Estimating the cost to rewire a house |
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How much does it cost to rewire a house?Total expenses to replace old electric wires in the house determined by multiple factors and actual cost primary depend on material prices which have to be purchased and cost of labor to perform the project. Electrician will price the work based on its difficulty and issue an itemized estimate with all charges and fees after in-home inspection and analyzing all details. Size of the house, a number of switches and outlets as well as overall condition of old electric system in the house will have direct impact on how expensive home improvement project would be. Calculating gross expenditures to replace electrical wiring
Insulated electric wire is a major material which has to be purchased for performing a house rewiring project. But in older houses rewiring often means not only wire replacement, but main load center with circuit breakers, conduits and electric boxes. There is no average cost of materials can be defined because each and every project is different and actual electric supplies expensed greatly vary depending on what has to be bought.
If metal tube conduits in good condition and replacing wires could be done without opening walls or ceiling, labor expenses will be minimal. Partial plastering or drywall removal in order to reach old electric cables and drilling holes in studs for putting new conduits from electric panel to all outlets, switches, and light fixture is an extremely costly project. In addition, after all rough-in electrical done, fixing walls and ceiling is unavoidable what will increase labor expenses even more.
Theoretically electric wires, cables, boxes, conduits, conduit fittings, load center and circuit breakers can be easily purchased from local home improvement retailer. Practically, electrician hired to perform the work will supply all necessary materials with including all expenses into total cost.
On average, an experienced electrician with two skillful helpers are able to complete basic electric wiring work in 2-story 2,100 ft2 – 2,300 ft2 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house within couple days. Complex work which include removal all existing electric boxes, installation new 150 Amp load center with 25 circuit breakers and replacing all armored cables with new conduits might take longer than installation of a whole electric system in a new home before insulation and drywall work. Before defining scope of a work to perform and determining its difficulty, it is impossible to calculate a number of man-hours accurately. Some electric wiring projects could be done relatively easy and fast while others might take weeks to complete.
All electrical projects in the house should be done according to building codes and if you have no idea how to calculate an acceptable number of switches and outlets on a single 20 Amp circuit breaker or which gauge of wire to use, you better not even think about do-it-yourself the wiring project. When it comes to electricity, poor work is unacceptable and hiring licensed electrician will ensure not only quality of work, but homeowner’s safety as well. |
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