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brteeyez · Oct 20, 2008, 10:04 AM

My husband and I are looking into buying a house. This house is 50 yrs old and has 3000 sq ft. The only problem is that it runs on 100 amp fuse box with only 4 fuses. From the home inspection there are no ground wires on the outlets. The one reason we are currently interrested in this home is because it is in our price range and large enough for our family. We have all kinds of electronic devices, including xbox360, hdtv, computer, not counting regular appliances. Do we need to upgrade to a 2oo amp or is there an alternative? What would be the norm price range we are looking at? WE are willing to go and buy all the supplies and have someone install.

Completely Lost

rtw_travel · Oct 20, 2008, 01:04 PM

The question is not whether you upgrade the panel, it is what upgrades do you need to do to live in the house?

This is because adding a 200A service would not solve your problem. All that will do is give you the capacity to deal with upgrades. You would then need to rewire the house... or at least the portion of the house that you need 'modernized'.

Depending on design, this can be expensive if you have to open walls and ceilings to rewire. Ranchers with unfinished basements and attics can be 'relatively' easy.

stanfortyman · Oct 20, 2008, 01:17 PM

RTW gave you good advice.

Originally Posted by brteeyez

What would be the norm price range we are looking at?

A typical 200A service upgrade can run anywhere from $1800 to $3500 depending on location and logistics.

Originally Posted by brteeyez

WE are willing to go and buy all the supplies and have someone install.

Oh, don't do this unless you are planning on having some handyman hack do it for you. Which is NOT a good idea.
A "real" electrician will likely scoff at this suggestion.
I myself would flat turn down a job offered like this.

detroitdiesel · Oct 20, 2008, 07:09 PM

Originally Posted by stanfortyman

RTW gave you good advice.

A typical 200A service upgrade can run anywhere from $1800 to $3500 depending on location and logistics.

Oh, don't do this unless you are planning on having some handyman hack do it for you. Which is NOT a good idea.
A "real" electrician will likely scoff at this suggestion.
I myself would flat turn down a job offered like this.

No a "REAL" electrician would do this. Because there's no need to price gouge customers for the mark up on prices , I have done 200 amp upgrades for as little as $400.00 . If you keep your customers happy word of mouth is the best advertising... Just my .02

stanfortyman · Oct 21, 2008, 03:51 AM

NO, a REAL electrician hates it when the customer offers to buy the material because it never works out smoothly. NEVER!
Plus, they are doing this to supposedly save money. WRONG! It never works out that way. To think so would be foolish.
Marking up material is not gouging. It is business buddy. Of course if someone marks up their material 100% that is unrealistic, but a reasonable markup is typical and expected. WHY wouldn't it be?

Also, why is charging a reasonable market rate for a certain job automatically "price gouging" simply because YOU consider it high??

I charge an average price for my area, I am ALL word of mouth and referral, and I am swamped.

If you did a 200A upgrade for $400 congratulations. You're a martyr. You worked for someone for a day for free.
Unless of course this was 1964 we're talking about. :rolleyes:

Most folks have NO CLUE what is involved in doing a service upgraded. The phone calls; setting up with the utility and inspectors; material pickup, handling and preparation; travel time; qualifications from the utility to work on their stuff; INSURANCE; etc.
I all this time free?? Not from me it's not.

If you think I'm too high and I am "gouging" you I don't want to work for you anyway. There is a willing handyman hanging around in every home depot. He'll do the job for MUCH less.

brteeyez · Oct 21, 2008, 10:08 AM

Originally Posted by rtw_travel

The question is not whether you upgrade the panel, it is what upgrades do you need to do to live in teh house?

This is because adding a 200A service would not solve your problem. All that will do is give you the capacity to deal with upgrades. You would then need to rewire the house... or at least the portion of the house that you need 'modernized'.

Depending on design, this can be expensive if you have to open walls and ceilings to rewire. Ranchers with unfinished basements and attics can be 'relatively' easy.

Thanks for your input. I appreciate it. We plan on getting a licensed Electrician to look at the work we want to do and go from there. One call I made said they can add a ground wire to the outlets and guide it through the current wireing and hook it up. Also they can either add additional fuses or upgrade to a circuit breaker box. But thank you for your input. :D

Missouri Bound · Oct 22, 2008, 07:23 PM

Sounds like you have the right direction. May I add that try to plan for any future demands while you have the electrician there. It's cheaper to have all the anticipated work done now, rather than have him come back another or maybe two more times. And while he's got the wall open, it may be a good time to look at television and telephone cabling... just a thought. It will save you a headache down the road if you anticipate your future needs.

brteeyez · Oct 23, 2008, 08:25 AM

Originally Posted by Missouri Bound

Sounds like you have the right direction. May I add that try to plan for any future demands while you have the electrician there. It's cheaper to have all the anticipated work done now, rather than have him come back another or maybe two more times. And while he's got the wall open, it may be a good time to look at television and telephone cabling.....just a thought. It will save you a headache down the road if you anticipate your future needs.

Thanks for your input I will def have the electrician do that.