Hello! Think this will be my first actual post so hopefully I don’t miss anything.
We recently bought a house which needed some electrical work done, but it turned out it needed a lot more done than we thought… We haven’t moved in yet but basically, the overhead lights barely work and if you plug anything into an outlet then all of the lights turn off. The lights also flicker a lot – but that comes and goes.
We’ve been in touch with the 3 closest electricians (the home is in a town under 1k population) and one was nice enough to go to the house for free and look at the outside “meter can.” He provided this estimate (copied and pasted exactly), along with a price of $2,102 USD.
The house was built in 1920.
"Included labor/materials (install):
- 10ft-2inch PVC conduit.
- 2inch weather head.
- 20amp Meter panel combo.
- 4/0 THHN service wire.
- 1-2pole 60amp breaker (AC unit)
- 1-2pole 30amp breaker (water heater)
- Upgrade grounding system."
I thought the grounding system upgrade meant he would turn all of the 2-prong outlets in the house into 3-prong outlets but he told me that doing that would double the price.
(The other two electricians I constacted didn’t see the meter in person but quoted “$1750” and “around $500.”)
Could anyone explain what upgrading the grounding system would do? Also, does it sound like all of this will fix the problem I’ve described? I’ve never dealt with electrical work before and I’m just worried as this is a huge amount of money for people in rural areas like ours, and if it doesn’t fix it then I won’t be able to afford another try or move in…
It looks like your quote is to upgrade the meter and main panel, and install new breakers for the AC and water heater. Which is good, and sounds necessary, but only the first step to modernizing the home’s wiring. Upgrading the grounding system means the connection between the main panel and the earth, which usually means driving copper rods in the ground.
Now, if the wiring between the main panel and the outlets is serviceable, he can connect those at the panel and you’re good. But if you don’t have grounded plugs currently, you should run new wires to each outlet and remove the old wiring. This is a big job behind the drywall in every room, thus doubling the quote you got.
Edit BTW the $2000 quote might sound high but it’s fair. For something that can easily burn your house down if done incorrectly, don’t go with the $500 guy.
I see. This helped me understand a bit!
Unfortunately it’s definitely not affordable for now to do new outlets in every room if it will double the price… Though I’d love to. Our current home also suffers from ungrounded outlets and well, honestly, most homes in towns like these do. It’ll definitely be a priority in the future but there’s so much we need done for now…
I’m glad I assumed right to not go with the $500 guy. It seemed so low for the cost the other 2 we’re giving me!
Really appreciate you explaining and your opinion!