I am 24 and looking to buy my first house. My father was an architect, so I grew up around construction of homes and have a basic idea of what I need to look at and for. Looked at a house yesterday and have some qustions and concerns.

The electrical wiring is old and will have to be replaced. I still has a fuse box and the older wiring on posts. The house has two finished levels, a bsmnt and an attic that will have to be wired, in addition to a new box. (I am assuming that I am correct on this, please let me know if I am not). There are five rooms on each floor -for a total of a little over 2600 sq.ft. - that each have several sockets that will have to be rewired. The house has plaster on wood lathe (sp?) walls, so I imagine that will add to the difficulty of pulling wires.

The question becomes - Any idea of what I am looking at spending to get the wiring and new box?

Next question.

The furnace is also old. Though not necessarily in need of replacement, it appears as though for efficiency's sake we might want to do that too. My dad (architect) mentioned that we might want one in the basement to heat the first floor, and a second in the attic to heat the second floor. Is this more efficient and if so will the savings outwiegh the added cost to install it?

I think that is all for now.

Thanks for your patience and advice.

Sam

You may find it difficult to obtain insurance with the old wiring. It can be a major job to update wiring as well as the 'box'. Lots of man hours involved. Old homes can be a great 'project' as long as you are willing to invest the time & money. Good Luck