To our home’s successor,

In May of 2019 we started our “big dig”. Our first concern with the house was the outdated wiring. There are, of course, conflicting opinions on knob-and-tube but we are of the opinion that it should be removed as it can be considered a fire hazard. We were lucky to find an electrician through a friend who helped us understand the extent of the work we’d need to do to bring the house up to code. This all started with a new electrical panel. The electrical panel had been (and still is) at the bottom of the basement steps in the center of the house. The electric company required the meter to be installed at the front of the house… this was rough for us as it required taking out a pretty substantial yew in the front but it was probably best in the long run for the foundation. 

The It is also pretty unsightly being right at the front of the house, but here we are… In order to reduce the eyesore, we elected to bury the power lines. This was more work and more money but I still firmly believe this was a great decision. It reduces the chances of power outages from extreme winds and ice storms; it also cleans up the appearance of the house.

While they were digging and trenching, we had them bury an additional sleeve for internet, again to eliminate overhead wires, which we had redone in 2024.  

Lastly, is one of the heartbreaking parts of this project…

Our electrician was not always the most careful, and as a result we had a number of damages, the most significant being during the removal of our front lamp post. We wanted him to update the wiring to the light fixture as it was not working at the time of this project and we hoped we’d have exterior lighting in short order. At some point the lantern was destroyed and we’re still not sure what happened to it. We still plan to reinstall this lamp post and luckily found a period-appropriate lantern top on facebook marketplace we will use once we get it rewired. 

This is always a possibility with construction/renovation of an old house, but it is incredibly important to protect what you have and fully vet anyone you allow to work on the house. We still believe they were capable and professional, but not the best fit for our projects. 

Overall, we brought our electric service up to code, and eliminated some eye sores on the house- a worthwhile project for us.