# Knob and tube replacement in Berkeley and Albany, CA

> Knob and tube replacement in Berkeley and Albany: Form #146 before attic insulation, BESO time-of-sale credit for a rewire, PG&E service and BayREN rules.

URL: https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/service-areas/berkeley/

**Permits and inspections**

[City of Berkeley Building and Safety (Permit Service Center)](https://berkeleyca.gov/construction-development/permits-design-parameters/permit-process/permit-service-center), for the City of Berkeley.

Last Updated: October 30, 2026

**Electric utility**

[PG&E](https://www.pge.com/)

**Berkeley & Albany**

- **94702, 94703, 94704, 94705, 94707 (part), 94708, 94709, 94710** ZIP codes
- **Berkeley, Albany** Neighborhoods covered

**Why people call**

## What starts a rewire in Berkeley & Albany

### Insulation is booked

The attic still holds porcelain knobs, and Berkeley will not pass insulation over them without an electrician's signed report.

### Selling a house or duplex

Berkeley's time-of-sale rules ask for upgrades worth six credits per unit, and one kind of rewire earns all six.

### Buying with a deferral

The seller has deferred the upgrades to the buyer, who then has two years to complete them and recover the deposit.

### A house just over the line in Albany

Albany has its own building department, so Berkeley's forms and credits do not follow the house across the border.

Berkeley puts knob and tube on its own city paperwork. One form governs what happens before an attic is insulated, and the city’s time-of-sale ordinance gives a full rewire its own line on the menu of upgrades a seller can make. [Fog City SF Knob and Tube](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/) replaces knob and tube wiring in Berkeley and neighboring Albany. The company manages each job, and licensed and insured electrical contractors (California C-10) carry out the electrical work under City of Berkeley permits.

Census figures show 46.3% of Berkeley’s 53,145 housing units were built before 1940, and 54.6% before 1950. That is context about the housing stock, not a finding about any one house: what is actually in a particular attic or wall is only known once every circuit is tested, which is where a [knob and tube inspection](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/knob-and-tube-inspection/) starts.

## Form #146: the report before attic insulation

In Berkeley, an attic with knob and tube may not be insulated unless a licensed electrical contractor signs the city’s Knob-and-Tube Wiring Safety Report, Form #146. Copies are posted in the attic before inspection, and the original goes to the building inspector at final.

The form follows California Electrical Code 394.12, which bars insulation that envelops concealed knob and tube unless a California-licensed electrical contractor surveys the wiring and certifies it, the certification is filed with the building department, and the insulation is noncombustible and free of conductive material. Berkeley’s version adds a practical detail: warning signs in English and Spanish at every attic access where insulation conceals the wiring, posted before the inspection. Homeowners report confusion over why Berkeley treats this differently from Oakland. The state rule is the same in both cities; what Berkeley adds is a named form and a posted record, so the electrical survey belongs on the schedule before the insulation crew is booked. The [attic insulation service](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/knob-and-tube-attic-insulation/) covers how the two jobs are coordinated.

## What the three boxes on the form mean

The electrician checks one of three statements, and each sends the project a different way.

The first says the wiring is in good condition: no deterioration, proper overcurrent protection, no improper connections or splices. Insulation can then go in over the surveyed runs, with the posted copies and signs. The second says the wiring is not in good condition and may not be covered without repair or rewiring. That turns an insulation project into an electrical one: the affected circuits are rewired, or repaired where that is allowed, before anything is blown into the attic. The third says the wiring is disconnected, not live or removed, which is the cleanest path and a reason to rewire the attic runs first. Old runs are disconnected at both ends and removed where they can be reached, so the report describes wiring that is actually dead, not just switched off. The [active vs abandoned guide](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/active-vs-abandoned-knob-and-tube/) explains how that is tested.

## BESO at sale: one rewire, six credits

Since January 1, 2026, sellers of Berkeley single-family homes and duplexes must get a Home Energy Score before listing under the Building Emissions Saving Ordinance (BESO). They then either complete upgrades worth at least six credits per unit before the sale, or defer them to the buyer with a deposit that is refunded once the buyer finishes within two years. Buildings of three or four units phase in starting January 2028; condos and ADUs are excluded.

