If you bought this car you probably have a few assets, e.g. nice house, cars etc. Unfortunately I've had contractors try to charge me more because of this apparent affluence. This was especially funny when they would quote a price on the phone and actually increase it when they saw the house! I’m cheap, I works hard for my money and I still care about costs. Posting this to share my experience with this project. I'm in the Vancouver WA area but I'm sure things are similar in other areas.
I called six different electrical contractors about installing outlets in my garage. Some were “one man” shops on Craig’s List and others were the big names you see around town. I asked for two bids from each contact. The first was a single 220 volt outlet installed just below the existing breaker box. This would require about a foot of metal electrical conduit, a 50 amp circuit breaker and a 50 amp outlet. The second was for an outlet on the opposite side of the garage, requiring about 80 ft of wiring and conduit. Drywall would need to be cut around the breaker box and none of the bids included repair. I’ve attached pics of the completed work (without drywall repair) to this posting.
After getting a few bids back I was amazed at the range in prices. $140 to $375 for a simple install below the existing breaker panel. $650 to $1172 for the bigger job. The Clark county inspector was especially helpful in explaining what is probably happening. A big contractor has big jobs and really doesn’t want/need a 220 volt install. He’ll do it but it will cost you. Small shops can and will use this and overcharge the uninformed.
My Clark County permit and inspection was $59.50 and provided by my electrician. The inspector was again a great help. He had seen numerous examples of gouging in this area. Some firms will charge you as much as $150 for the permit. They don’t have to do any work, take time to go anywhere as this is an online application followed up with phone calls to coordinate inspections. You can do this yourself but any competent electrician should do it as part of the job for no additional expense. Licensed electricians average about $85/hr depending on size of the company. I found that the bigger the outfit the more they charged.
Here are some general prices for parts. Nothing here exorbitantly expensive
- - - Updated - - -
The following are the final three estimates (cut and pasted).
Estimate 1
We propose the following
Install 50 amp NEMA 14-50 rec on 50 amp breaker @ 45 ft distance $738.00
Install outlet at location 40ft more (not sure what he meant by this) $245.00
Install 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] 50 amp NEMA 14-50 under panel $165.00
Sheet rock may be cut and will need repair after work is done and to be done by others
Subtotal $1146.00
Tax $ 96.43
Total $1242.43
Estimate 2
We propose the following
Install 50 amp NEMA 14-50 rec on 50 amp breaker @ 45 ft distance $1065.00
Install outlet at location 40ft more included in price above
Install 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] 50 amp NEMA 14-50 under panel $215.00
Sheet rock maybe cut and will need repair after work is done to be done by others
Subtotal $1280.00
Tax $107.52
Total $1387.52
Estimate 3
We propose the following
Install 50 amp NEMA 14-50 rec on 50 amp breaker @ 45 ft distance $600.00 includes Tax
Install outlet at location 40ft more included in price above
Install 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] 50 amp NEMA 14-50 under panel $150.00 includes Tax
Sheet rock maybe cut and will need repair after work is done to be done by others
Total $750.00
If you local I’d be happy to share my contractor’s contact info. [email protected]
I called six different electrical contractors about installing outlets in my garage. Some were “one man” shops on Craig’s List and others were the big names you see around town. I asked for two bids from each contact. The first was a single 220 volt outlet installed just below the existing breaker box. This would require about a foot of metal electrical conduit, a 50 amp circuit breaker and a 50 amp outlet. The second was for an outlet on the opposite side of the garage, requiring about 80 ft of wiring and conduit. Drywall would need to be cut around the breaker box and none of the bids included repair. I’ve attached pics of the completed work (without drywall repair) to this posting.
After getting a few bids back I was amazed at the range in prices. $140 to $375 for a simple install below the existing breaker panel. $650 to $1172 for the bigger job. The Clark county inspector was especially helpful in explaining what is probably happening. A big contractor has big jobs and really doesn’t want/need a 220 volt install. He’ll do it but it will cost you. Small shops can and will use this and overcharge the uninformed.
My Clark County permit and inspection was $59.50 and provided by my electrician. The inspector was again a great help. He had seen numerous examples of gouging in this area. Some firms will charge you as much as $150 for the permit. They don’t have to do any work, take time to go anywhere as this is an online application followed up with phone calls to coordinate inspections. You can do this yourself but any competent electrician should do it as part of the job for no additional expense. Licensed electricians average about $85/hr depending on size of the company. I found that the bigger the outfit the more they charged.
Here are some general prices for parts. Nothing here exorbitantly expensive
220 volt wire runs $70 -$170 for 250 ft depending on the gage. This is about 30 to 70 cents/ ft
http://www.homedepot.com/s/webapp/c...=None&Ntpr=1&Ntpc=1&selectedCatgry=SEARCH+ALL
50 amp outlet ($8-$10 for outlet itself, additional $5 for the metal box) -
http://www.homedepot.com/s/webapp/c...=None&Ntpr=1&Ntpc=1&selectedCatgry=SEARCH+ALL
50 amp circuit breaker ($10-$15) - http://www.homedepot.com/s/webapp/c...=None&Ntpr=1&Ntpc=1&selectedCatgry=SEARCH+ALL
Electrical conduit (metal, $2-$4 for 10 feet) -
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Allied-T...ic-Tube-Conduit-101550/100400406#.UlnU8VCsiSo
http://www.homedepot.com/s/webapp/c...=None&Ntpr=1&Ntpc=1&selectedCatgry=SEARCH+ALL
50 amp outlet ($8-$10 for outlet itself, additional $5 for the metal box) -
http://www.homedepot.com/s/webapp/c...=None&Ntpr=1&Ntpc=1&selectedCatgry=SEARCH+ALL
50 amp circuit breaker ($10-$15) - http://www.homedepot.com/s/webapp/c...=None&Ntpr=1&Ntpc=1&selectedCatgry=SEARCH+ALL
Electrical conduit (metal, $2-$4 for 10 feet) -
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Allied-T...ic-Tube-Conduit-101550/100400406#.UlnU8VCsiSo
- - - Updated - - -
The following are the final three estimates (cut and pasted).
Estimate 1
We propose the following
Install 50 amp NEMA 14-50 rec on 50 amp breaker @ 45 ft distance $738.00
Install outlet at location 40ft more (not sure what he meant by this) $245.00
Install 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] 50 amp NEMA 14-50 under panel $165.00
Sheet rock may be cut and will need repair after work is done and to be done by others
Subtotal $1146.00
Tax $ 96.43
Total $1242.43
Estimate 2
We propose the following
Install 50 amp NEMA 14-50 rec on 50 amp breaker @ 45 ft distance $1065.00
Install outlet at location 40ft more included in price above
Install 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] 50 amp NEMA 14-50 under panel $215.00
Sheet rock maybe cut and will need repair after work is done to be done by others
Subtotal $1280.00
Tax $107.52
Total $1387.52
Estimate 3
We propose the following
Install 50 amp NEMA 14-50 rec on 50 amp breaker @ 45 ft distance $600.00 includes Tax
Install outlet at location 40ft more included in price above
Install 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] 50 amp NEMA 14-50 under panel $150.00 includes Tax
Sheet rock maybe cut and will need repair after work is done to be done by others
Total $750.00
If you local I’d be happy to share my contractor’s contact info. [email protected]
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