What you should NEVER do if you decided to replace the old Knob and Tube wiring in your house.
Well, never use a handyman, a renovator, or even a general contractor to upgrade, remove, or repair your wiring. It's like hiring them to place ticking fire bombs into your walls and ceiling
Most handymen and even some electricians would do the job faster by cheating here and there. A DIYourselfer for example, would cut off and change just the exposed ends of the K&T or splice wires without a junction box. Temptation is very strong and there is no risk to lose "the handyman's license"
The Electrical Code states that all splicing, termination, and connection of wires should be done inside the closed boxes. Connecting two or more wires without one junction box would save a handyman from one hour to three hours and instantly put from $30 to $90 into his pocket.
What if your rewiring crew did not install 20 boxes? It's so easy to hide and very difficult to detect, unless you watched them closely. This and other tricks would save such renovators 50% - 80% of the time and create an even higher risk of the fire than before. You would end up with the incorrectly installed new wiring, which is much more dangerous than the original knob and tube
That is why a handyman, renovator, general contractor, and even a licensed electrician are neither allowed to do any electrical work, nor Knob and Tube replacement in Toronto and/or in Ontario
Only a registered with the ESA/ECRA Electrical Contractor and ironically you, the owner/occupant of a single dwelling unit (if it's also a fully detached house) could legally handle the electrical work in Ontario
You would lose the insurance policy, put yourself and others at risk of fire if you allowed a handyman or even a general contractor to do the wiring. It is considered a form of insurance fraud. If found guilty you can face severe consequences including huge fines
Electrical Safety Authority (the ESA) would order you to do the wiring correctly or cut off the house power. And you would have to endure again all the hardships of the second renovation/rewiring
Always check the name and picture against Electrical Contractor & driver licenses and call the ESA licensure in Toronto at 1-877 372-7233 then 1, then 3 to verify the contractor's license
It is obvious now that a licensed and honest electrical contractor could not compete in price with such handymen. But, of course you get what you pay for at the end of the day
The very least you should do after such wiring upgrade is invite an Electrical Contractor for advice, inspection and consultation on how to do knob and tube rewiring correctly. And do not forget to get a permit and pass the ESA inspection. You would pay a little extra and save yourself from those ticking bombs
Most handymen and even some electricians would do the job faster by cheating here and there. A DIYourselfer for example, would cut off and change just the exposed ends of the K&T or splice wires without a junction box. Temptation is very strong and there is no risk to lose "the handyman's license"
The Electrical Code states that all splicing, termination, and connection of wires should be done inside the closed boxes. Connecting two or more wires without one junction box would save a handyman from one hour to three hours and instantly put from $30 to $90 into his pocket.
What if your rewiring crew did not install 20 boxes? It's so easy to hide and very difficult to detect, unless you watched them closely. This and other tricks would save such renovators 50% - 80% of the time and create an even higher risk of the fire than before. You would end up with the incorrectly installed new wiring, which is much more dangerous than the original knob and tube
That is why a handyman, renovator, general contractor, and even a licensed electrician are neither allowed to do any electrical work, nor Knob and Tube replacement in Toronto and/or in Ontario
Only a registered with the ESA/ECRA Electrical Contractor and ironically you, the owner/occupant of a single dwelling unit (if it's also a fully detached house) could legally handle the electrical work in Ontario
You would lose the insurance policy, put yourself and others at risk of fire if you allowed a handyman or even a general contractor to do the wiring. It is considered a form of insurance fraud. If found guilty you can face severe consequences including huge fines
Electrical Safety Authority (the ESA) would order you to do the wiring correctly or cut off the house power. And you would have to endure again all the hardships of the second renovation/rewiring
Always check the name and picture against Electrical Contractor & driver licenses and call the ESA licensure in Toronto at 1-877 372-7233 then 1, then 3 to verify the contractor's license
It is obvious now that a licensed and honest electrical contractor could not compete in price with such handymen. But, of course you get what you pay for at the end of the day
The very least you should do after such wiring upgrade is invite an Electrical Contractor for advice, inspection and consultation on how to do knob and tube rewiring correctly. And do not forget to get a permit and pass the ESA inspection. You would pay a little extra and save yourself from those ticking bombs
torontoknobandtubereplace@gmail.com
