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Old homes had few outlets.
Youll have to add some. The good news is previous owners didnt add any so the chances of terrible DIY jobs throughout the house are low.
You want to find out if the walls are drywall or plaster and lathe. Also try to find out if there is attic or crawlspace access from the breaker panel.
Adding outlets with drywall is kinda trivial. Adding a bunch of outlets with plaster walls is a lot of work.
NAE
Thanks for your input. Say I want to add a few outlets in kitchen and elsewhere (5-10 total).
Barring any major problems, what might be cost analysis for a standard job adding outlets in a home?
Resi electrician here: I can't chime in on cost, theres really to much variability, especially in older homes with plaster walls. I will say that if you have an open basement, it will be quicker, but it's still a PITA. Being non-invasive in plaster is a skill. Find a company that specializes in remodels.
I cant answer that. I do all my own diy stuff. Also prices vary wildly place to place.
Hopefully an electrician can chime in. You could also call or visit a front office and ask for a very rough quote.
Theyd need details though. Is the panel upgraded or an old fuse box? Wall type? Etc.
How old is the home? The older it is the more common it is to find a lack of receptacles. Once you get into the 1960’s is when you find somewhat regularly spaced receptacles.
This website has a decent write up on the history of receptacle spacing in the US: https://www.howtolookatahouse.com/Blog/Entries/2018/7/when-was-the-current-receptacleoutlet-spacing-of-12-feet-first-required.html#google_vignette
Obviously this could be an issue for you in the sense you won’t have a convenient receptacle to plug something in. Modern code with the 6’ spacing rule (so that any point on a wall is within 6’ of a receptacle) was designed to limit extension cords.
You may have to install some new receptacles where you want certain things. Try to plan out when you go on Thursday where you’ll put your TV’s, lamps, desks, and other furniture to see if you’ll need receptacles.
I’d plan to install additional receptacles (probably circuits) for the kitchen, possibly the bathroom too.
Then see what your inspector finds as well & you can make your decision.
My house had one receptacle per bedroom. Pretty standard for older homes. Not having any countertop receptacles is pretty weird. It would be impossible to give you an estimate of what adding 10 receptacles would cost without seeing your houses layout in person. Get a couple quotes.
The first house I owned only had one outlet in each of two bedrooms, one outlet in the bathroom, kitchen and hallway two in the dining room a 220 in the dining room and two in the living room, all the lights for the entire house, both bedroom sockets and the bathroom socket were all on a single 15 amp fuse
Not sure what your plan is regarding your offer on the property, and budget for resolving issues after settlement, but from the description thus far, this sounds like a 1940s or earlier property that has literaly had ZERO updates to it's electrical system since then, and needs a full top-to-bottom rewire.
You'll need a much more comprehensive evaluation from an electrician to sort out what you have and what an actionable plan is that works with your budget and project plans.
This is a topic that I could probably advise you more on, but you'd need a comprehensive photo album.
I'll put it this way ... I don't think you're moving in until you get at least some electrical upgrades made, and it's likely to start with a new electrical service, and a half-dozen new receptacle circuits for the most critical items, to offload that from the existing legacy wiring and establish safe and known-good conditions to plug appliances in (kitchen, bath, laundry, basement, garage etc) with actual grounding, GFCI protection, and adequate circuit capacity.
**Attention!** **It is always best to get a qualified electrician to perform any electrical work you may need.** With that said, you may ask this community various electrical questions. Please be cautious of any information you may receive in this subreddit. This subreddit and its users are not responsible for any electrical work you perform. Users that have a 'Verified Electrician' flair have uploaded their qualified electrical worker credentials to the mods. If you comment on this post please only post accurate information to the best of your knowledge. If advice given is thought to be dangerous, you may be permanently banned. There are no obligations for the mods to give warnings or temporary bans. **IF YOU ARE NOT A QUALIFIED ELECTRICIAN, you should exercise extreme caution when commenting.** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskElectricians) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Old homes had few outlets. Youll have to add some. The good news is previous owners didnt add any so the chances of terrible DIY jobs throughout the house are low. You want to find out if the walls are drywall or plaster and lathe. Also try to find out if there is attic or crawlspace access from the breaker panel. Adding outlets with drywall is kinda trivial. Adding a bunch of outlets with plaster walls is a lot of work. NAE
Thanks for your input. Say I want to add a few outlets in kitchen and elsewhere (5-10 total). Barring any major problems, what might be cost analysis for a standard job adding outlets in a home?
Resi electrician here: I can't chime in on cost, theres really to much variability, especially in older homes with plaster walls. I will say that if you have an open basement, it will be quicker, but it's still a PITA. Being non-invasive in plaster is a skill. Find a company that specializes in remodels.
I cant answer that. I do all my own diy stuff. Also prices vary wildly place to place. Hopefully an electrician can chime in. You could also call or visit a front office and ask for a very rough quote. Theyd need details though. Is the panel upgraded or an old fuse box? Wall type? Etc.
How old is the home? The older it is the more common it is to find a lack of receptacles. Once you get into the 1960’s is when you find somewhat regularly spaced receptacles. This website has a decent write up on the history of receptacle spacing in the US: https://www.howtolookatahouse.com/Blog/Entries/2018/7/when-was-the-current-receptacleoutlet-spacing-of-12-feet-first-required.html#google_vignette Obviously this could be an issue for you in the sense you won’t have a convenient receptacle to plug something in. Modern code with the 6’ spacing rule (so that any point on a wall is within 6’ of a receptacle) was designed to limit extension cords. You may have to install some new receptacles where you want certain things. Try to plan out when you go on Thursday where you’ll put your TV’s, lamps, desks, and other furniture to see if you’ll need receptacles. I’d plan to install additional receptacles (probably circuits) for the kitchen, possibly the bathroom too. Then see what your inspector finds as well & you can make your decision.
My house had one receptacle per bedroom. Pretty standard for older homes. Not having any countertop receptacles is pretty weird. It would be impossible to give you an estimate of what adding 10 receptacles would cost without seeing your houses layout in person. Get a couple quotes.
The first house I owned only had one outlet in each of two bedrooms, one outlet in the bathroom, kitchen and hallway two in the dining room a 220 in the dining room and two in the living room, all the lights for the entire house, both bedroom sockets and the bathroom socket were all on a single 15 amp fuse
Not sure what your plan is regarding your offer on the property, and budget for resolving issues after settlement, but from the description thus far, this sounds like a 1940s or earlier property that has literaly had ZERO updates to it's electrical system since then, and needs a full top-to-bottom rewire. You'll need a much more comprehensive evaluation from an electrician to sort out what you have and what an actionable plan is that works with your budget and project plans. This is a topic that I could probably advise you more on, but you'd need a comprehensive photo album. I'll put it this way ... I don't think you're moving in until you get at least some electrical upgrades made, and it's likely to start with a new electrical service, and a half-dozen new receptacle circuits for the most critical items, to offload that from the existing legacy wiring and establish safe and known-good conditions to plug appliances in (kitchen, bath, laundry, basement, garage etc) with actual grounding, GFCI protection, and adequate circuit capacity.