$60 per hour for labor (if licensed & legal 
) + cost of parts.
Also, it might depend on whether you purchased the parts directly from the wholesaler or had your contractor go to purchase it for you. The wholesalers will usually give 2 invoices to contractor (one for contractor price and one for retail price). Contractor pays the wholesaler the contractor price BUT shows his client (you) the retail price invoice given to him by the wholesaler himself, hence pocketing the difference.
) + cost of parts.Also, it might depend on whether you purchased the parts directly from the wholesaler or had your contractor go to purchase it for you. The wholesalers will usually give 2 invoices to contractor (one for contractor price and one for retail price). Contractor pays the wholesaler the contractor price BUT shows his client (you) the retail price invoice given to him by the wholesaler himself, hence pocketing the difference.
I just got an estimate to get a 200amp service put in my house. Currently I have a 100amp panel w/fuses.
Cost for new panel + line from meter + breakers + labor = $1000. I considered that to be a bit high.
Of course, Minnesota is different than California
Cost for new panel + line from meter + breakers + labor = $1000. I considered that to be a bit high.
Of course, Minnesota is different than California
OrganizedChaos
Diamond Member
- Apr 21, 2002
- 4,524
- 0
- 0
theres got to be more to it than this. residential circuit breakers pop in and out with one hand, unhook with a screwdriver. in high school there was a shop teacher who would pop the breaker out of the box, unscrew the terminal and take it with him to keep the kids from doing anything stupid.
- Oct 9, 1999
- 15,216
- 3
- 81
you guys are funny and so wrong.
So I found out what happened and I agree we still got jipped on it. I will have to talk to BBB about it.
So basically the panel was wired wrong. Some idiot (not sure prior owner or came with the house) had wired the 15amp fuses with 2 wires on each side not one wire on each side.. effectively cutting the 15amp breaker to 7.5amps for each wire.
He also noticed this was done to a 10amp breaker. He rewired teh panel, replaced 3 breakers and put 3 new breakers in. So now there are no 10amp breakers, there are 15, 20 and 30 amp breakers. The 15amps are dedicated to certain things (garage, kitchen, washer/dryer etc). The 30amp is for the AC/Heating and 20 amps are for the lighting systems.
The biggest thing i noticed is that the lights in my room are brighter now.. much brighter.
So I found out what happened and I agree we still got jipped on it. I will have to talk to BBB about it.
So basically the panel was wired wrong. Some idiot (not sure prior owner or came with the house) had wired the 15amp fuses with 2 wires on each side not one wire on each side.. effectively cutting the 15amp breaker to 7.5amps for each wire.
He also noticed this was done to a 10amp breaker. He rewired teh panel, replaced 3 breakers and put 3 new breakers in. So now there are no 10amp breakers, there are 15, 20 and 30 amp breakers. The 15amps are dedicated to certain things (garage, kitchen, washer/dryer etc). The 30amp is for the AC/Heating and 20 amps are for the lighting systems.
The biggest thing i noticed is that the lights in my room are brighter now.. much brighter.
2 wires per each side? So two circuits would be routed through each breaker? That wouldn't halve your breaker current exactly.. you just couldn't use more than that many amps on both those circuits combined.
Depending on how much diagnostic work they had to do, it could have been an involved job. Certainly more to it than just replacing the breakers. Maybe your Dad didn't get ripped off?
Depending on how much diagnostic work they had to do, it could have been an involved job. Certainly more to it than just replacing the breakers. Maybe your Dad didn't get ripped off?
blurredvision
Lifer
- Oct 19, 2000
- 17,860
- 4
- 81
When I bought my house in September of last year, I had it upgraded to a 200amp service for the new heat pump we had installed. An electrician that lived down the street charged us $600 total for parts and labor. I split the cost with the guy whom I was buying the house from. I don't know if that was a good price, but it only cost me $300, which I know is a good price
.
RadiclDreamer
Diamond Member
- Aug 8, 2004
- 8,622
- 40
- 91
I had my entire breaker box replaced with all breakers, as well as having a new drop ran from the pole, a new grounding rod etc and it was only $1000
Squisher
Lifer
- Aug 17, 2000
- 21,204
- 66
- 91
Double wiring is done all the time. It is illegal, but I'll admit I've got one circuit right now that is double wired. All that's on one of the circuits is the clock and igniters for my gas stove. I did it because I have to go to a electrical supply house not a home center to get breakers and I've just been too lazy to do it. It's a Cutler-Hammer box not the normal SquareD you'll find in the home centers.
So, we've got the price of 6 breakers and the hour to install them? I'd say $200 including labor and that's on the high side.
I doubt there was a lot diagnostic work done. If I looked in a box, it would be the first thing I'd look for. And, swapping out breakers that keep tripping even after the second wire was removed would also be the first thing I'd do. Now, if the new breakers then kept tripping this is where the some diagnostics might come into play.
