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I have an older house that was built in stages back around 1960 as far as I can surmise. Highly suspect that the entire house was a DIY job.

I've been unraveling the wonky wiring since day one. The original part of the house was wired with a fuse panel and 12 gauge wiring without grounds. I'm a somewhat experienced DIYer when it comes to wiring but what is an acceptable upgrade in this situation is something that I haven't dealt with in the past.

The newer part of the house was obviously built at a later date and is served by a 100 amp breaker box that I've had an electrician upgrade. The POs ran a double 40 amp wire from the breaker box to the fuse panel so that it essentially became a sub-panel servicing the back side of the house and labeled it as the dryer circuit on the main panel. I'd love to upgrade all of the wiring in the back of the house but The realities of lead paint, asbestos insulation in the ceilings and some pretty dense spray in insulation(which could also contain asbestos) make that unrealistic as I doubt any electrician would want to take on that job without remediation of aforementioned substances. Not to mention I would have to add half a dozen outlets, upgraded outlet boxes etc. and deal with what ever other new codes have evolved in the last 60 years. Just not a can of worms I want to open.

I've removed the dryer, basement wiring and furnace from the fuse panel and reinstalled with new wires to the new 100 amp service panel. That leaves only the 3 bedrooms, hallway, one bathroom (no outlets) and the laundry room (not the dryer) on the fuse panel with three remaining fuses (one is double tapped). This is a total of 11 outlets and 6 lights. All wiring seems to be 12 gauge and all remaining fuses are 20 amp. The fuse panel is in good condition for something that is 60 years old. There's no scorching, oxidation, etc. all sockets are in good shape and I've had no issues with fuses blowing in the 2.5 years that I've owned the house.

I've looked around for replacement options and have found several that seem reasonable but likely aren't code compliant so I'd like some input/advice on the subject. I've seen junction blocks, junction boxes, breaker sub panels, etc. The subpanel would seem to be the best option and likely okay per code but without any grounding wires is that really an option? I can easily run a ground to the subpanel from the main panel so that the subpanel is at least grounded. As far as using a junction box I could easily remove 2 of the laundry outlets from the main circuit as well as the bathroom lights because they are on interior walls and easily accessible. That would just leave 9 outlets and 5 lights to tie together on three circuits into a junction box. Or is it best just the leave the fuse panel alone. I know that some insurance companies have issues with fuse boxes so I really would like to replace it.
 
I have an older house that was built in stages back around 1960 as far as I can surmise. Highly suspect that the entire house was a DIY job.

I've been unraveling the wonky wiring since day one. The original part of the house was wired with a fuse panel and 12 gauge wiring without grounds. I'm a somewhat experienced DIYer when it comes to wiring but what is an acceptable upgrade in this situation is something that I haven't dealt with in the past.

The newer part of the house was obviously built at a later date and is served by a 100 amp breaker box that I've had an electrician upgrade. The POs ran a double 40 amp wire from the breaker box to the fuse panel so that it essentially became a sub-panel servicing the back side of the house and labeled it as the dryer circuit on the main panel. I'd love to upgrade all of the wiring in the back of the house but The realities of lead paint, asbestos insulation in the ceilings and some pretty dense spray in insulation(which could also contain asbestos) make that unrealistic as I doubt any electrician would want to take on that job without remediation of aforementioned substances. Not to mention I would have to add half a dozen outlets, upgraded outlet boxes etc. and deal with what ever other new codes have evolved in the last 60 years. Just not a can of worms I want to open.

I've removed the dryer, basement wiring and furnace from the fuse panel and reinstalled with new wires to the new 100 amp service panel. That leaves only the 3 bedrooms, hallway, one bathroom (no outlets) and the laundry room (not the dryer) on the fuse panel with three remaining fuses (one is double tapped). This is a total of 11 outlets and 6 lights. All wiring seems to be 12 gauge and all remaining fuses are 20 amp. The fuse panel is in good condition for something that is 60 years old. There's no scorching, oxidation, etc. all sockets are in good shape and I've had no issues with fuses blowing in the 2.5 years that I've owned the house.

I've looked around for replacement options and have found several that seem reasonable but likely aren't code compliant so I'd like some input/advice on the subject. I've seen junction blocks, junction boxes, breaker sub panels, etc. The subpanel would seem to be the best option and likely okay per code but without any grounding wires is that really an option? I can easily run a ground to the subpanel from the main panel so that the subpanel is at least grounded. As far as using a junction box I could easily remove 2 of the laundry outlets from the main circuit as well as the bathroom lights because they are on interior walls and easily accessible. That would just leave 9 outlets and 5 lights to tie together on three circuits into a junction box. Or is it best just the leave the fuse panel alone. I know that some insurance companies have issues with fuse boxes so I really would like to replace it.
Since you have no grounds you need to put them circuits on GFCI breakers for your added protection. Adding extra receptacles is not going to be easy, but keep up the good work. One project at a time
 

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