Parkville stretches along Harford Road on both sides of the Beltway, with some of the oldest housing in our everyday service area: 1920s and 1930s bungalows, brick rowhouses and duplexes from the 1940s, and post-war Cape Cods.
In these houses we still find knob-and-tube wiring in walls and attics, 60-amp fuse boxes or early breaker panels, cloth-sheathed cable, and kitchens with two outlets doing the work of eight.
The houses, and what’s in their walls
1920s–1930s bungalows
Possible knob-and-tube in walls and attics; ungrounded outlets throughout.
1940s brick rowhouses & duplexes
Small services, fuse boxes or early panels, and shared-wall wiring paths.
Post-war Cape Cods
Cloth-sheathed cable and upstairs rooms on a single overloaded circuit.
Weather and the grid
Big old street trees and overhead service drops are a bad mix in a storm. If a tree pulls the service line off the house, stay clear, call BGE, and then call us for the damage on the house side.
Parkville questions
Asked in Parkville.
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.
Is knob-and-tube wiring in a Parkville house dangerous?
Original knob-and-tube that has not been disturbed is not automatically dangerous, but it has no ground, it is often brittle after a century, and it was never meant to be buried in insulation or carry modern loads. Most insurers ask about it. We inspect what is there and replace it in a sensible order.
Can you rewire a rowhouse without tearing out the plaster?
Mostly, yes. We fish new cable through walls, floors and the basement ceiling and open plaster only where we must, in small, patchable holes. Some rooms are easier than others, and we tell you up front where openings will be needed.
I still have a fuse box. Is that a problem?
Fuses themselves protect circuits fine when they are the right size. The trouble is that fuse boxes are usually 60 amps, too small for modern use, and it is easy to put in an oversized fuse. Replacing it with a modern breaker panel, usually with a service upgrade, is one of the most common jobs we do in Parkville.