Family Handyman shows knob‑and‑tube fix

Old-house wiring is the real subject here — not some newly published fix for knob-and-tube itself. Family Handyman’s article is a narrow how-to about one annoying renovation problem: swapping a light fixture in a plaster-and-lath ceiling or wall without wrecking the plaster around it. The move it shows is adding a modern electrical box where old knob-and-tube conductors come through, so the fixture connection is enclosed the way current code expects. That’s useful. But it is not the same thing as repairing or modernizing a whole knob-and-tube system. (familyhandyman.com) ### What did Family Handyman actually publish? It published a DIY project called “How To Mount an Electrical Box in an Old Plaster Wall,” surfaced on the site under the URL “How to Connect Old Wiring to a New Light Fixture.” The page says it was updated on July 25, 2024, rates the job as beginner level, estimates a full day, a(familyhandyman.com)nd lath, insert a box, and mount the new fixture. (familyhandyman.com) ### Why is knob-and-tube even involved? Because houses built before World War I often still have original knob-and-tube wiring at light locations. That older method did not require the kind of electrical boxes now expected for fixture connections. So the problem is less “how do I fix antique wiring” and more “how do I make thi(familyhandyman.com)cond problem. (familyhandyman.com) ### What’s the actual trick with the plaster? The whole method is about cutting just enough and not breaking the plaster keys that hold the finish coat to the lath. The article says to probe for the lath edges, center the box, cut carefully, support the lath while trimming it, and leave enough intact so the box ears still bear on solid plaster. Basically, the craftsmanship is wall preservation, not electrical redesign. (familyhandyman.com) ### Does it say knob-and-tube is okay to keep? In a limited sense, yes. The page says old wiring is still acceptable if the insulation is intact, but the connections have to be made inside an approved electrical box when you change the fixture. That is a very different claim from “knob-and-tube is fine” in general. Family Hand(familyhandyman.com)t electrical updating is often part of the picture. (familyhandyman.com) ### So is this a DIY electrical green light? Only partly. Family Handyman regularly frames DIY electrical work as something homeowners can do only within code, with local inspection requirements, and with pro help when projects get beyond basics. Its wiring guides explicitly tell readers to verify local code cycles and call a (familyhandyman.com) device or box installation. (familyhandyman.com) ### What’s missing from the viral framing? The big missing piece is that the article does not walk readers through replacing splices throughout a knob-and-tube system, certifying safety, or deciding when an old circuit should be abandoned. It is one fixture-location fix. Helpful, yes — but narrow. If the insulation is brittle, if there’s no clear g(familyhandyman.com)e years, this article does not solve that. (familyhandyman.com) ### Why does that distinction matter? Because old-house owners often want two things at once — preserve historic plaster and avoid a full rewire bill. This project helps with the first goal at a single opening. It does not settle the second. The catch is that cosmetic minimalism and electrical safety are not the same project, even when they happen in the same hole in the wall. (familyhandyman.com) ### Bottom line? The story here is smaller than the social post makes it sound. Family Handyman showed a careful, cheap way to add a proper box for a light fixture in old plaster where knob-and-tube wiring is present. That’s a real and useful trick. But if you read it as a general DIY repair guide for knob-and-tube wiring, you’re reading more into it than the article actually promises. (familyhandyman.com)