Understanding Electrician Labor Costs
Professional electricians usually charge between $141 to $419 depending on where you live and the skill level of the electrician who does your work. It can be difficult to book an electrician to perform a single small job since there is little profit margin in it. Where possible, it makes sense to have the electrician complete a number of tasks in the same service call, which will let you get the most out of the service call-out fee. Having a group of light fixtures installed, for example, is more cost-effective on a per-fixture basis than having a single light fixture installed. Considering that outlet receptacles can cost as little as $3 each, you can save a considerable amount of money if you learn to replace outlets yourself. However, if the electrician needs to establish grounding at the main fuse panel or circuit breaker panel, you can expect the costs to at least double. This project, too, is well within the reach of a homeowner armed with the right information. Installing a GFCI outlet yourself will cost $15 to $25. Average costs for a journeyman electrician to install a 220/240-volt outlet is about $300. However, this is actually a relatively easy job, and a homeowner who knows something about wiring can easily replace a circuit breaker for the cost of the device—which can range from about $10 to $40, depending on the type of breaker.
Upgrading to 100-amp service: $850 to $1,600Upgrading to 200-amp service: $1,300 to $2,500Upgrading to 400-amp service: $2,000 to $4,000
When an electrician upgrades the electrical service, the company providing the power will install a new meter, disconnect, entry wires, weather head, and circuit breaker panel. They will not, however, replace any circuit wiring or install any new circuits for this base cost. The electrician will install the meter base. Hero Images/Getty Images
Average Costs by Home Size
1,000-square-foot home: $2,700 ($1,600 to $3,800)1,200-square-foot home: $3,200 ($1,900 to $4,500)1,500-square-foot home: $3,900 ($2,300 to $5,600)2,000-square-foot home: $5,400 ($3,200 to $7,600)2,500-square-foot home: $6,600 ($3,900 to $9,400)3,000-square-foot home: $8,100 ($4,800 to $11,400)
This kind of rewiring job includes removing as much outdated wiring as possible and running new NM cable and connecting it to existing devices and breakers. Costs will increase if you are also replacing fixtures and devices or updating the main service. A fairly accurate estimate of rough-wiring costs can be calculated by determining linear footage of all walls, and multiplying by $8. For example, an average 2,000 square-foot house typically has about 450 linear feet of walls. Costs to wire the house are about $3,800 on a national average. Note that while these rough-in costs include cable and electrical boxes, they do not include the installation of the devices or light fixtures, which comprise an additional cost. Maguey Images/Getty Images Generally speaking, you are not required to update an existing garage to meet new code requirements, but you may want to do so in order to comply with code. And it can be a selling feature if you are planning to sell your home. Costs for this work can vary depending on the complexity of the work. For example, if the garage is detached, requiring an underground feeder cable delivering a new circuit, the cost will be considerably more than if you are simply extending wiring to an attached garage. Or, if you are installing 240-volt receptacles for recharging an electric car, the costs will be more. Costs for adding circuits to a garage range from $1,200 to $2,500, with the high end of the range representing detached garages where an underground feeder cable must be buried beneath ground running from the main service panel to the garage. This cost involves running cable, installing boxes, and making connections. Costs of light fixtures and other devices are additional.
