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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2001
    Location
    New Jersey
    Posts
    1,509

    upgrading electrical unit for house

    I am planning on buying this house, and just got done with the home inspection yesterday.

    The electrical unit in the house only has 60-amps.
    The inspector said if I was to be running big screen tvs and computer, then I should upgrade.

    I am planning on upgrading to 200-amps.
    Any idea what the cost for this upgrade goes for?

    Thanks
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  2. #2
    Its going to be different depending on where you are, who does it etc...

    I would start by phoning a few people in your area to get the general idea on pricing.
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  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Posts
    452
    The above poster is correct. Its going to vary alot, I would get a few people to check it out and give you an estimate.

    Reguardless of cost you should do it. 60 amps would be fine if it was 1952. However with all the new gadgets we have these days it should be at least 100 amps for a small house and if it has a gas powered major appliances (stove, dryer, hot water heater).

    Also keep in mind that you shouldnt just stuff a bigger box where the old one was and call it good. In the old days many rooms or parts of the house (front rooms, back rooms, left side ..... whatever) used to be on one circuit. Now days the plugs in each room should have their own circuit. And rooms that have many objects that heat or cool (hair drys, curling irons, coffeepots, in window air conditioners ) might need two circuits because they draw ALOT of power. The bathroom and kitchen generally need more than one because of this. My Kitchen has 3 circuits in it. 2 that are just the kitchen. And a 3rd that shares with the room behind it. My house was built in the 20's was upgraded prolly in the 80's and trust me I know about weird power.


    Anyway......

    One hair dryer can draw 12-15 or more amps alone. And I would guess right now with a 60amp panel many rooms in your house share one circuit. One circuit is only good for 15 - 20 amps.

    Bottom line call a few local guys and disscuss what your are going to use where and have them come up with a price.

    I would suspect that you are looking at $1200 - $7000 to have it fixed. Most of the cost will be decided by how much usable stuff in currently in the house. What conditon the current wiring is, how much to get a new main line pulled. Stuff like that.

    Good luck

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    3,155
    The company I work for charges 85/ hr + materials.

    We done a plain a "panel change", and it took about 2 hours. I think it was a little over $400 for 2 guys.

    If your house has a 60A main, you will probably need a new service also, which depending if its underground over overhead (likely). We've done some service change (and panel changes) that took 2 8 hour workdays. Overhead lines are easier/cheaper to have replaced.

    However, my suggestion would be to also have the house rewired, or at least the rooms where you're going to be pulling the juice plus the panel change (plus service change, likely).

    Overall unless the job is easier and due to all the variables involved, I have to agree with 2Guns's figure of 1200-7000. Now, if holes are cut in ceilings and walls to get wires re-fed, theres an additional cost for a "drywall'er" to fix it, or you can DIY.

    Personal Experience:
    My aunt's house has a 100A service (plus gas), she wants to convert to electric, but a 100A service is not acceptible (by code), so I've done some conversion myself (stove) and will likely be upgrading the panel and service. All I can do the work for the cost of parts plus permit ($35). Otherwise to upgrade her from 100A to 200A, it cost her well into 1700, then again she lives in a mobile home so its easy to do this kind of stuff.

  5. #5
    Please, make sure the electircal company is FULLY insured.. I have seen to many people cheap out and hire a handy man or 2 man company that hacks their work up to offer that "low" price, and then down the road electrical fires etc...

    Its not worth the risk.. Pay the extra buck and save in the long run.

    Depending on the area that you in, the going rate will vary, it also depends on how much you will be doing.

    Also another little tip, find a company that deals in remodeling rather than electrical company that does mainly new construction. You will notice the differnce.
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  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    3,155
    Originally posted by Trifolic
    Please, make sure the electircal company is FULLY insured.. I have seen to many people cheap out and hire a handy man or 2 man company that hacks their work up to offer that "low" price, and then down the road electrical fires etc...

    Its not worth the risk.. Pay the extra buck and save in the long run.

    Depending on the area that you in, the going rate will vary, it also depends on how much you will be doing.

    Also another little tip, find a company that deals in remodeling rather than electrical company that does mainly new construction. You will notice the differnce.
    I'll have to personally give this a resounding I agree . I've personally gone behind other "electricians" who practiced such tactics, and I can say first had that you dont want to skimp on the cash between a certified/insured electrician vs a handyman. Especially in a remodel.

  7. #7
    Now i've read what others have said, and its clicked in my head a bit more, it sounds like you are going to have to think about a full re-wire.

    Really you should think about where you are putting things, its lways been sugested to me when we where looking at a rewire that you need to have a seperate wall socket for every appliance. I.E. where i put my computer i would need to have 8 Wall sockets (base unit, 2x monitors, usb hub, Printer, Router, Lamp, and phone charger... and i probably missed something). I'm not an electrican, but 3 people have told me that, so i guess it carnt be a bad idea.

    I dont know how good you are at DIY, however one electrican said if we did all the chasing our selse (cutting grooves in the wall) it would be a lot cheaper as that takes a lot of time.
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  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Posts
    452
    Im not a certified house electrician so im not aware for most of the codes related to residential work. However I work in the entertainment
    industry doing lighting. On a day to day basis I install gear drawing 1200 to 5000 amps of power running on diesel powered generators.

    That being said.......

    The amount of items plugged in has little to do with anything. What is important is how much power they draw. Installing a plug for each item
    is a waste of money (but prolly looks cool).

    What is important is how much power they draw. Every item what uses power will have a tag on it that tells you in watts or amps how much power it consumes. Circuit breakers are rated in amps and are generally 15 or 20 amps. If the item is listed in watts you can figure out the amps by using this..... Amps = Watts/Volts. Or just remember that 20 amps is 2400 watts at 120Volts. So a 400 watt appliance is about 3.5 amps.

    You could sit around for hours on end and attempt to figure out every exactly what every thing uses.

    Or you could just do what I would do. Which is put put one circuit for wall outlets in each room. Except the Kitchen, bathroom, and anywhere there is a window air conditioner. The Kitchen should get 2 or 3 depending on how many things you want to run at once. The bathroom should get 1 or 2 depending how curling iron, hair dryer happy you are. Rooms with window air conditioning units might need a second circuit if they are large units. If its just a 5000btu one I would skip it but if its a big daddy (12000+) you prolly should get a second outlet.

    As silly as it may seem computers, tv's and stereos really dont pull that much power so I wount worry about them. My computer room has 3 desktop computers, 2 laptops, modem, router, switch, printer, cordless phone and a bunch of other stuff. This is all on one 20 amp circuit and I have zero trouble with it. Ive never clamped it but I would be surprised if it exceded 12 amps running at full boar.

    Also note that the bathroom and kitchen should have GFI outlets, especially if you have children. I suspect that its part of the code for new houses anyway. But if its not spend the money.

    Informational GFI page http://doityourself.com/electric/gfi...athoutlets.htm


    Good luck

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