In my opinion, if you aren't having problems, there is nothing deteriorated or damaged, and the wiring is adequate for the demands placed on it there is no reason to do some wholesale replacement. I owned a house similar to yours (built in 1952), and over time I did remodels and upgraded as I went along. I never found any of the older 14-2 wiring in a deteriorated condition, or connections that had deteriorated. But I did replace it as the opportunity presented itself since I wanted to go to grounded wiring and also add some GFCIs. I ultimately ended up with every circuit replaced and upgraded. However, neurotic as I am, I never felt like there was any urgency in replacing the wiring.

If you were in a house where you had discovered some poor or incorrectly done wiring, I would have a different view, but it sounds like you have a decent quality house and you should do what is really needed. I've never heard of a rule of thumb about frequency of replacement, because there really isn't one. I have friends who are living in houses that are 80 years old with the original knob and tube wiring. It's been inspected and it's just fine.

Having done many, many rewires of houses built prior to 1970, I have found the biggest problems are in the wiring to lights. It was typical to use small boxes with power fed to the light then to the receptacles, resulting in overfilled boxes. Use of too high a wattage light bulbs led to dry and brittle insulation... try replacing a light fixture and all of a sudden you have several inches of bare wire. My advice would be to rewire all the lights now while there is no insulation to deal with and before you start to have problems.

Thank you for the feedback. I don't want to spend the money to rewire if it's not necessary. My alarm clock doesn't NEED a ground. :)

I will have the electrician check the ceiling fixtures while he is up there checking everything out. In the parts of the house that haven't been renovated (i.e. the bedrooms and living room) I believe the ceiling fixtures are original. Of course they still sell those same square, glass, semi-flush fixures, so I could be wrong!

"My alarm clock doesn't NEED a ground. ":

This.

The general use circuits in a house rarely have grounded equipment plugged in to them anyway (lights, clocks, etc.).

Making sure you have polarized receptacles (larger blade for the neutral side) is more useful, and can be done without changing any permanent wiring in the wall.

Just replace the receptacle with a polarized receptacle (making sure to put the hot and neutral on the correct screws).

1982 Nm cable should have plastic insulation on the wires (older stuff can be rubber) and unless overheated by a light fixture should be fine.

Newer fixtures can cause problems with the temperature rating of the old insulation (old was 60C, new is 90C).

It is often enclosed fixtures that require the 90C insulation, while more open ones will be fine with 60C insulation.
You need to watch what fixtures you purchase.

It is simple to add another box in an attic to feed the fixture box with 90C wire from a from or so away.
Without an attic it is harder since a junction box cannot be hidden above a finished ceiling (access from the attic is fine).

Computers and other electronics often need grounds (and surge protection equipment also needs a ground) but you can add them as needed to just those locations.

The problem with the wiring to lights that Normel mentioned is exactly what I found in my older (1950) house. Two of the ceiling fixtures were enclosed fixtures, and both failed shortly after I moved in. When new light bulbs didn't fix the problem, I called in an electrician who explained what happened pretty much as Normel did. I had the wiring to the fixtures replaced, and replaced both fixtures with open type fixtures. No problems since.

Normel, so right you are. It was 3 years after I bought my house that I had enough money to gut the circa 1953 kitchen and start over...The flying saucer looking kitchen fixture was flush with the ceiling and covered with thick glass. Inside there were 4 sockets each containing a 60 watt bulb which I continued to use when replacements were needed. Well during the remodel, when the fixture was removed, the wires literally disintergrated when they were touched both inside the fixture and inside the ceiling box.
Now that the remodel is complete I chose a semi-flush schoolhouse type of light that will not overheat the wires inside the ceiling, which of course were all replaced.

You might find this previous thread helpful:

Here is a link that might be useful: Minimum 90°C Supply Conductors

"Making sure you have polarized receptacles (larger blade for the neutral side) is more useful, and can be done without changing any permanent wiring in the wall. "

That's already done.

The 3 outlets I am adding are for the office (computer), the home theater PC, and a GFCI circuit for the fish tank (which is currently being annoying in the kitchen.) Otherwise I really can't think of any other places it's necessary to have a grounded outlet.

"1982 Nm cable should have plastic insulation on the wires (older stuff can be rubber) and unless overheated by a light fixture should be fine."

The house was cabled in 1962. The cable is copper and looks like it is wrapped in cloth; the insulation is probably rubber.

Now the 60c vs. 90c thing is confusing. *NO* UL listed fixtures are sold now which are rated for 60c. If I understand my research correctly, that means no fixtures in the house can be safely replaced without at least partially rewiring those lines? I have a lot of fixtures I want to replace, but not right now.

Also, do I now need to worry about the flush-mount schoolhouse fixtures they installed in the kitchen? Not only are they enclosed, but it gets super hot here in Alabama up in that attic.

"It is simple to add another box in an attic to feed the fixture box with 90C wire from a from or so away. "

But I still guess it'll be $100 each. That adds up in a hurry.

The NEMA workaround described in the pdf to which I linked suggests replacing NM cable with NM-B cable for at least 18 inches from the center of the light fixture. The problem is not that the newer lights draw so much more current, but that the heat they put out eventually cooks the insulation on the wiring closest to the fixture, and in time, the insulation could simply come off, and lead to arcing, which in turn, could start a fire.

Here is a link that might be useful: Use of Type NM-B Cable for Wiring of Residential Lighting Fixtures

"The house was cabled in 1962. The cable is copper and looks like it is wrapped in cloth; the insulation is probably rubber."

PVC plastic started right after WWII, still cloth covered.

If you look at the insulation under the cloth over braid (used to mark wire color) you may see slightly rough rubber or smoother PVC plastic.

Coloring plastic was being developed and the testing labs had to be convinced the coloring did not affect the properties of the PVC.

If they tested one color they would only list that color PVC.

There are 60 C UL listed fixtures out there, just not at the big box stores.

You need to hunt for them.

inox - I understand the work-around. I also understand how atrociously expensive it will be to have every ceiling box in the attic done. At that point, it might be worth rewiring those cable runs.

brickeye - I will keep looking online. All I have is big box here for lighting fixtures. Even if they have 60c fixtures that are UL listed, the guys in the orange aprons sure wouldn't know. Possibly the restoration companies have them if I find myself willing to pay their prices.

Thanks all; I think I have enough info calibrate my BS meter for when the electrician presents me with his findings.

We rewired our house 3 years ago. We installed obo http://hardware.eu/obo the warranty for these products is about 5 years. Can you tell me, does it means that i should change it again in 5 years?

Scott-

I know nothing about the quality of these European products, but there is no correlation between a warranty for electrical products and any need for replacement. Quality wiring lasts indefinitely. My daughter's house has wiring that is 90 years old in some places that is still working just fine, though she is in the process of upgrading because she wants all the circuits to be grounded.

Would you replace a television after 12 months if it came with a one year warranty? Mine had a one year warranty and it is still fine 10 years later. My 20 year old car came with a 3-year warranty, but it is still running fine. Besides, house wiring has no moving parts. I would only replace home wiring if there was some concrete evidence of deterioration or malfunction. If a competent electrician installed your wiring, it is up-to-date and safe, and won't need replacement until probably sometime well after you move out of that house.