An electrician gave me a $400 estimate to run a new 15A circuit from the
breaker panel in the living room, down into an unfinished basement directly
below, and then up to a new washer outlet in the bathroom, all about 25 feet
away. I thought this estimate was rather high, considering there was a
minimum amount of in-wall wiring required. Does this estimate sound ok? ---
John

"John" wrote on 25 Jan 2005:

Does this estimate sound ok?

From what you've provided, who can say?

It doesn't sound as if running the wire in the basement will be a
problem. But how much tearing up of your living room wall will he
have to go to get the wire into the panel? If he's got to cut and
patch some drywall, that may require several trips out, in which
case $400 would certainly be justified.

--
Doug Boulter

To reply by e-mail, remove the obvious word from the e-mail address

On Tue, 25 Jan 2005 21:41:38 -0500, "John" wrote:

An electrician gave me a $400 estimate to run a new 15A circuit from the
breaker panel in the living room, down into an unfinished basement directly
below, and then up to a new washer outlet in the bathroom, all about 25 feet
away. I thought this estimate was rather high, considering there was a
minimum amount of in-wall wiring required. Does this estimate sound ok? ---
John


Now John, How on earth is anyone in here going to know the answer to
that question? We cant see it and dont know the amount of work
involved. Get two other estimates and then compare.
Remember...........if it was that easy, you would be doing it yourself
and you ARENT doing it yourself now, are you?
"Its too high, Its too low, Its ok."
Bubba

"John" wrote in message
...
An electrician gave me a $400 estimate to run a new 15A circuit from the
breaker panel in the living room, down into an unfinished basement
directly
below, and then up to a new washer outlet in the bathroom, all about 25
feet
away. I thought this estimate was rather high, considering there was a
minimum amount of in-wall wiring required. Does this estimate sound
ok? ---

$400.00 sounds about right for that.

"John" wrote in message
...
An electrician gave me a $400 estimate to run a new 15A circuit from the
breaker panel in the living room, down into an unfinished basement
directly
below, and then up to a new washer outlet in the bathroom, all about 25
feet
away. I thought this estimate was rather high, considering there was a
minimum amount of in-wall wiring required. Does this estimate sound
ok? ---
John

If it is as straight forward as you say, it might be a tad high. But...
last year I changed a single switch to a 3 way, thinking it would take me a
couple hours. It ended up taking all day. Since he has no idea what
problems he will encounter, it is reasonable to charge a bit more than what
it will take if everything goes perfectly.

"John" wrote in message
...
An electrician gave me a $400 estimate to run a new 15A circuit from the
breaker panel in the living room, down into an unfinished basement
directly
below, and then up to a new washer outlet in the bathroom, all about 25
feet
away. I thought this estimate was rather high, considering there was a
minimum amount of in-wall wiring required. Does this estimate sound
ok? ---
John


It may be OK. The question is more about time than materials. 25 feet is
nothing, but if he needs a helper to assist in fishing the wire it suddenly
is getting more expensive.

If you think it is high, get another price.

"Doug Boulter" wrote in message
.142...
"John" wrote on 25 Jan 2005:

Does this estimate sound ok?

From what you've provided, who can say?

It doesn't sound as if running the wire in the basement will be a
problem. But how much tearing up of your living room wall will he
have to go to get the wire into the panel? If he's got to cut and
patch some drywall, that may require several trips out, in which
case $400 would certainly be justified.

--
Doug Boulter

Sorry, I should clarify. There wouldn't be any tearing or re-patching
drywall, he would just fish the Romex through the same hole in the basement
ceiling under the LR panel that the existing wires use. He would run the
other end to an existing access hole in the basement ceiling under the
bathroom wall.--- John

John wrote:
An electrician gave me a $400 estimate to run a new 15A circuit from the
breaker panel in the living room, down into an unfinished basement directly
below, and then up to a new washer outlet in the bathroom, all about 25 feet
away. I thought this estimate was rather high, considering there was a
minimum amount of in-wall wiring required. Does this estimate sound ok? ---
John



Price the components and see for yourself. 100 foot length
of #12 cable (or #`14 of you are cheap), 1 breaker, outlet
box, and receptacle with plate. Then look at the work, is
there room in the box? how hard is it to drill a hole and
fish the wire? what do you have to do to get the wire to
the area below the washer? And how much problem to put the
box in?

Depends on where you live, but, yes it is high. Materials
cost would be less than $100, repair material would be less
than $20, labor probably less than 2 hours. I see the
biggest problem (expense or labor time) as the wire run in
basement depending on how run direction compared to the
floor joists.

If it were my house, I would do it myself since I have done
some wiring, and depending on how badly I tore up walls, get
a drywall guy to repair the wall (Hate drywall finishing).

John wrote:
"Doug Boulter" wrote in message
.142...

"John" wrote on 25 Jan 2005:


Does this estimate sound ok?

From what you've provided, who can say?

