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Rewiring a house in Texas typically runs anywhere from $2,000 for a single room to $30,000 or more for a large home with limited access. The wide range comes down to square footage, how the house was built, how easy it is to get behind the walls, and whether the electrical panel needs to be upgraded at the same time. Here’s what actually drives the number, and typical ranges by job type so you can budget before you start calling contractors.

What Determines the Cost to Rewire a House

Every quote is really a mix of the same handful of variables:

• Square footage. More rooms means more circuits, more outlets, and more wire.
• Age and construction. A house with plaster-and-lath walls or a slab foundation costs more to rewire than one with open attic and crawlspace access.
• Wiring type being removed. Homes with old knob-and-tube or aluminum branch wiring usually cost more to fully replace, since that wiring often runs through areas that are harder to reach.
• Panel condition. If the electrical panel is undersized, outdated (like a Federal Pacific or Zinsco panel), or doesn’t have enough capacity for the new circuits, a panel upgrade usually gets bundled in.
• Number of circuits and outlets. Kitchens, bathrooms, and rooms with dedicated appliance circuits add cost.
• Permits and inspection. Most Texas cities require a permit and inspection for a whole-house rewire; fees vary by municipality.
• Drywall and paint repair. Opening walls to run new wire usually means patching afterward, some electricians include basic patching, most don’t include paint.

Typical Cost Ranges

These are typical ranges, not quotes. The only way to get an accurate number is to have a licensed electrician walk the house and look at the panel, attic, and crawlspace.

Hourly vs. Flat-Rate Pricing

Most electricians quote a full rewire as a flat project price once they’ve seen the house, since the scope is defined up front. Smaller jobs, swapping out a few outlets, tracing a bad circuit, or adding a dedicated line for an appliance, are usually billed hourly, typically in the $75 to $150 per hour range in the Fort Worth area, plus materials. If you’re not sure whether your house needs a full rewire or just a repair, a wiring repair visit is usually the cheaper first step and can tell you what’s actually going on before you commit to a bigger project.

What Can Push the Price Higher

• Plaster-and-lath walls instead of drywall, which are slower and more labor-intensive to open and patch
• A slab foundation with no crawlspace, which means running wire through walls and ceilings instead of underneath the house
• Limited attic access or low-pitch roofs that make it hard to move around above the ceiling
• Finished basements or additions that were never wired to current code
• A panel that also needs to be upgraded to handle the added circuit load
• Permit and inspection fees, which vary by city and can add a few hundred dollars

What Can Bring the Price Down

• Open, unfinished attic and crawlspace access, this is the single biggest cost factor
• Doing the rewire in phases (one floor or wing at a time) rather than all at once
• A partial rewire instead of a full one, if only certain circuits are actually failing
• Scheduling the work before you finish drywall or flooring on a renovation, so walls are already open

How Long Does a Rewire Take

A single-room or partial rewire is often finished in a day. A full whole-house rewire usually takes anywhere from three days to two weeks, depending on square footage, access, and whether drywall and paint repair are handled by the same crew or a separate contractor. Homes with an open attic and crawlspace move faster than homes with plaster walls or a slab foundation, since the electrician isn’t fighting for access at every step.

Should You Rewire the Whole House or Just Part of It?

Not every home needs a full rewire. If the panel is modern and only one or two circuits are causing problems, a kitchen that trips breakers, an addition that was never wired properly, a partial rewire limited to those circuits is often enough. A full rewire generally makes more sense when the home has aluminum or knob-and-tube wiring throughout, an outdated panel, or a pattern of problems across multiple circuits rather than one isolated area. A licensed electrician can tell you honestly which situation you’re in rather than upselling a bigger job than you need.

DIY vs. Hiring a Licensed Electrician

Rewiring a house involves working inside walls, at the panel, and often behind drywall that has to be opened and closed correctly. Beyond the safety risk, most Texas cities require a permit and inspection for this kind of work, and that permit has to be pulled by a licensed electrical contractor. Unpermitted electrical work can also create problems later, with a home sale, an insurance claim, or a future buyer’s inspection, that cost more to untangle than the original job would have cost to do right.

Getting an Accurate Quote

A real number requires a walk-through. Before you call, it helps to know roughly when the house was built, whether you’ve had any breaker trips or flickering, and whether you can access the attic and crawlspace. A licensed electrician will check the panel, sample a few outlets and switches, and look at wiring type in the attic before giving you a firm price rather than a rough guess over the phone.

Neighbors Electric is a licensed Texas electrical contractor (TECL #41555) based in Crowley, serving Fort Worth and the surrounding DFW area. If you want an on-site estimate for a full rewire, or you’re not sure yet whether you need one, call (817) 533-0943 or see our wiring repair page for smaller jobs.

Related electrical services

Need this handled? Neighbors Electric provides these services across Fort Worth and DFW:

• Whole-House Rewiring
• Wiring Repair
• Electrical Panel Upgrades