Free tool, 9 questions
Do I have knob and tube wiring? Take the quiz
Nine questions about what you already know. Fixed rules sort the answers into a planning or urgency level with next steps. The quiz can't see inside your walls, so it never claims to confirm knob and tube; we do that by tracing the circuits.
Answer the questions
Your result
Answer the 9 questions and your result appears here. Nothing is sent anywhere, and the questions only ask about what you already know.
Wondering whether your house still has old wiring? This do I have knob and tube wiring quiz weighs what you already know about the house and tells you how pressing your situation is and what to do next. We built it at Conflux Cincinnati Knob and Tube, where we replace knob and tube across Cincinnati, Hamilton County and Northern Kentucky, as a planning step before anyone traces a circuit.
What do your answers say about knob and tube?
Some answers make original knob and tube more likely, but none proves it is there or that it is live. They are reasons to have us trace the circuits, not a diagnosis.
- A house built before about 1950, especially before 1930, comes from the decades when knob and tube was installed.
- No rewiring you know of leaves the original circuits as the starting assumption.
- Mostly two-slot outlets fit ungrounded wiring, though cloth-sheathed cable from later decades is ungrounded too.
- Breakers don't rule it out. A panel can be replaced while the knob and tube circuits behind it stay in service.
The guide to identifying knob and tube covers what you can see from the attic and basement without touching anything.
How does the quiz decide?
The rules run in a fixed order, and the first one that matches decides the result. The same answers always give the same result.
| If you said | The result |
|---|---|
| Heat, scorch marks or a burning smell | Stop using the affected circuit and call an electrician now. This outranks every other answer. |
| A pending sale, an insurer or an inspection report | Have the circuits traced before the date that matters to you. |
| Attic insulation planned | Deal with the attic wiring first: NEC Article 394, which Ohio adopts, bars concealed knob and tube where insulation envelops the conductors. |
| Insulation already in place over unchecked wiring | Have the attic wiring checked soon. |
| Fuses blowing often, or daily extension cords and space heaters | Get the overloaded circuits checked soon. |
| A remodel coming up | Plan the rewire with the remodel, while walls are open. |
| A permitted whole-house rewire already done | Confirm what is left with the permit record. |
| None of the above | Plan, not urgent. |
What can't the quiz tell you?
It cannot see inside walls, so it cannot say how much knob and tube a house has, whether a run is live or dead, or what condition it is in. Only tracing the circuits answers those questions, and that is what we do on the first visit.
It does not say whether a house is safe, and it does not predict what an insurer or lender will decide. Each sets its own rules; the result is a way to plan the conversation with them. Next: see what moves the cost for your house.
Questions about the quiz
Can a quiz confirm whether my house has knob and tube?
No. A quiz can only weigh what you already know, such as the age of the house, its rewiring history and its outlets. To confirm whether knob and tube is there, and whether it is live, we trace the circuits from the panel, the attic and the basement.
Why does a burning smell outrank every other answer in the quiz?
Because heat, scorching and a burning smell point to something overheating now, on any wiring, old or new. That calls for action today, not planning, so the quiz shows that result as soon as you choose one of those signs, before the other questions are answered.
Should I retake the quiz after part of the house is rewired?
Yes, if something has changed. A partial rewire, new insulation plans, a sale or an insurer letter can each change the result. Answer from the new circuit list and permit record rather than from memory, and the quiz will sort the situation again.
Talk through your result
Send your result and the house details. We add your assessment result to the request.