200 Amp service Upgrade Cost?

Wolf99

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I want to upgrade my electric service to 200amps.

I've currently have a 100amp electric service. it is fine for the size of the house, but I'm looking to finish my basement for media room/play room for my daughter. I also want to install several baseboard electric heaters to supplement the forced air furnace in the rest of the house. what should it cost me to upgrade to a 200amp service? the main power comes to the house at the roof-line and goes straight down to the basement (20-25') and right into the breaker box. Any suggestions?
 
Numbers we always throw around for a service upgrade are about $2k. I'm interested to learn what the electricians on this forum have to say.
 
I placed an RFP through a web page called "Service Magic" and got a bunch of contractors to bid on the work. The bid specifically called for a 200A SquareD QO panel (not that Homelife crap) and PVC. Bids were in the 1200 to 2300 range with GEM plumbing coming in at a whopping 5 plus grand! I settled on a guy that charged me $1340. I had 2 8 foot copper grounding rods that someone had given me so the job was a little cheaper. He, Jim, wasn't the cheapest nor the most expensive but during the bidding process he was the only one that showed up on time. That counts for something in my book. I also made sure I he knew that. The guy was a pro and I now have an electrician for life.

http://www.servicemagic.com/rated.JamesSmally.16662067.html
 
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I would say 1500-2200 depending its hard to say with out looking at it but that is a ballpark for 200 amp 40 ckt panel and the outside to be done in pipe. Being in Plymouth I would say you would want to do it in copper not aluminum because of the salt air. Also look in to the permit fee some towns are 25 bucks some as much as $100
 
I placed an RFP through a web page called "Service Magic" and got a bunch of contractors to bid on the work. The bid specifically called for a 200A SquareD QO panel (not that Homelife crap) and PVC. Bids were in the 1200 to 2300 range with GEM plumbing coming in at a whopping 5 plus grand! I settled on a guy that charged me $1340. I had 2 8 foot copper grounding rods that someone had given me so the job was a little cheaper. He, Jim, wasn't the cheapest nor the most expensive but during the bidding process he was the only one that showed up on time. That counts for something in my book. I also made sure I he knew that. The guy was a pro and I now have an electrician for life.

http://www.servicemagic.com/rated.JamesSmally.16662067.html

Whats wrong with Square D homeline? And I would say 2k is a fair price now copper is high right now(if you wanna go copper) and the price of everything generally speaking is high. Also if you are doing the basement it will need to be all arc-fualt breakers whihc are around $30.00 a breaker which drives the price of that.
 
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Whats wrong with Square D homeline? And I would say 2k is a fair price now copper is high right now(if you wanna go copper) and the price of everything generally speaking is high. Also if you are doing the basement it will need to be all arc-fualt breakers whihc are around $30.00 a breaker which drives the price of that.

What would be the alternative to copper wire? Just so I know when I start getting estimates.
 
I had my service upgraded to 200A, along with a new larger panel, new service entrance cable (it was very weathered and the covering was fraying), and all my old 2-prong receptacles replaced with grounded 3-prong types (the existing wiring had a usable ground, thankfully). All of that came to $2300, done last spring/early summer.
 
I take it copper is better for corrosion?

Yes. Aluminum is suitable in most places. But where exposed to extreme salt air conditions, copper is better. Keep in mind, with the current code changes in this new code cycle, there are a lot more provisions us electricians have to take, so the prices are a little higher then they have been.
 
As the home owner, do I pull the permit or does the electrician doing the work do it?
 
i would strongly suggest you get a certificate of insurance from his
agent and have it in your name.

THIS !

Anytime you have a contractor or tradesman do work for you, insist that his agent (call them yourself) fax you a binder naming you as a co insured on his liability insurance.

Lots of fly by night guys will get insurance long enough to get the paperwork, then let it lapse but still handing out copies of the policy as supposed proof of insurance. The fun starts when you have to make a claim then oooops!
 
I put electric baseboard heaters in my house many years ago. But when I looked at what they were costing me, I pulled them out!

Maybe they make them more efficient now, but just wanted to throw that in to the equation....
 
the "hydronic" electric baseboards are a little more efficient then the standard baseboard heaters.
I put electric baseboard heaters in my house many years ago. But when I looked at what they were costing me, I pulled them out!

Maybe they make them more efficient now, but just wanted to throw that in to the equation....
 
a good suggestion, might be checking out a site called "angies list" it is a homeowner site with customer ratings for contractors in your area.
I want to upgrade my electric service to 200amps.

I've currently have a 100amp electric service. it is fine for the size of the house, but I'm looking to finish my basement for media room/play room for my daughter. I also want to install several baseboard electric heaters to supplement the forced air furnace in the rest of the house. what should it cost me to upgrade to a 200amp service? the main power comes to the house at the roof-line and goes straight down to the basement (20-25') and right into the breaker box. Any suggestions?
 
I put electric baseboard heaters in my house many years ago. But when I looked at what they were costing me, I pulled them out!

Maybe they make them more efficient now, but just wanted to throw that in to the equation....

What did you replace them with? I'm not sure that there are a lot of options unfortnatley...
 
I put an addition on my small house up in Maine about eight years ago which virtually doubled it's size. I hired a local electrician who came in started the job and then disappeared and stopped returning my phone calls. Being unfamiliar with the legal aspects of what I was doing I found myself up the creek without a paddle.
A few Sundays later I was spreading stone dust on my driveway and one of my neighbors friends stopped for a quick chat and I told him about my predicament with the electrician. He told me to call one certain neighbor and tell him he had referred me. Three days later and because my permit had already been pulled he was there hooking up my "Hurricane Hook-up" to the side of the house. I had already hung the box on the cellar wall so while he was there he hooked 6-7 circuits so I could get by until he had time to get back to finish up everything.
He and I hit it off pretty good and ended up being pretty good friends so he told me to run all my wires from my addition and he'd tie everything up in one shot. Because I had the extra time and ran quite a few extra dedicated lines in the addition and out to my garage.
It came out great and when the building inspector came he was so impressed with the work he never asked any questions when he signed off on it.
Things are quite different up in Maine and I was fortunate enough to be able to barter with my new electrician. Turns out his wife was into horses and her training ring needed.....yes...stone dust. Being a truck driver for one of the largest paving companies in NE at the time I got employee discounts on any material I needed for personal use. Back then stone dust wasn't used for making asphalt mix and was considered a waste product. I got her three tri-axle loads of stone dust for about $125 delivered and he told me because she was happy to consider myself paid in full. After seeing some of the prices some of you had to pay I realize how lucky I was.
 
I'd get $2200 for it. Baseboard would be extra.
Vicpinto when did you have that done for $1340 ? That's really cheap.

I got this done last April. A lot of guys lowballed because the economy was shit and they needed the job. More power to the consumer...

I would have paid a lot more. My homeowners insurance dropped over 500 bucks switching to circuit breakers from glass fuses.
 
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