The city’s menu lists knob and tube replacement with pre-wiring of 240-volt receptacles at six credits, the whole requirement in one measure. The measure sheet asks for code-compliant wiring in place of the knob and tube, plus one 240-volt receptacle each for the water heater, the heating and cooling equipment, the clothes dryer and the stove or oven. All four must be installed to receive the credit; three earn nothing toward this measure. Verification is a permit with a final inspection, a scope stating it is “for BESO compliance,” and a contractor invoice that describes the rewire and gives the location of every 240-volt outlet.

That changes the scope in two ways. Four 240-volt circuits need panel space and service capacity, so the panel question is asked at the start, and the [panel upgrade](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/electrical-panel-upgrade/) is priced alongside the rewire when the existing panel cannot carry them. And the permit wording has to match, which is easy to get right when the scope is written for it and awkward to fix after final. Sellers weighing the timing will find more in the [selling guide](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/selling-a-house-with-knob-and-tube/), and buyers inheriting a deferral in the [buying guide](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/buying-a-house-with-knob-and-tube/).

## How a Berkeley job usually runs

The first conversation sorts out which Berkeley process is driving the work: an insulation project, a sale or simply the wiring itself. The walk-through tests every circuit, follows the runs through the attic and basement, and checks the panel and service for capacity, especially if four 240-volt circuits are on the table.

The written scope then lists each opening in plaster and who closes it, with patching as its own line in the quote, and states the permit wording the job needs. Attic, basement and crawlspace routes are used first so wall openings stay small; the [plaster-wall rewiring](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/plaster-wall-rewiring/) page explains how. At the end, every owner gets a written circuit record and a labeled panel directory, a record a buyer, an insurer or the next contractor can use.

## PG&E service and the BayREN rebate

Berkeley is in PG&E territory. When a rewire comes with a service upgrade, new load goes through PG&E’s application process, which can include a load assessment of up to 30 days, and PG&E reconnects after the city inspector approves the work. Those steps are scheduled into the plan rather than discovered at the end.

Being a PG&E customer is also what makes BayREN’s EASE Home program available. For income-qualified households in homes of four or fewer units built before 2010, it reimburses up to $2,000 toward fixing active knob and tube, alongside at least one measure such as insulation. The contractors supply the licensed electrician’s invoice or inactivity certification the rebate needs, and the company helps with the paperwork; BayREN decides approval. Alameda County’s income ceilings are lower than San Francisco’s, so the [BayREN rebate guide](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/knob-and-tube-rebate-bayren/) is worth checking before counting on it.

## Albany: next door, its own building department

Albany shares Berkeley’s northern edge and much of its housing age: Census figures put 38.5% of its 8,070 units before 1940 and 48.7% before 1950. It is a separate city with its own building department, which takes new permit applications through an online portal, and no Albany-specific knob and tube form or electrical amendment turned up in research. Berkeley’s Form #146 and BESO credits therefore do not apply there.

What does follow the house across the line is state law. California Electrical Code 394.12 governs insulation over knob and tube in Albany as everywhere else, and since January 1, 2026, Civil Code 1102.6i has required sellers to deliver a statement that an electrical inspection may be advisable and that faulty wiring can make insurance hard to get. Albany is also PG&E territory, under the same Alameda County BayREN income limits. Anything beyond that, from inspection steps to local forms, is confirmed per address with Albany’s department.

For the rules behind all of this, the [California legality guide](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/is-knob-and-tube-legal-in-california/) covers what the state code allows, and [whole-house rewiring](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/whole-house-rewiring/) covers the full scope. Neighboring cities are on the [Oakland](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/service-areas/oakland/) and [Piedmont](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/service-areas/piedmont/) pages.

