Rewire the whole house or just part of it: deciding in an older Michigan home

What the two options mean

A whole-house rewire replaces the branch-circuit wiring throughout the building, usually by opening walls and ceilings or fishing new cable through them. A partial rewire does the same for some circuits, such as a kitchen, a bedroom wing or the circuits that feed an addition. Both change wiring that exists, and Michigan defines electrical wiring broadly: MCL 339.5701 covers all wiring, fixtures and devices in or on a building “regardless of whether or not the electrical wiring is energized.”

The decision is rarely made at the first visit. It follows from what the electrician finds with the panel cover off and the accessible wiring in view, and from what you plan to add. A house getting a new kitchen, an EV charger and a heat pump poses a different question from one with a single dead circuit, and a house’s age alone does not say which route it needs.

What housing age does and does not tell you

Older housing is common in Michigan. In Detroit 90.1 percent of homes were built before 1980, in Saginaw 92.8 percent and in Jackson 88.7 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2023 five-year estimates. Grand Rapids sits at 75.3 percent. Those are housing-age shares, and they cannot show what is inside your walls or whether anyone rewired along the way. Only an electrician’s look can.

Neither the Consumer Product Safety Commission, ESFI nor the Michigan Fire Marshal gives guidance we could find on knob-and-tube or other early systems, so this page does not rank old wiring types. The electrician’s written findings are the evidence to act on, and the one era claim our sources support concerns aluminum.

Aluminum branch-circuit wiring is a separate problem

The CPSC says aluminum branch-circuit wiring was installed between about 1965 and the mid-1970s, and that homes built before 1965 are unlikely to have it. It also reports that homes built before 1972 and wired with aluminum are 55 times more likely to have one or more outlet connections reach “fire hazard conditions” than copper-wired homes.

Signs on its list are hot face plates, flickering lights, circuits that do not work, and a burning plastic smell. If you smell burning plastic, stop using that circuit and call an electrician now; if you see smoke or flames, leave and call 911. The CPSC’s permanent fixes are complete copper rewiring, which it calls “the best method available,” or special connectors named COPALUM and AlumiConn. Its advice is blunt: “DO NOT TRY TO DO IT YOURSELF,” and it recommends a qualified electrician. Once an electrician confirms aluminum, the whole-versus-partial question has fewer answers, and they are the CPSC’s.

Permits, inspection and who may do the work

LARA’s permit page says no one may alter, change or add to electrical conductors or equipment without a permit. The exempt list in R 408.30818 covers replacing a switch, receptacle, fuse or lamp socket, replacing worn cords, tightening connections, and minor repair work, which under MCL 339.5703 means wiring with a value of $100 or less. New circuits, new runs and new boxes are additions or alterations, so a partial rewire needs a permit however small it is.

Applicants must be a licensed electrical contractor or specialty contractor, or a homeowner doing the work in a single family home and its outbuildings that they own and occupy. Under MCL 339.5731, only an individual licensed under Article 7 may otherwise install electrical wiring. Our guide to permits for electrical work walks the chain, and how to find a licensed electrician covers the license lookup.

Two permit details matter most for rewiring. Work must not be concealed until the inspector has seen it, which is the whole question when the wiring goes inside walls. And a permit expires 180 days after issuance, extended 180 days from the last inspection date, with one more 180-day extension available. A job that opens every wall can run past that if it sits idle, so ask for a schedule.

The owner’s duty and the inspector’s power

R 408.30815 says the owner must keep wiring in good electrical repair, and R 408.30810 lets the enforcing agency disconnect a premises dangerous to life or property, giving written notice within 24 hours. Neither names an age at which old wiring triggers action. That is why a written finding from an electrician matters: it tells you whether you have a repair problem, a code problem or neither.

Across the United States, electrical malfunction caused an estimated 23,700 residential building fires in 2023, with 305 deaths, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. That is a national figure, not a Michigan one and not a statement about any wiring type.

What the cost evidence shows

Our estimate for rewiring a house is $8,975 to $22,500 per house, modeled from national published ranges and not collected from Michigan companies. The method is on the editorial policy page. For now we can print pay and permit fees.

Item	Figure	What it is	Source basis
Michigan electricians, mean wage	$35.50 an hour	Pay to electricians, May 2025	BLS wage
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, mean wage	$38.10 an hour	Pay to electricians, May 2025	BLS wage
United States, median wage	$30.38 an hour	Pay to electricians, May 2025	BLS wage
State schedule, application	$75	Non-refundable, state-enforced permits	Permit fee
State schedule, circuits	$5 each	Plus $6 per 25 lighting fixtures or outlets	Permit fee
Troy, first circuit	$30	City fee; additional 100-volt circuits $8	Permit fee
Grand Rapids, branch circuit	$10 each	City fee, on a $52 application that includes one inspection	Permit fee
Sterling Heights, circuit	$28 each	City fee, plus a $55 application fee	Permit fee

Wages are what electricians are paid, not what you are charged, and permit fees are the city’s charge, driven by the number of circuits. Drywall, plaster and paint repair after the walls are opened is a separate item, so ask whether the quote includes it.

Questions to put in writing

Start with which circuits are affected and why, with the findings in writing and the code section named for each. Ask whether the electrician recommends the whole house or part of it, and what each option leaves untouched. Then settle who pulls the permit, how many inspections to expect and whether the quote covers patching. Before the visit, photograph your panel label with the cover on and note which circuits are dead or warm. Two written answers side by side will tell you more than either alone. Our rewiring page explains how we match a request, and we are a referral service, not an electrical company.