Knob and tube wiring is an older type of wiring that was used in the past and can be found today in homes that were built prior to the 1950s. It is called ‘knob and tube’ because of insulator knobs which are used to keep wires isolated and insulating tubes that were used to guide conducting wires through walls or ceiling elements. Knob and tube wiring typically consists of a black and white wire (i.e. parallel and neutral).

         From an insurance perspective, knob and tube wiring is considered more dangerous than other types of wiring because the wires are quite old and worn due to their age. There is also no ground wire, which exists in modern wiring circuits. Furthermore, a contact of both black and white wires can result in a fire.