New home wiring cost

[1100011CS]

Anyone built a new home or had a major remodel with all/most new wiring? Had an electrician give us a bid and I almost had a heart attack when he told me what it would be. Hoping this guys was just really high. We're remodeling a ~1200 sq ft ranch. Pretty much gutted and needs mostly new wiring. Roughly what's your experience?

 

[jdcyclone19]

Anyone built a new home or had a major remodel with all/most new wiring? Had an electrician give us a bid and I almost had a heart attack when he told me what it would be. Hoping this guys was just really high. We're remodeling a ~1200 sq ft ranch. Pretty much gutted and needs mostly new wiring. Roughly what's your experience?

We finished our basement, put it in a new panel and gutted half of the main floor and redid the kitchen.

We paid around 6K if i remember correctly a year ago. I'll dig and find the actual numbers. 920 sqft ranch.

 

[CycloneDaddy]

Anyone built a new home or had a major remodel with all/most new wiring? Had an electrician give us a bid and I almost had a heart attack when he told me what it would be. Hoping this guys was just really high. We're remodeling a ~1200 sq ft ranch. Pretty much gutted and needs mostly new wiring. Roughly what's your experience?

My buddy in Texas was quoted $8,000 for his house about the same size the other day.

 

[1100011CS]

These replies make me feel a lot better. He was talking 3-4 times that.

 

[BCClone]

These replies make me feel a lot better. He was talking 3-4 times that.

Depends how gutted it is. If they don't have to deal with sheetrock for walls and ceiling and just have studs and joices to deal with, it saves a lot of money.

 

[jdcyclone19]

These replies make me feel a lot better. He was talking 3-4 times that.

Since our basement wasn't finished, he didn't have drywall down stairs to handle but the upstairs, he had to crawl around in the attic quite a bit. Our quote also include the smoke detectors, can lights, outlets, boxes, and switches.

 

[Sousaclone]

Depends how gutted it is. If they don't have to deal with sheetrock for walls and ceiling and just have studs and joices to deal with, it saves a lot of money.

Yeah. Lots of unknowns. How gutted is gutted? Is there any drywall up? Is he just replacing wiring or are you installing a bunch of new fixtures and completely changing the wiring layout of the house?

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

These replies make me feel a lot better. He was talking 3-4 times that.

Depends how gutted it is. If they don't have to deal with sheetrock for walls and ceiling and just have studs and joices to deal with, it saves a lot of money.

That quote is insane! Like BC said if the walls are going to be open, running new electrical is a piece of cake. You have to be careful with electrical and plumbing quotes. These guys are so freakin busy that they will throw out a crazy bid just to see if you bite.

 

[Gonzo]

We finished our basement a few years ago. Around 900 sf, it cost me $1,400 to get the electrical roughed in, including a sub-panel. I installed the recessed lighting, all the switches and outlets, and the breakers myself, which saved a good bit. I think they had said all that finishing work would've been another $1,200.

 

[keepngoal]

Running electrical and wiring up the house are two different things. Are you comfortable running the electrical yourself?

 

[cb1030]

My parents just remodeled a rental they bought from a bank at auction that needed a lot of love. New panel and basically a complete gut job. I think my dad said he paid 8k for the electrical.

Agree with what others have said. If the drywall is intact it makes for a much bigger job. If you have to do drywall work anyway it will definitely pay off to have the electrical work done while things are being gutted.

 

[AuH2O]

These replies make me feel a lot better. He was talking 3-4 times that.

If it is truly wiring that's an insane cost. I had a 800 sq. ft. upper level rewired, outlets added, and hardwired smoke detectors, swapped fuse box for breakers and upped the service in a 100 year old house that cost me $3800 10 years ago. This house had plaster walls too. I had some plaster repair to do after the fact to patch in holes they used for routing, but not a big deal.

It's hard for me to imagine full electrical in a 1200 sq. ft house running more than $10k on new construction, but I could be wrong.

There are some good electricians in Ames, not sure if they go to M'town. I use Jaspering whenever I can, but they are busy a lot. I've also used Thompson. Both did great work and were very professional. My experience is that Jaspering is tough to beat cost-wise of the bigger, established companies. I have thrown some oddball stuff at them with now two old houses and they always figure it out and charge a good price. I think they are always pretty swamped, so they have been able to get out for half-day and one-day jobs.

 

[1100011CS]

No drywall on the walls. Some on the main floor ceiling. We already had a new service/breaker box installed so doesn't include that. Does include lighting.

 

[CYme]

No drywall on the walls. Some on the main floor ceiling. We already had a new service/breaker box installed so doesn't include that. Does include lighting.

Find someone else. If you aren't in a time crunch, do it yourself. Pretty easy tbh, just tedious.

 

[1100011CS]

Find someone else. If you aren't in a time crunch, do it yourself. Pretty easy tbh, just tedious.

That's another thing. He was trying to say that I or my general contractor couldn't do it. That it has to be done or inspected or something by someone from the state?

 

[AgronAlum]

That's another thing. He was trying to say that I or my general contractor couldn't do it. That it has to be done or inspected or something by someone from the state?

If you pulled a permit, I think that’s generally the case. The inspector will want to see it before you start hanging drywall. For a full rewire, it should be done by a real electrician anyways.

Just get a couple more bids. The facility I used to work at in Marshalltown exclusively used Hawkins and they knew what they were doing.

 

[CYme]

That's another thing. He was trying to say that I or my general contractor couldn't do it. That it has to be done or inspected or something by someone from the state?

Depends on local ordinances, but I'd find another electrician if this is his take. Per most codes I've read in iowa, they are very lenient on home owners doing "light" electrical work. They are generally very vague to provide leeway.

If the panel is in, the rest is downhill from there.

 

[CYme]

If you pulled a permit, I think that’s generally the case. The inspector will want to see it before you start hanging drywall. For a full rewire, it should be done by a real electrician anyways.

Just get a couple more bids. The facility I used to work at in Marshalltown exclusively used Hawkins and they knew what they were doing.

This is also correct, if you have a permit you then are in a different situation.

 

[discydisc]

That's another thing. He was trying to say that I or my general contractor couldn't do it. That it has to be done or inspected or something by someone from the state?

Does he have hawkeye plates?

 

[PSYclone22]

My brother in law has to get a nearly hundred year old house re-wired and was quoted at $20k. Unsure of sq ft of house.