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Types of wiring: what if your home has aluminum or knob and tube?
Choose NM cable (copper) for replacing aluminum branch circuit wiring, since CPSC says copper wire eliminates the primary cause of the hazards, the aluminum wire itself; aluminum branch wiring for staying in place only with one of the three permanent repair methods CPSC approves; knob and tube for wall and ceiling cavities left open, as they were meant to be so excess heat from the wiring could quickly dissipate (Indiana DNR).
The right choice depends on which of the three is in your walls today, the permanent repair methods CPSC approves for aluminum connections, and whether insulation work is planned around knob and tube.
| Type | Best for | Main advantages | Main drawbacks |
|---|---|---|---|
| NM cable (copper) | replacing aluminum branch circuit wiring, since CPSC says copper wire eliminates the primary cause of the hazards, the aluminum wire itself | CPSC: in a copper rewire, the existing aluminum wire could be abandoned inside the walls | CPSC: for many homes, rewiring with copper is impractical and/or prohibitively expensive |
| Aluminum branch wiring | staying in place only with one of the three permanent repair methods CPSC approves | no official source names one | CPSC survey: homes built before 1972 and wired with aluminum were 55 times more likely to have one or more wire connections at outlets reach fire hazard conditions than homes wired with copper; CPSC: failing aluminum-wired connections seldom give easily detected warning signs; CPSC staff does not count twist-on connector pigtails or CO/ALR devices as an acceptable permanent repair |
| Knob and tube | wall and ceiling cavities left open, as they were meant to be so excess heat from the wiring could quickly dissipate (Indiana DNR) | no official source names one | Indiana DNR: the main issue with existing knob and tube is the potential for electrical overloading; Indiana DNR: its cloth, rubber and paper insulation degrades and becomes brittle with age; One city utility (Tacoma Power) requires an electrician's inspection of the wiring before new insulation goes in |
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MCP connector · REST API · plain HTMLHand any of these to your assistant and it can help you write this job's request; you send the request yourself. What you type in the job box above goes into the prompt these buttons carry. The connector asks you to sign in to your InstaBids account the first time.
- MCP connector URL
https://instabids.ai/api/agent/mcp - Agent API (OpenAPI)
https://instabids.ai/openapi.json - Start-request link
https://instabids.ai/intake?from=options-wiring&utm_source=us&utm_medium=page&utm_campaign=options&page_type=options#job=home%20rewiring - Prompt for any AI, with your job
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- GeminiCopies the prompt, then opens
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Sources for the facts on this page
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Publication 516 Repairing Aluminum Wiring (June 2011), government, read 17 October 2026.
- Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation & Archaeology, Preservation at the Crossroads newsletter, Lighting It Up (undated), government, read 17 October 2026.
- Tacoma Power (City of Tacoma Department of Public Utilities), Knob & Tube Wiring Inspection Requirements, Form 3504 rev. 2/2018, government, read 17 October 2026.