Baltimore City has the oldest housing stock we work in: rowhouses from the late 1800s through the 1940s, many with layers of wiring from every decade since. Behind a fresh renovation there can still be knob-and-tube, cloth cable or a service that was never upgraded.
The city also has commercial buildings and landmarks with their own demands. One of the photos in our own gallery shows a ladder up the Hippodrome Theatre's vertical sign downtown, a long way from a Perry Hall kitchen.
The houses, and what’s in their walls
Late-1800s to 1920s rowhouses
Knob-and-tube, fuse panels and wiring routed through shared party walls.
1930s–1940s porch-front rowhouses
Small services and few circuits; basements with add-on wiring.
Renovated rowhouses
Mixed old and new wiring; worth checking what is behind the new drywall.
Weather and the grid
Summer heat drives air-conditioning loads that small rowhouse services were never built for. Warm breakers, dimming lights and tripping in July are signs the service is undersized.
Baltimore questions
Asked in Baltimore.
Burning smell, sparks, a hot panel or half the house dark? Turn off the breaker or the main if you can do it safely, then call (410) 663-1026. For fire or smoke, get out and call 911. For a downed line, stay clear and call BGE.
Do you work in Baltimore City or only the county?
Both. Directories list Justified Electrical Services as serving Nottingham, Baltimore and the surrounding area. City jobs follow the city's own permit process, separate from the county's.
My rowhouse lights dim when the AC starts. Is that normal?
A brief, slight dip can be normal. Lights that dim hard, flicker for a while, or come with warm outlets or a buzzing panel point to an undersized service, a loose connection or a failing breaker. Have it checked; loose connections are a fire risk.
Is there still knob-and-tube in city rowhouses?
Often, yes, even in houses that were renovated. Flippers sometimes leave old wiring live behind new walls. If you're buying or renovating, an electrical inspection tells you what is actually there.