14-50 install estimate price check

[Venomized]

The electrician I’m using sent me an estimate yesterday of $750 ($350 labor / $420 materials). Does that sound about right for SF Bay Area? He’ll be adding a 50 amp breaker to my current panel and will be installing inside garage on the opposite side of where panel is.

In the picture the blue box is the circuit breaker panel and the green box will be the outlet.

 

[JBare]

The materials cost sound high but I'm in Virginia so maybe that matters. I did the legwork myself and had an electrician friend make the connections. My materials cost was a little over $200 (breaker, 6awg of 37', Leviton outlet, mounting box) but I know some outlets are closer to $100 vs the $15 I paid.

 

[Qbenjamin]

Cost me around $300 to have it installed right under the breaker, so your amount doesn't seem to be unrealistic since they have to run conduit about 20'+ to the other side of the garage.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Materials seem high to me as well. I would've guessed around $200 for materials for such a 'short' run.

 

[SD_Engnr]

The electrician I’m using sent me an estimate yesterday of $750 ($350 labor / $420 materials). Does that sound about right for SF Bay Area? He’ll be adding a 50 amp breaker to my current panel and will be installing inside garage on the opposite side of where panel is.

In the picture the blue box is the circuit breaker panel and the green box will be the outlet.

Sounds a bit high on materials. You should be able to buy all materials (for up to 50') yourself for around $200. Labor is relative, since we don't know their hourly rate, and how long it will take him. Looks like a straightforward job.

 

[skhenry81]

That's too much. I paid $600 Canadian to run wire from my panel in the basement to the garage. It was probably about a 45 foot run.

 

[WileyTheMan]

In the Bay Area? That is incredibly reasonable. I was quoted by multiple sources with $1,500, and that's without pulling additional amps from the line or upgrading the panel.

Heck, feel free to PM me with your contractor's information; I'd love to talk to him.

 

[TankoftheNorth]

The prices you guys are quoting is way lower than the two quotes I have in MN....and my run is around 20 feet.

 

[thaita]

I got a few quotes through yelp. Got one company who was actually Tesla authorized. Similar install like yours, opposite of same wall. $630 for the 14-50 and permit here in SoCal.

 

[Venomized]

Ok I asked for a breakdown and he replied with this:

The wires is what cost the most. #6 wire $186.90
#10 wire $30.00
Conduit was $35.40
Connectors and couplings $5.65
Breaker $ 9.77
14-50 plug $9.98
30-50 cover $9.98
LB $10.50
50 amp 2 pole breaker $9.78
One hole straps $5.05
4 square box $1.10
Tax $18.38
Overhead Expenses and Profit $ 88.11
Subtotal $420
Labor 5 hours at $70 per hour
Total labor $350
Total cost labor and materials $770

Thoughts?

 

[glide]

I paid $300 for a 45ft run from the box in Boston.

$700 is bonkers even for SF. Sounds like you’re paying the Tesla tax.

 

[ArizonaP85]

Worst part of the whole estimate is the $10 receptacle -- please read other threads on how the light duty receptacles can be a fire hazard for continuous 40A EV charging load, especially if you take your mobile connector with you on trips as the cheapie receptacles are not designed for plugging in and out regularly and can loosen over time.

 

[RandyS]

The #6 wire price might be a little high, although I'm not sure how long your run is from the picture. I bought 500 feet of black #6 on eBay about 6 months ago for about $225 with free shipping. Everything else looks good, and I agree on upgrading the cheap receptacle to something like a Hubbell...

 

[nomis_nehc]

Seems reasonable to me. One thing you gotta keep in mind is that the wire, sure it's way cheaper when bought in bulk, but at the distance that you're buying, and say from a local store, it's unlikely you'll be able to get it for that cheap.

At the end of the day, you gotta "pay to play" if you will, and respect the electrician's expertise and specialty. If it was unreasonable, I'd definitely call it out, but that seems to be within the range of pricing for NorCal and SoCal.

 

[mswlogo]

Ok I asked for a breakdown and he replied with this:

The wires is what cost the most. #6 wire $186.90
#10 wire $30.00
Conduit was $35.40
Connectors and couplings $5.65
Breaker $ 9.77
14-50 plug $9.98
30-50 cover $9.98
LB $10.50
50 amp 2 pole breaker $9.78
One hole straps $5.05
4 square box $1.10
Tax $18.38
Overhead Expenses and Profit $ 88.11
Subtotal $420
Labor 5 hours at $70 per hour
Total labor $350
Total cost labor and materials $770

Thoughts?

Bay area, in conduit. Sounds about right to me. Might take him 3 hours, but they all do that.
He listed the breaker twice though

 

[rsomrek]

The electrician I’m using sent me an estimate yesterday of $750 ($350 labor / $420 materials). Does that sound about right for SF Bay Area? He’ll be adding a 50 amp breaker to my current panel and will be installing inside garage on the opposite side of where panel is.

In the picture the blue box is the circuit breaker panel and the green box will be the outlet.

As others have noted, the material costs seems high. On other hand the labor cost seems okay (I'm guessing cheap for SFO/SJC). I'm in a Chicago suburb and paid ~$350 total (labor and material) for a slightly shorter run (but a little more complex path).

 

[Lloyd]

Spend a little more on the plug and buy the Hubbel model.

 

[pdp1]

$88.11 in profit is like a 26% markup on the raw materials, so that is probably why the materials cost seems a bit high, but I guess it's reasonable for the Bay Area.

5 hours seems like too long for a relatively simple job like that. Will he adjust that based on how long he actually works? If so, then I'd say that is reasonable as well.

 

[SW2Fiddler]

an estimate yesterday of $750 ($350 labor / $420 materials)

Materials seem high to me as well.

Sorry, but LOL! (420/high)

Ahem. If includes permit, seems OK to me.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Sorry, but LOL!

Ahem. If includes permit, seems OK to me.

It doesn't include the permit. OP indicated there is $88 in "profit" added in...and someone else pointed out that it looks like they charged for the breaker twice.

I would expect the installer to buy in bulk so he shouldn't be charging retail prices for materials and throwing in an extra $88 in "overhead/profit".