Cost of a Whole‑Home Rewiring in Iowa

From increasing home value to eliminating fire hazards, there are various reasons why you might want to rewire your home. Generally, once you’ve experienced multiple blown fuses, flickering lights, or hot electrical plates, it’s a good idea to look into a whole-home rewiring.

The average cost for rewiring a home in Iowa ranges from $8,000 to $30,000+. This wide potential cost range is due to multiple factors that change from home to home:

We’ll break down how these factors influence your total installation costs. While we cannot give you an exact price estimate without personally evaluating your home, you’ll be able to see which side of the price spectrum you will be on in order to help budget your project.

The larger a home is, the more labor time and materials it will cost to rewire.

For example, a two-story home will cost more for a rewiring job than a one-story home. More planning is needed and more time is needed to run the wiring between floors. Drywall repairs also need to be factored into the cost as larger homes need additional access holes to reach the wiring. Most electrical contractors do not complete drywall repairs as well, so you will need to hire a separate contractor for them.

However, square footage isn’t the only determining factor. For example, a large home with easily accessible wiring will be more cost efficient to rewire compared to a large old home that requires more fragile handling.

If your home was built before the 1930s, it most likely used the first standardized form of electrical wiring in Iowa called the “knob and tube method.” This type of wiring is considered unsafe and needs a complete replacement, increasing the project cost since the rewiring process is tedious and more time-consuming than other methods.

NOTE: You might be eligible for a special project through Iowa’s government to receive funds up to $15,000 to eliminate knob and tube wiring in homes.

Depending on how easy it is for an electrician to access your home’s wiring, the cost of rewiring will vary. More accessible electrical wiring that doesn’t require cutting into ceilings or walls will take less time to complete, therefore reducing labor costs.

Older homes generally have less accessible electrical wiring. Electricians will have to use more labor-intensive rewiring methods to access the wiring while preserving the home’s antiquity, which increases project costs.

Extensive rewiring throughout a home requires the installation of additional switches and outlets or legacy fuse box replacements, which will increase the overall replacement cost.

You may also need an upgraded electrical panel. Older homes tend to have electrical panels that provide less than 100 amps. If that’s the case for your home, you’ll likely need an upgrade as lower than 100 amps cannot support a modern household’s electrical needs and can overheat and become a fire hazard. The National Electrical Code (NEC) states that it’s best for contemporary homes to have a 150-amp or 200-amp electrical panel to provide full power for electronics and appliances.

Upgrading your electrical panel will provide the increased power supply needed to accommodate the rewiring, ensuring that you get the most out of your new wires.

More experienced and trained electricians charge more for their replacement services. Their skill reduces the likelihood of paying for repeat work as they will replace the wiring correctly the first time around.

You can find a high-quality electrician in the Des Moines Metro area by looking for one that:

• Provides written upfront, flat-rate quotes
• Has an electrical license in Iowa
• Has thousands of 5-star customer reviews
• Provides labor warranties and satisfaction guarantees on their work