Am I paying too much for this work?

September 27, 2011 12:44 PM

Just got quoted about $3000 for a new 200 amp main breaker panel (upgrading from 150 amp). Plus 300 permit fees. Seems like a lot. Am I getting ripped off? The reputable company quoting the job says it will take about 5 hours to complete.

After some firery malfunctions in my old service panel and meter panel last night, I got quoted the above price. Because I was scared of potential dangerous results if I didn't get a new panel, I said yes right away. I know I need a new panel, but this seems like a lot.
The electrician gets here soon.
House is 28 years old, single family 4 bedroom dwelling in metro denver area.
Comments? Too much?

posted by Rad_Boy to Home & Garden (12 answers total)

Town of sixty thousand 45 minutes outside of San Francisco, 3 years ago I paid... I'm not sure exactly but it was between $1200 and $1800 for a new 200A breaker panel (upgrading from 60A fuse box), including PG&E re-running the drop from the pole, and permits, moving the panel outside the house and running the circuits back to connect to the old panel, and running three(? may be 4) new circuits in the garage.

Get at least 3 quotes for any work, preferably 5. $3k sounds way high.
posted by straw at 12:49 PM on September 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

It doesn't sound crazy, but you might call around to a couple of other places to get quotes. We thought we might have to replace the service panel (thankfully didn't) and our quotes were running in the $2000-3000 range if I remember correctly. One or two allwed me to e-mail pictures to be able to give me a worst case estimate over the phone. These were all reputable electricians who had been in business for a long time.
posted by goggie at 12:49 PM on September 27, 2011

Yeah, look for other quotes. The differences between the quotes I got for my condo were pretty significant (one guy said it would take two days, another said it would only take an hour or two).
posted by Melismata at 12:53 PM on September 27, 2011

I got a quote of about $2500 for a 200 amp panel around the Boston area....
posted by burlsube at 1:05 PM on September 27, 2011

I paid a bit over $2000 for this work in the Portland, OR area a couple years ago.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 1:12 PM on September 27, 2011

Cost me about $2000 to uprgrade my panel once I paid the electrician and the service provider. However I supplied the new panel (surplus I'd been holding onto for this purpose) and I ran all the new circuits a panel upgrade requires in this jurisdicition (IE: dedicated outlets for fridge(s), dishwasher and outside outlet. New outlet on 2nd story deck. And outlets in all bathrooms.)

Things that will significantly effect cost even in identical houses right next to each other are distance from service and for overhead service whether a mast is required or a non rigid (EMT/TECK) option is permitted. Also for over head service whether you have a one or two story house. And there are some AHJ that require copper service conductors in some cases which greatly increases cost over aluminum.
posted by Mitheral at 1:13 PM on September 27, 2011

Response by poster: Thanks for input so far. Extra information: The meter panel was already replaced last night because there was a fire in it (to the tune of about $800). The local electric company did some work last night but his job is done. The service is already connected. I got the electrician to wait on the breaker box until I at least heard from my insurance company as to whether or not it would be covered under my home owners plan.
posted by Rad_Boy at 1:29 PM on September 27, 2011

We replaced our panel (and needed a new pole thingy) a few years ago. The first bid was about $3,000. We decided that while it was an emergency we should get more bids. The others were for $1,600 and $2,000. The $1,600 bid eventually ended being about $1,800 (there were some extras we needed.)

Definitely get more bids!
posted by vespabelle at 1:30 PM on September 27, 2011

We just did the same thing, new panel and service connection to the house (the pole on the house to which the wires from the power company pole attach). We were about $2k as I remember, although I did get some much higher quotes. The company with the biggest ad in the phonebook (some people still have these) which advertised same day emergency service gave the highest quote. The guy recommended by other local contractors was more reasonable, but he couldn't get to us for several days during which service to part of our kitchen was out. If i were you I would try to get another quote or two.
posted by caddis at 1:47 PM on September 27, 2011

You can verify the permit fees by calling the relevant agency that issues them and asking. The time estimate seems about right but the cost of the panel box seems out of line. See if you can get more estimates and/or purchase as much of the equipment as you can yourself and have them just do the labor.
posted by tommasz at 2:05 PM on September 27, 2011

We paid around $2,000 for ours.
posted by Ostara at 2:47 PM on September 27, 2011

I paid $3200 in the Seattle area for a 400A SquareD panel and drop to replace a 200A panel. This was ~5 years ago. $3K is perhaps at the high end of the range.
posted by bz at 3:56 PM on September 27, 2011