**Services**

## Services in Berkeley & Albany

- [Whole-house rewiringEvery old branch circuit replaced, new circuits added where the house needs them, and the panel sized for the load.](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/whole-house-rewiring/)
- [Attic insulation and knob and tubeAttic knob and tube surveyed, replaced or disconnected so insulation can go in, with the paperwork BayREN's rebate asks for.](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/knob-and-tube-attic-insulation/)
- [Knob and tube inspectionEvery circuit traced and tested, live runs separated from dead ones, and findings that say plainly what was tested and what was only seen.](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/knob-and-tube-inspection/)
- [Electrical panel upgradeA fuse box or undersized panel replaced, the service resized when the load calculation calls for it, and PG&E's side coordinated.](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/electrical-panel-upgrade/)
- [Plaster-wall rewiringNew circuits fished through lath-and-plaster walls from the attic, basement and garage, with small openings that are patched as an itemized line.](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/plaster-wall-rewiring/)

**Coverage**

## Neighborhoods and coverage

- Berkeley
- Albany

1. 1. Alameda
2. 2. Berkeley & Albany
3. 3. Haight-Ashbury, Castro & Noe Valley
4. 4. Mission District & Bernal Heights
5. 5. Oakland
6. 6. Piedmont
7. 7. Richmond District & Sea Cliff
8. 8. Sunset, Parkside & Excelsior
9. 9. West of Twin Peaks

**Questions**

## Berkeley & Albany: questions

### What is Berkeley's Form #146, and who has to sign it?

Form #146 is the City of Berkeley's Knob-and-Tube Wiring Safety Report. A licensed electrical contractor inspects the attic wiring, checks one of three boxes and signs it. Copies are posted in the attic before the insulation inspection, and the original goes to the building inspector at final. Without it, an attic with knob and tube may not be insulated.

### Does replacing knob and tube count toward Berkeley's BESO requirement at sale?

It can count for all of it. Berkeley's time-of-sale menu gives six credits for replacing knob and tube with code-compliant wiring and pre-wiring 240-volt receptacles, which is the full six credits per unit the city asks for. The credit needs all four receptacles: water heater, heating and cooling, clothes dryer, and stove or oven.

### What does BESO compliance cost a Berkeley seller who defers the upgrades?

Under Berkeley's rules, deferring the upgrades to the buyer means a $5,000 deposit, $2,500 from the seller and $2,500 from the buyer, refunded once the buyer completes the upgrades within two years. The city also lists a $150 Certificate of Compliance filing fee and a $500 fee for not providing the Home Energy Score. The rewire itself is priced separately.

### Does Berkeley's knob and tube form apply to a house in Albany?

No. Albany has its own building department, which takes permit applications through its online portal, and Berkeley's Form #146 and time-of-sale credits are City of Berkeley rules. California's electrical code still governs insulation over knob and tube in Albany, with a licensed contractor's survey and certification, but any Albany-specific requirement is confirmed per address.

### Can a Berkeley household get BayREN's knob and tube rebate?

Possibly. Berkeley is in PG&E territory, so households can qualify for BayREN EASE Home, which reimburses up to $2,000 toward fixing active knob and tube. The home must have four or fewer units and be built before 2010, the scope must include a measure such as insulation, and Alameda County's income limit is $187,575 for a household of four.

**Read next**

## Guides for this area

- [Decision GuideCan you sell a house with knob and tube wiring?The law asks sellers for an advisory, not a rewire. The buyer's insurer is what sets the terms, and the records you bring decide how that conversation goes.](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/selling-a-house-with-knob-and-tube/)
- [Decision GuideShould you buy a house with knob and tube wiring?Plenty of San Francisco buyers do. The ones who come out ahead settle insurance, test the wiring and price the work before their contingencies run out.](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/buying-a-house-with-knob-and-tube/)
- [Cost GuideIs there a knob and tube rebate in the Bay Area?One regional program pays toward knob and tube work, and only as part of an energy upgrade. Here is what it pays, who qualifies and what the paperwork needs.](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/knob-and-tube-rebate-bayren/)
- [LearnIs knob and tube wiring legal in California?Existing knob and tube is allowed. Extending it, burying it in insulation and leaving dead runs unmarked are not. Here is where the lines fall, statewide and city by city.](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/is-knob-and-tube-legal-in-california/)

**Nearby**

## Nearby service areas

- [OaklandCity of Oakland Planning & Building Department permits, PG&E service](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/service-areas/oakland/)
- [PiedmontCity of Piedmont Planning & Building permits, PG&E service](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/service-areas/piedmont/)