It doesn't sound as if running the wire in the basement will be a
problem. But how much tearing up of your living room wall will he
have to go to get the wire into the panel? If he's got to cut and
patch some drywall, that may require several trips out, in which
case $400 would certainly be justified.

--
Doug Boulter


Sorry, I should clarify. There wouldn't be any tearing or re-patching
drywall, he would just fish the Romex through the same hole in the basement
ceiling under the LR panel that the existing wires use. He would run the
other end to an existing access hole in the basement ceiling under the
bathroom wall.--- John


In that case, $300 should be a maximum. Any
non-professional, reasonably accomplished, could do it in a
couple of hours with a maximum of $50 of materials.

Last time we met, John had said:
An electrician gave me a $400 estimate to run a new 15A circuit from the
breaker panel in the living room, down into an unfinished basement directly
below, and then up to a new washer outlet in the bathroom, all about 25 feet
away. I thought this estimate was rather high, considering there was a
minimum amount of in-wall wiring required. Does this estimate sound ok? ---
John

Depends where you live. In the Boston area where cost of living is
high and we don't have enough contractors, that's seems reasonable.



dv

--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The geographical center of Boston is in Roxbury. Due north of the
center we find the South End. This is not to be confused with South
Boston which lies directly east from the South End. North of the South
End is East Boston and southwest of East Boston is the North End.

If it were my house, I would do it myself since I have done
some wiring, and depending on how badly I tore up walls, get
a drywall guy to repair the wall (Hate drywall finishing).

I too am faced with putting in a couple new circuits for a
whirlpool bathtub. Got 2 quotes, one for $800, the other
$600. This is in So. Calif.

I'm thinking about doing it myself. I've put in new outlets
tied into existing ones, and done quite a bit of pulling wire
through the walls and attic while putting in a home theater
system. Only new part for me would be working in the
main breaker box, installing the new breakers. Am
I crazy to be thinking about taking this on?

TIS

Ed

On Tue, 25 Jan 2005 21:41:38 -0500, "John" wrote:

Does this estimate sound ok? ---

The marketplace determines whether the price is OK. The surest way to
get the answer to your question is to get a couple more quotes if
possible. Getting more than one quote can have a number of other
benefits. Different contractors often have different takes on the
same situation and sometimes the results are surprising and
educational, so in addition to gaining perspective on how good the
price quotes are, you often learn something besides. Other factors
enter too -- quality, responsiveness, reliability, etc., and your
chances for being satisfied with the final job can really be improved
by doing some comparing.

"Jag Man" wrote in message
m...
If it were my house, I would do it myself since I have done
some wiring, and depending on how badly I tore up walls, get
a drywall guy to repair the wall (Hate drywall finishing).

I too am faced with putting in a couple new circuits for a
whirlpool bathtub. Got 2 quotes, one for $800, the other
$600. This is in So. Calif.

I'm thinking about doing it myself. I've put in new outlets
tied into existing ones, and done quite a bit of pulling wire
through the walls and attic while putting in a home theater
system. Only new part for me would be working in the
main breaker box, installing the new breakers. Am
I crazy to be thinking about taking this on?

Installing the breakers is the easy part. If you can do the rest you've got
it made.
That said, there are plenty of codes about how to protect the wires etc.
etc. Read up so you know about these; after all, 120v cables are not as
harmless as the wires for your home theater.
Are you planning on getting it inspected? Might be prudent for a whirlpool.

"Jag Man" wrote in message
I'm thinking about doing it myself. I've put in new outlets
tied into existing ones, and done quite a bit of pulling wire
through the walls and attic while putting in a home theater
system. Only new part for me would be working in the
main breaker box, installing the new breakers. Am
I crazy to be thinking about taking this on?

TIS

Ed



Not difficult at all. Just be sure to use the right material, follow the
code, especially for the tub that may require ground fault protection. Just
remember that there will be live wires inside the box, usually above the
main breaker even if you shut off the main.

On Tue, 25 Jan 2005 21:41:38 -0500, "John" wrote:

An electrician gave me a $400 estimate to run a new 15A circuit from the
breaker panel in the living room, down into an unfinished basement directly
below, and then up to a new washer outlet in the bathroom, all about 25 feet
away. I thought this estimate was rather high, considering there was a
minimum amount of in-wall wiring required. Does this estimate sound ok? ---
John



Patching, sanding, painting drywall can be time-consuming. You could
offer to do the patchwork and painting, leaving just the wiring for
the electrician--it may cut the cost in half.

"Jag Man" wrote on 26 Jan 2005:

I too am faced with putting in a couple new circuits for a
whirlpool bathtub.

I guarantee that your locality requires a permit for this work.
You haven't mentioned GFCI protection for the circuits, which is
also certainly required. That suggests that you really don't know
what you're doing here.

This kind of work should always be done with a permit whether you
do it yourself or have it done. If done improperly, you could
endanger someone's life. This isn't a home theater. I'd recommend
that you hire a pro.

--
Doug Boulter

To reply by e-mail, remove the obvious word from the e-mail address