Aluminium Wiring

Aluminium Wiring Replacement in Calgary

If your house was built between roughly 1965 and 1978, there’s a reasonable chance the branch circuits — the wiring running to your outlets, switches and lights — are aluminium rather than copper.

Call (403) 690-3994 Request a Quote

Licensed & Insured
Local Calgary Experts
On Call Around The Clock

The Facts

Why aluminium was used, and what actually goes wrong

Copper prices spiked in the mid-1960s. Aluminium was cheaper, lighter, and perfectly capable of carrying current, so it went into a great many homes across North America for about a decade until the problems became clear.

The wire itself is rarely the issue. The connections are.

Expansion and contraction. Aluminium expands and contracts more than copper as it heats and cools. Over thousands of cycles, a screw terminal that was tight in 1972 works loose.
Oxidation. Aluminium oxide forms readily and, unlike copper oxide, resists current. That builds resistance at the connection, which builds heat, which accelerates everything else.
Dissimilar metals. Aluminium wire landed on a brass or copper terminal not rated for it corrodes at the junction.
Creep. Under the pressure of a terminal screw, aluminium slowly deforms — so the connection loosens even without temperature cycling.

The result is a warm outlet, a flickering light, a scorched receptacle, or in the worst case a fire that starts inside a box behind a wall. The failure is at the terminations, which is why the fix is usually at the terminations too.

Your Options

Pigtailing or a full rewire — the honest answer

Most contractors sell one of these. We’ll tell you which one your house needs.

Pigtailing

A short length of copper is joined to the aluminium at each device using a connector specifically approved for aluminium-to-copper joins, and the copper tail lands on the outlet or switch. Every device in the house gets the same treatment.

When it’s the right answer

the wiring itself is in sound condition, the insulation isn’t brittle or damaged, there’s no evidence of overheating in the runs, and the boxes have room to take the connectors.

What it costs you

far less than a rewire, and it’s usually done in days rather than weeks without opening walls.

What it doesn’t fix

the aluminium is still there. Any future work at those devices has to respect that, and a buyer’s inspector will still identify the home as aluminium-wired — though a documented, permitted remediation carries real weight.

Full rewire

Every branch circuit replaced with copper, back to the panel.

When it’s the right answer

insulation is brittle or damaged, there’s evidence of overheating in the runs rather than just at devices, the house is being renovated and walls are open anyway, or you simply want the question closed permanently.

What it costs you

materially more, and it’s disruptive — drywall gets opened and patched.

What it gives you

the issue is gone rather than managed.

There’s no universally correct answer. Anyone who quotes a full rewire without having looked inside a box is selling, not diagnosing.

The Fine Print

Insurance — the part people find out about late

Many Canadian insurers ask about aluminium branch wiring. Some decline it. Some require an inspection by a licensed electrician and documented remediation before they’ll write or renew a policy. Some load the premium.

If you’re buying a home from this era, ask your broker before you remove conditions. If you already own one and haven’t had the conversation, it’s worth having it now rather than at renewal.

We provide the documentation insurers ask for — a permitted, inspected job with paperwork you can hand over.

Where It Shows Up

Which Calgary homes have it

Broadly, houses built between the mid-1960s and the late 1970s. In Calgary that covers a good deal of the established inner communities and the earlier suburban development of that period.

Newer builds — most of Panorama Hills, Evanston, Sage Hill and Evergreen — are copper, and this page won’t apply. The reliable way to know is to look, not to guess from a build year: some homes were partially updated, and some were built in transition years.

What To Expect

What to expect

We look. We open a sample of devices and check the panel. You’ll see what we see.
We tell you which option fits, and why — including if the answer is “this is fine, leave it and get it inspected again in five years.”
We quote it fixed, with the permit and inspection included.
We do the work and the permit is inspected and closed. You keep the paperwork for your insurer and for whoever buys the house next.

Questions we get asked

How do I know if I have aluminium wiring?

The marking is printed on the cable sheath, often visible in the panel or an unfinished basement — look for “AL” or “ALUMINUM”. If you can see your panel, you may be able to tell yourself. If not, we can.

Is it dangerous?

It carries a higher risk than copper, concentrated at connections. Well-maintained, remediated aluminium wiring is not a house on fire waiting to happen. Ignored aluminium wiring with loose, hot terminations is a genuine hazard.

Can I just replace the outlets with aluminium-rated ones?

Devices marked CO/ALR exist for exactly this, and in some situations they’re appropriate. They don’t address junctions elsewhere in the circuit, and they aren’t a substitute for looking at the whole system.

Will this come up when I sell?

Yes. Every home inspector checks for it. A documented remediation turns it from a deal problem into a line item.

Do you do partial work?

We’d rather not do half a house. The circuits you don’t touch are the ones that fail.

YOUR HOME. OUR PRIORITY.

Talk to a licensed Calgary electrician

Call and you’ll speak to an electrician, not a call centre. We answer 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

Call (403) 690-3994 Request a Quote