Buying or selling, and the report says knob and tube?
Now the clock is running. At Conflux Cincinnati Knob and Tube we assess and replace knob and tube before closing on homes in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, for buyers and sellers alike, inside the contract’s dates.
A home inspector’s job is to notice the wiring, so “knob and tube observed” usually arrives with a referral and little else. The report can’t say how much is live, what replacing it takes, or what that is worth in a negotiation. We answer that with a circuit trace and a written scope.
How fast can we get in?
Your contract’s inspection period sets the deadline, so we work inside it. Its length and what you can ask for are contract terms, so your agent or attorney is the place for those questions.
- Day one of the finding: send the inspection page, the address and the key contract dates.
- Access: the listing agent arranges entry, with the attic hatch and basement reachable and the power on.
- Assessment: we trace the circuits at the panel and devices without opening walls.
- Written scope: we send the circuit list, its limits and a line-by-line price to whoever booked it.
If the house is vacant, confirm the utilities are on before the visit. We need live circuits to test.
What do we check on the visit?
We trace every K&T circuit to its fuse or breaker, check fuse sizes against the wire, follow the attic and basement runs, and confirm live or dead at both ends of each accessible run.
Because the house belongs to someone else, we open nothing. Our report says which findings we verified and which we inferred, and it counts the openings a replacement would likely need per room. You can also book the same visit as a knob and tube inspection.
How do you turn it into a credit or repair request?
Use line items. Our scope lists each circuit, what replacing it involves, and its price, with required items kept apart from optional upgrades such as added outlets or a bigger service.
| Line | Kind | Why it is separate |
|---|---|---|
| Live K&T circuits | Required | The core of any insurer’s or lender’s question |
| Dead runs to disconnect and record | Required | Proves nothing old is still connected |
| Panel or fuse box change | Depends | Required only if the panel cannot take the new circuits |
| Added receptacles and circuits | Optional | A buyer’s upgrade, not a defect |
| Patching after openings | Stated | Included by us or left patch-ready for a plasterer |
The table shows how a scope is organized, not prices from any job. Negotiating line by line is easier than arguing over one total, and the guide to comparing rewiring quotes shows how to read two scopes side by side.
What if it’s in most of the house?
Buyers sometimes learn at inspection that K&T feeds two-thirds of the house or more. At that extent, a scope for a whole-house rewire is usually more useful than pricing circuits one by one, because one project needs one permit and one set of openings.
It also changes the timing question. A carrier may not wait for a buyer to finish a large job after closing, so the insurer’s answer belongs in the decision before the inspection period ends.
Will your lender or insurer care?
Some will. Some loan programs and lenders set conditions on electrical hazards. When an appraisal or a loan commitment names the wiring, the condition is in writing, and we match the scope to its wording rather than to a general idea of “fixed”.
Homeowners report a VA purchase that could not close until the K&T was addressed, and buyers asking whether a conventional loan is possible at all. The guide to K&T and mortgages covers what lenders look for.
Call your insurer before the contingency ends
Closing usually needs a homeowners policy in place, and a carrier’s answer can decide whether the deal holds. Cincinnati buyers report brokers who could find no carrier for a house with active K&T. Ask early, with the inspection page in hand; replacement for insurance covers matching work to a carrier’s letter.
Selling? Should you fix it first?
A seller can assess before listing, replace before listing, or wait for a buyer’s request. Each path is easier with a written circuit list, because it replaces guesses with facts on both sides of the table.
Ohio’s Residential Property Disclosure Form asks sellers about known current or previous problems with the electrical system, with a description of repairs in the past five years. How to answer it is a question for your agent or attorney; the guide to disclosing K&T in Ohio covers the form itself.
Did the seller rewire before closing?
Ask for the records, not just a receipt. A rewire done in a hurry for a sale can skip what is hard to reach, and homeowners report finding, years later, that a “complete” job left the ceiling fixtures on K&T.
- IBI permit final. Shows the work was permitted and inspected.
- Circuit map. Shows every circuit and its status, including any K&T that remains.
- Scope letter. Should say “no active knob and tube remains” only if that is true.
- A buyer’s own trace. Optional, and the surest check that the job matches the paper.
If the scope covers only part of the house, partial replacement explains how the remaining boundary should be written down. Kentucky purchases follow Kentucky’s code and permit route for the address.
What does it cost?
The knob and tube assessment, with circuit tracing and a written circuit list, is free. The written estimate we build from that list is something a buyer, seller and agent can all read, and it sets the final price.
For the work itself, Conflux’s typical ranges are $12,000 to $35,000 and up for a whole house and $2,000 to $10,000 for a partial replacement. If work happens before closing, IBI’s added-wiring permit for an existing single-family home is $120, including processing.
Weighing work against a credit
The guide on whether replacing K&T adds home value helps sellers weigh doing the work against a credit, and the Cincinnati cost guide explains what moves the price.
