# Knob and tube replacement cost estimator

> Estimate a knob and tube replacement budget for a San Francisco or East Bay house from typical local ranges, with panel and permit lines. Try the estimator.

URL: https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/tools/knob-and-tube-cost-estimator/

**Free tool**

[Fog City SF Knob and Tube](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/) manages knob and tube replacement across San Francisco and the East Bay; licensed and insured electrical contractors (California C-10) carry out the electrical work. This estimator turns a few facts about your building into the published ranges that apply, with the panel, the permit and any rebate on their own lines. No contact details, and it updates as you answer.

**Where**

San Francisco and the East Bay: Berkeley, Oakland, Alameda and Piedmont.

**Estimator**

## Your building, in published ranges

The dollar ranges come only from published figures and DBI's fee schedule. Your answers decide which ranges apply and where a building is likely to sit within them; none of them stretches or shrinks a range.

**Method**

## How the estimate works

### Where the figures come from

The whole-house range of $20,000 to $50,000 or more is a typical San Francisco range, drawn from San Francisco contractor cost pages for the electrical scope of a single-family home with permits. The $12,000 to $35,000 whole-house figure and the $2,000 to $10,000 figure for replacing a few remaining circuits are national budgeting ranges from published cost guides. The $3,000 to $10,000 panel and overhead service line is a typical San Francisco range for a 100 A to 200 A upgrade, from the same kind of local sources; PG&E sets its own utility-side charges case by case.

Permit fees are DBI's current Category 1 fees from its [electrical permit fee schedule](https://sf.gov/documents/44102/Table_1A-E_-_Electrical_Permit_Issuance_and_Inspection_2026.pdf), from $305 to $1,289. Rebates come from the [BayREN EASE Home](https://www.bayren.org/ease-home) program pages ($2,000 and $300), Alameda Municipal Power's rebate page, and the building departments of San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland, Alameda and Piedmont for the local rules.

### What it will not do

- Multiply a house range by square feet, units or any other factor. No published figure supports that, so access, walls, size and city only add a note on which end of the range they push toward.
- Add up a total for a building of flats. Each unit is priced from its own circuit test; DBI's per-unit permit count is the only figure that depends on the number of units.
- Invent a local range where none exists. East Bay cities have no published range of their own, so they see San Francisco's, labeled as the nearest local figure.
- Promise a rebate. BayREN decides eligibility; the tool only shows which programs could apply to your utility and building type.

### What moves a building within the range

The biggest factor is how many circuits are still live knob and tube, which only a test of every circuit shows; a [knob and tube inspection](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/knob-and-tube-inspection/) is where that starts. After that come access from the attic, basement and garage, and how much [plaster wall rewiring](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/plaster-wall-rewiring/) the openings call for. The [San Francisco cost guide](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/knob-and-tube-replacement-cost-san-francisco/) explains each driver, and the [rewiring quote checklist](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/rewiring-quote-checklist/) shows how to compare two quotes line by line.

### Lines kept separate

A panel or service upgrade is its own scope, and a new panel removes no knob and tube, as the [panel upgrade vs rewiring guide](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/panel-upgrade-vs-rewiring/) explains. The permit is its own line, covered in the [San Francisco electrical permit guide](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/san-francisco-electrical-permit/), and the [BayREN rebate guide](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/knob-and-tube-rebate-bayren/) has the program's conditions. For buildings of flats, see [apartment building rewiring](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/apartment-building-rewiring/); for a few remaining circuits, [partial replacement](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/partial-knob-and-tube-replacement/). Not sure how soon to act? Try the [knob and tube assessment](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/tools/knob-and-tube-assessment/).