That sounds way too familiar... I pulled apart a section of our dining room wall last spring and found a mouse “highway” running right alongside some old BX cable. Ended up doing a full rewire for that whole section—couldn’t risk leaving any of it, especially with those critters chewing through insulation. Honestly, the electrical always ends up being more involved than you think on these old places. Did you have to bring in an electrician, or were you able to tackle any of it yourself? Sometimes the wiring surprises are worse than the critter nests.
Honestly, the electrical always ends up being more involved than you think on these old places.
That’s the truth. I thought I’d just patch a few outlets in our 1950s place, but once I opened up the wall, it was a whole mess of brittle cloth wiring and random splices. Ended up labeling every circuit, mapping out what went where, and then realized half the kitchen was on one breaker. I did some of the prep myself—pulled permits, ran conduit—but definitely called in a pro for the panel work. The critters were almost the least of my worries compared to figuring out what previous owners had done...
Yeah, the “just patch a few things” plan never survives first contact with old wiring. I had a similar surprise in my 1948 place—opened up a wall and found knob-and-tube still lurking back there. Ended up redoing way more than I budgeted for, but at least now I sleep better knowing it won’t catch fire. Those mystery splices are wild... you never know what you’ll find until you start poking around.
That’s the thing—older homes always have some hidden “bonus” waiting behind the walls. Curious, did you run into any issues tying your new wiring into the main panel, or did you end up upgrading that too? Sometimes that’s a whole extra can of worms...
Upgrading the panel is usually where things get interesting… or expensive. When I did mine, I thought I could just add a subpanel, but the old main was maxed out and needed a full replacement. It was a pain, but totally worth it for peace of mind. If you haven’t hit that snag yet, fingers crossed you dodge it!
