Licensed electricians serving Keokuk and Lee County, Iowa.
★★★★★ More than 80 five-star Google reviews · BBB Rated · Licensed IA + IL · Available 24/7
About half the homes in Keokuk were built before 1950
Keokuk’s median home was built in 1951, and roughly half the city’s houses went up before then. That’s part of what makes Keokuk feel like Keokuk — but it also means a lot of homes still run on wiring that was installed decades before modern code. Knob-and-tube wiring, two-prong outlets that aren’t grounded, fuse boxes instead of breaker panels, electrical service rated for the appliances of 60 years ago. If any of that sounds like your house, you’re not alone. And it’s fixable.
We’ve done this work in older homes across the area
Burlington and Fort Madison have a lot of the same historic homes as Keokuk — homes from the late 1800s and early 1900s that have been quietly running on wiring from a different era. We have 20+ years experience upgrading panels, replacing knob-and-tube, and bringing historic homes up to current code without tearing into more wall than we have to.
What we do for Keokuk homeowners
Most of what we do in Keokuk is residential work in homes that have been around for a while. A few of the calls we take most often:
- Whole-home rewires — replacing old or unsafe wiring throughout the house, including knob-and-tube
- Electrical panel upgrades — fuse box to modern breaker panel, 100-amp service to 200-amp
- Ungrounded outlet replacement — bringing 2-prong outlets up to current code, including GFCI where needed
- Service upgrades — for homes with electrical service rated for a different era
- EV charger installation — Level 2 chargers at home, even for older homes that need a service upgrade first
- Generator installation — we’re a Generac dealer
- Smart-home wiring and lighting — when you want your historic home to keep up with modern demands
- Commercial and industrial work — about 20% of what we do; if it’s electrical, we can handle it!
24/7 Emergency Electrician
For the calls that can’t wait until Monday morning.
Don’t See What You Need?
Call us! Every electrical need is unique. We will walk through your exact issue and find a solution.
Same transparent pricing across all of Southeast Iowa
Most electricians in this part of Iowa won’t show you a number until they’re already at your door. We do it the other way around. Our pricing page lists the prices for the work we do most often — service calls, panel upgrades, rewires, EV chargers, generators — and the price we publish is the price we quote. The only thing that changes a quote after that is something we couldn’t see from the outside (the kind of thing nobody can quote sight-unseen, like asbestos in old plaster). If we find something like that on a Keokuk job, we stop, show you what we found, and update the quote before we keep working. Same way we’d want it if it were our house.
What sets us apart from a typical Southeast Iowa electrician
Most electricians in this part of Iowa work the same way: you call, they come out, they tell you the price at your kitchen table, you decide on the spot. That works if you have time and the patience to compare three quotes that all arrived at your door. We do it differently. Our pricing is published before you ever pick up the phone, our 24-hour callback promise is on every call, and we tell you what we’d want to know if it were our house — including when we’d recommend a different approach than the one you called about.
What Keokuk Customers Say
★★★★★
“I recommend T.A.P. Electric for electrician needs in the Keokuk, IA area. I called a few electricians in the area. T.A.P was the only one to return my call. You will be treated like a person, not just a job. They are quick to respond and provide fast service at fair price. They are knowledgeable and will explain everything, like what’s not up to code and exactly what will be done.”
— Jamie R. · Google review · April 2025
★★★★★
“Troy was an immense help getting the very out dated electrical work in our home up to current code, putting in the necessary equipment to upgrade our appliances, and having our home ready to move into in a timely manner. His entire process was very thorough from his walk through and quote with all the work suggested, to the finished product and final walk though. He was even so kind as to clean up some of the cobwebs that had accumulated in our basement rafters and also didn’t leave any mess behind. Another thing that was really appreciate was progress photos he would share as work was completed each week and the availability to chat at odd hours and on weekends about any issues or extra things. Lastly, Troy went above and beyond with making extra visits to our home if other projects/job sites were delayed. Overall, my wife and I are very pleased with Troy’s work and would absolutely recommend him to anyone needing electrical work. We certainly intend to stay in touch for future work on our home.”
— Parker M. · Google review · March 2026
A note about The Gate City
Keokuk has been “The Gate City” since 1855, and Lock and Dam No. 19 — built in 1913 — was once the world’s largest single-powerhouse hydroelectric plant. Power has flowed through this stretch of the Mississippi for over a century. We’re proud to keep it flowing safely into Keokuk homes.
Licensed, insured, and easy to call
- Licensed and insured in Iowa and Illinois (IA Contractor Registration #C143094)
- BBB Rated
- More than 80 five-star Google reviews at a 5.0 average
- Available 24/7 — call, text, or use our quote form
- 24-hour callback promise — every call gets a response inside one business day
- No surprises — we stop and check in before any scope or price changes
Common questions from Keokuk homeowners
My home was built in the 1920s and still has the original wiring. Do I need to rewire?
Not every old home needs a full rewire, but most homes built before 1950 have at least some wiring that wouldn’t pass a modern inspection. The most common safety issues are knob-and-tube wiring with no grounding wire, brittle insulation, and undersized service for today’s appliances. The honest answer is we’d need to take a look to tell you for sure — and we can usually do that with photos and a phone call before anyone comes out.
What’s the difference between a fuse box and a breaker panel? Do I need to upgrade?
Fuse boxes were standard until the 1960s. They work, but they were designed for the electrical loads of that era — a refrigerator, a few lamps, a radio. Modern homes pull a lot more current, and a 60-amp fuse box can be a fire risk under that load. Upgrading to a 100-amp or 200-amp breaker panel brings the house up to current code and gives you the headroom for everything from a new HVAC unit to an EV charger.
How long does a whole-home rewire take in an older home?
It depends on the size of the home and how the walls and ceilings are built — plaster-and-lath takes longer than drywall. Most rewires we do in older Keokuk-area homes run between three days and two weeks. You don’t usually have to move out; we work room by room and keep power running where we can.
What does a panel upgrade cost in Keokuk?
Our pricing page lists the prices for panel upgrades, and those prices are the same across our whole service area. The final number depends on what we find when we look — every panel upgrade is a little different. If we need to do anything beyond the standard scope, we tell you before we do it.
Are you really 24/7, or is that marketing?
Real 24/7 for emergencies. If you’ve got sparks, smoke, a panel that’s hot to the touch, or a power loss that isn’t a utility outage, call (309) 333-3912 — you’ll get a person. Routine work happens during business hours like anyone else.
Need an electrician in Keokuk? Let’s talk.
We’d rather answer a quick question on the phone than have you wonder. Call or text (309) 333-3912 — we’ll get back to you within 24 hours. Or use the quote form below, and we’ll come back with a real number, not a sales pitch.