Forest Hill · Toronto Hydro service area
Whole-house rewiring in Forest Hill
Rewiring a three-storey Forest Hill home is as much about protecting the house as replacing cable. We work around plaster, mouldings and hardwood, plan with your designer, and leave every opening ready for finishing.
Pre-war construction
Built to last, wired for another age
Forest Hill's houses were built in revival styles, Georgian and Tudor among them, with solid brick or stone walls, oak floors and deep plaster mouldings. The construction has aged well. The original electrical system was designed for a few lights and a radio.
The first wiring in houses of this age was usually knob-and-tube: single conductors on porcelain knobs, with no ground. Later owners added cable as kitchens and bathrooms were renovated, and some original runs may still be in service. A careful inspection shows which circuits are which before any plan is drawn.
Most owners here don't rewire in a hurry. They rewire as part of a renovation that also touches the kitchen, the bathrooms and the third floor. That gives us the access a big house needs, and it's where planning pays off most.
Two ways to do it
During a renovation or in a finished home
Most Forest Hill rewires are a mix: open rooms are done freely, and finished rooms are reached with care.
| During a full renovation | In a finished home | |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Walls and ceilings open, cable runs where it should | Fished through basement, attic, closets and back stairs |
| Plasterwork | Replaced or repaired by the renovation trades | Small openings only, cut square and left ready for your plasterer |
| Living in the house | Usually moved out | Usually staying, with work in phases |
| Best for | Kitchens, bathrooms and rooms being reworked | Bedrooms, halls and rooms you want left as they are |
Routes through a big house
Using the house's own pathways
Large houses have more ways through them than people expect. Stacked closets line up from floor to floor. Some homes have a second, back staircase with plain walls that are easy to open and patch. The third floor's knee walls and the basement ceiling carry cable the length of the house.
Sometimes lifting a few floorboards inside a closet is kinder to the house than opening a plastered wall. Where we do lift oak boards, we number them and lay them back in their places.
Each finish gets its own plan. Panelled rooms, built-in cabinetry and stone fireplaces are routed around rather than through. Ornamental plaster is mapped before we drill.
With your design team
Rewiring alongside a Forest Hill renovation
Drawing review
We read the designer's electrical and lighting plans and flag anything hard to build in plaster.
Marking walk
Device and fixture positions are marked on site with you and the designer.
ESA notification
Filed by us before rough-in begins.
Rough-in and inspection
New cable in the open rooms, inspected before insulation, drywall or plaster.
Finish and handover
Devices, fixtures and final inspection, with the Certificate of Acceptance.
Beyond the main house
Third floors, garages and coach houses
Third floors that began as maids' rooms or storage are now offices and teenagers' bedrooms. They often run on one or two old circuits, so they're near the top of most rewiring plans. Detached garages and coach houses may still be fed by an old cable that deserves a look on its own.
A rewire adds breakers, and an older or crowded service may not have room. If so, see panel upgrades in Forest Hill. For how rewiring works across the GTA, read our full home wiring page.
Lighting too?
Plan the lights with the wiring
If ceilings are opening anyway, new lighting costs far less to add now than later.
Pot lights in Forest HillQuestions
Wiring and rewiring in Forest Hill: questions
Can you rewire without damaging our plaster cornices?
Yes, in almost every case. Cornices and medallions are mapped before we drill, and routes are chosen to pass behind or around them. Where a ceiling device must sit near original plasterwork, we agree the exact spot with you first.
We're renovating with a designer. When should you be involved?
Before the drawings are final. We review the electrical and lighting plans and point out what will be hard to wire in a plaster house. Changes are free while it's still on paper. That keeps change orders off the job later.
Will old wiring affect insuring a Forest Hill home?
It can. Insurers often ask about the age of the wiring and panel on pre-war houses. Once rewiring is inspected, the ESA Certificate of Acceptance is the document they usually want to see.
Are you licensed and insured?
Yes. Marrast Contracting is a Licensed Electrical Contractor, licence ECRA/ESA 7016430, and every job is led by Shaldin Marrast, a Master Electrician. You can check our licence on the Electrical Safety Authority's contractor lookup at esasafe.com.
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