Aurora · Alectra Utilities service area
Rewiring and new circuits for Aurora homes
An old house near Yonge Street and a 1980s home in Aurora Highlands need very different wiring work. We start by finding out what's behind your walls, then plan only what the house needs.
The older part of town
Wiring in Aurora Village homes
The streets around Yonge and Wellington hold Aurora's oldest houses. A house built that long ago has usually been rewired in pieces. One owner replaced the kitchen circuits. Another added outlets in the bedrooms. Original runs can still hide behind plaster in the rooms no one touched.
Knob-and-tube wiring was common in Ontario houses built before the 1950s. It has no ground wire, and it was designed to shed heat into open air, not into insulation. Aluminum branch wiring turns up in some houses from the late 1960s and 1970s. Its connections need the right devices and careful work.
Neither should be guessed at. An electrical inspection shows what's there, where it runs and how much is left. That lets you decide between a full rewire and a targeted one.
By era
What Aurora walls usually hold
A general guide based on the age of the house. Yours may have been updated since.
| Era | Where in Aurora | What we may find | Usual next step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before the 1950s | Aurora Village | Knob-and-tube in places, mixed with later repairs | Inspection, then a full or partial rewire |
| 1950s to 1970s | Older streets near the core | Early grounded copper, aluminum in some later houses | Inspection and targeted work |
| 1970s to 1990s | Aurora Heights, Aurora Highlands, Aurora Grove | Grounded copper, often with a full panel | New circuits, sometimes a sub-panel |
| 2000s onward | Bayview Wellington, Bayview Northeast | Grounded copper to builder minimums | Added outlets and dedicated circuits |
Family homes
New circuits for 1970s to 90s houses
Most houses in Aurora Heights, Aurora Highlands and Aurora Grove have sound copper wiring. What they lack is circuits. Kitchens from that era had few counter outlets. Basements were often left unfinished, and few garages had more than one outlet.
When those homes are renovated, we add what the new layout needs. That might be dedicated kitchen circuits, a home office on its own breaker, a basement suite of outlets and lights, or power in the garage. If the panel is out of spaces, see panel upgrades in Aurora.
How it runs
Rewiring an Aurora home room by room
Trace
Every circuit is traced and the runs to be replaced are marked.
Sequence
We agree which rooms go first so the house stays livable.
Run new cable
New circuits go in from the basement and attic, with few wall openings.
Land and label
Each circuit is connected at the panel with a clear directory.
Sign-off
ESA inspects, and you receive the Certificate of Acceptance.
Plaster and newer drywall
Keeping the walls in good shape
Plaster in older village homes is hard and can crack if it's cut carelessly. We plan routes from below and above, use the fewest openings we can and cut them cleanly. Newer houses in Bayview Northeast have drywall and open basement framing, which makes added circuits quicker.
Either way, you get one written price before we start. See more on home wiring and rewiring, or all of our work in Aurora.
Questions
Wiring and rewiring in Aurora: questions
Could our 1970s Aurora house have aluminum wiring?
It's possible. Aluminum branch wiring was used in some Ontario homes built in the late 1960s and 1970s. You can sometimes see it printed on the cable jacket in an unfinished basement. An electrical inspection confirms it and checks the connections, which is where problems usually start.
We're finishing the basement. Does that mean rewiring the house?
No. The basement gets its own new circuits, run back to the panel. We check that the panel has room for them. The rest of the house stays as it is unless the inspection finds something that needs attention.
Can we stay at home while you rewire an older house?
In most cases, yes. We work through the house in sections so you keep power in the kitchen and bedrooms overnight. We agree the order with you at the start, and we clean up at the end of each day.
What happens if you find old wiring partway through a job?
We stop and show you. Then we explain what it is, what it would take to replace and how that changes the written price. Nothing extra goes ahead until you approve it.
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