear, written scope from a licensed electrician turns vague concerns into real numbers.
What affects the cost of rewiring
Rewiring cost depends on the size of the home and number of circuits, single-story or multi-story construction, attic and crawl space access, wall and ceiling finishes such as plaster, the number of outlets, switches and fixtures, whether a panel upgrade is included, and permit and patching requirements. We provide a free evaluation and a detailed quote so you can choose the right scope.
How it works with ASL Electric
We inspect the wiring, panel and devices and explain what you have and what we recommend.
You get a clear scope, schedule and price, including options from targeted to whole-home.
We rewire in phases, pass inspections, test every circuit and coordinate patching.
Whole-Home Rewiring across Orange County
Rewiring requests across Orange County come mostly from homes built before the late 1970s. In Laguna Hills, which was subdivided in the early 1960s, and in Laguna Woods Village, built from 1964, aluminum branch wiring and original wiring are common topics. Mission Viejo, Lake Forest and Irvine's early villages have many homes from the late 1960s and 1970s, while Costa Mesa and Tustin have postwar homes from the 1950s and 1960s with small services and ungrounded circuits.
Searches for rewiring in Mission Viejo, Lake Forest, Irvine and Aliso Viejo show how many homeowners are thinking about it. Whether you are preparing to sell, just bought an older home, or want peace of mind, we will give you an honest evaluation of what your home needs, and what it does not.