He said that he "replaced 3 breakers and put 3 new ones in." 2 of those new breakers were hooked up to half of the double wired circuits, what was the new one hooked up to? Did he have to fish line and run a new circuit? You start doing that and there's a $200+ job just for running the wire, not including materials. Take a look at copper prices in your area for electrical wire. Then at least double it. That's what you're probably getting charged for the cost of the wire.
Also, double wiring does not divide your amperage load equally across two wires. All it does is allow two branch circuits to share the same breaker. So if you're using an iron on one branch that's drawing 10A and decide to turn on the air-conditioner (10-15A) on the other that's going to attempt to pull 20-25A across the line. Breaker shuts ya down.
If the panel was double wired, there's no telling what else he could've been wrong in there and what he had to do to bring things up to code.
Also, what type of panel do you have? Depending on that, those breakers could've cost a pretty penny each. If it's not your typical panel, even for 15A breakers it could've ran him $25 a pop from a supply house.
Post a copy of the work order. It should detail everything they did.
Also Squisher, Home Depot carries both the CH and BR style Cutler-Hammer breakers. The BR style is simply the rebranded Bryant breakers everyone is used to.
DrPizza
Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
I read through the thread and agree the OP's father was ripped off, unless there's MUCH much more to it than even what's in the OP's update.
Also, Sao's price of $1500 seems pretty close to me... A 200 amp box with breakers isn't that expensive when you buy them together. (I think I've seen them for around $300, including the breakers. Last year I installed a 100Amp panel in my barn; it came with 6 20-amp breakers. IIRC, it was $80. Buying breakers individually is much more expensive than buying a box of them, or buying a kit that contains the panel box and the breakers.
The only question I'd have about his $1500 is the cost of the ceiling light fixtures, unless he just means the electrical boxes rated for supporting ceiling fans. Switches and outlets are dirt cheap; no more than $100 for a house.
Also, Sao's price of $1500 seems pretty close to me... A 200 amp box with breakers isn't that expensive when you buy them together. (I think I've seen them for around $300, including the breakers. Last year I installed a 100Amp panel in my barn; it came with 6 20-amp breakers. IIRC, it was $80. Buying breakers individually is much more expensive than buying a box of them, or buying a kit that contains the panel box and the breakers.
The only question I'd have about his $1500 is the cost of the ceiling light fixtures, unless he just means the electrical boxes rated for supporting ceiling fans. Switches and outlets are dirt cheap; no more than $100 for a house.
hanoverphist
Diamond Member
- Dec 7, 2006
- 9,867
- 23
- 76
thats what i was thinking too. a 15A circuit for all that isnt going to last at all. mebbe the DC was full and they had to daisy a new panel to it or they had to repair wiring that melted due to the shorts. if this were industrial id have said "yup, thats about right" lol.
hanoverphist
Diamond Member
- Dec 7, 2006
- 9,867
- 23
- 76
and didnt put into account the amount of labor cost would have been involved if he had others do it for him. 65/hr is cheap, and all that work would have cost a bit i bet. i know we bill our elecs out for 65 (industrial) and a rewire would be more than a new install just due to the existing wiring/ gear. it takes longer to fix something than it does to do a fresh install generally.
I was commenting on the assumption that his price included labor (which it didn't). Just for parts his $1500 sounds feasible. And those boxes that are specifically rated for ceiling fans are $10-$15 a pop.
The thing is he didn't give us quantity or type on these things either. Also to what extent he replaced everything.
-Rocker vs. Toggle switches is $2 vs $0.20
-Decora vs. Duplex Receptacles is $2 vs. $0.40
-Ceiling Light fixtures range from a barebones porcelain socket to expensive light fixutres.
-Electrical boxes
-Dimmers
-Recessed lighting
-Depending on what he did with the service entrance, he probably had to run a complete new service setup, which in terms of conduit and fittings probably ran $50-$100.
-Meter box is going to run $70
-Main panel is going to run about $150-$200 for it + 20 breakers included
-Misc. Breakers is going to be $100-$200 depending on what kind he needed.
-GFCI adds considerably to the cost (Breakers are in the $50 range while the Receptacles are much cheaper).
-AFCI breakers are $40 a pop for all bedrooms.
-Throw in the cost of an assorted amount of butterfly clamps, cable staples, wire protectors (from nails), wall plates. Plus all those other wonderful things.
-Pulling permits is another thing that's going to be at the very least time consuming, in addition to having the inspectors come through.
And we haven't even talked about wire yet.
-If he's talking about 250ft rolls of 12-2, he's talking probably around $60+ per roll. If that's the case, you got over $600 just on wire.
-If you're required to have Wired-In smoke detectors, there's money running that.
-Dryer/Range wiring if it's electrical. 6-3 and 10-3 wire ain't cheap.
-Service entrance wire is going to cost him probably $5-$7/ft if it's SER or SEU.
I honestly just hope he had someone come through and do an inspection on it.
I wouldn't be surprised if he had to put in new wire. The way he's saying he kept on resetting the circuit and then it was sizzling, it's a distinct possibility.
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