How Much Does It Cost to Rewire a House in Shreveport?

Whole-house rewiring is one of those projects nobody prices out until they have to. When a Shreveport homeowner calls us about aluminum branch wiring, cloth- insulated conductors from the 1950s, or a failed insurance inspection, the first question is always the same: what is this going to cost me?

Here is what we actually charge in 2026, what moves the number up or down, and how to keep the project in a reasonable range.

The short answer

For a typical Shreveport or Bossier City single-family home, whole-house rewiring runs $8,500 to $22,000. Most of our jobs land between $11,000 and $16,000. That range covers new NM-B branch circuits, new receptacles and switches, tamper-resistant outlets, AFCI/GFCI protection to current NEC, and a panel that can handle the new circuits.

If you also need a new 200A service, meter base, mast, and grounding upgraded to today's code, add $3,500 to $6,000 on top.

What actually drives the price

1. Square footage — but not the way you think

Rewiring isn't priced by square foot the way flooring is. A 1,400 sqft slab house with drywall ceilings is often more labor than a 2,200 sqft two-story with an accessible attic and crawlspace. Access is the number that matters, not the footprint.

2. Slab vs pier-and-beam

Slab houses (very common in south Shreveport, Southern Loop, and most of Bossier) mean every wire drop has to come from above. That adds ceiling fish work and drywall patches. Pier-and-beam homes in Highland, South Highlands, and the older parts of Broadmoor let us run home runs from underneath, which is faster and cheaper.

3. What's already in the walls

• Knob-and-tube: add 15–25% to the labor. It has to come out, not just be abandoned in place, if you want the insurance discount.
• Aluminum branch wiring (1965–1975): either full replacement or COPALUM/AlumiConn pigtails at every device. Full replacement is usually smarter long-term.
• Cloth-jacketed NM (pre-1965): insulation is often brittle and crumbles at the box. Standard rewire pricing applies but expect more drywall repair.

4. Panel and service condition

If you still have a Federal Pacific Stab-Lok or Zinsco panel — and a surprising number of Shreveport homes built in the 1960s and 70s still do — it has to be replaced as part of the rewire. Those panels are not code compliant to add circuits to. Budget the panel line item separately.

5. Number of circuits and code additions

Current NEC requires more dedicated circuits than a 1970s house has: separate 20A small-appliance circuits in the kitchen, a dedicated microwave circuit, a dedicated dishwasher circuit, a dedicated laundry circuit, AFCI protection on nearly every living-area circuit, and tamper-resistant receptacles everywhere. A code-compliant rewire on an older home usually goes from about 20 circuits to 30–40.

6. Drywall and finish work

Most rewires require cutting access holes at the top plate, at outlets, and at switches. Ed's Electric patches drywall to a paint-ready finish as part of the base price. Texture matching (knockdown, orange peel) and final paint are usually a separate contractor unless you ask us to coordinate.

What a typical Shreveport job looks like

A recent job in Broadmoor: 1,750 sqft pier-and-beam, 1962 build, mix of cloth-jacket and some 1980s Romex additions, Federal Pacific panel. Full rewire, new 200A service, 34 circuits, all AFCI/GFCI to code, drywall patched. Total: $14,800. Two electricians, six working days.

A recent job in Cross Lake area: 2,400 sqft slab, 1978 build, aluminum branch wiring throughout, existing 200A panel in good shape. Full copper rewire, panel kept, 38 circuits, all code updates. Total: $18,200. Two electricians, nine working days — the slab made every drop harder.

How to keep the cost down without cutting corners

• Do it during a remodel. If drywall is already coming down, the labor drops 20–30% because fishing wire is the expensive part.
• Do it before you re-roof or re-insulate the attic. Access is everything.
• Phase it. We can rewire the kitchen and laundry (the highest-load areas) first, then bedrooms and living areas later. Not ideal, but it spreads the cost.
• Combine it with a panel upgrade you were going to do anyway. You save the mobilization cost of a second job.

Financing and estimates

Ed's Electric gives free written estimates for full rewires. We walk the house, note every device, panel, and access point, and price the job as a fixed number — not time-and-materials. If we find something in the walls that changes the scope (we do about 15% of the time on pre-1965 homes), we tell you before we bill for it.

Ready to price yours? Call 318-688-2788 or request an estimate online. We cover Shreveport, Bossier City, Haughton, Benton, Keithville, and Greenwood.