How much does it cost to rewire a house is a good question? This will vary depending on size and a number of factors. This is for a basic rewire with regular plugs and switches.
The cost to rewire a house is from $10,000 to $15,000 USD which includes labor, materials and usually with no heat source for 1200 to 1500 square feet. You will have to buy your own light fixtures as well. The cost can go up if you have finished walls that you do not want damaged. This also does not include basement wiring or any outbuildings that need rewiring. A 200 amp breaker service is usually included.
Of course there are a number of reasons why you would want to know how much does it cost to rewire a house. After all it is your money.
5 Tips About How Much Does It Cost To Rewire A House
- How to choose the right contractor to rewire.
- Do I need a permit ?
- How long does to take to complete?
- Does the cost change year to year?
- Do I need to notify my insurance?
How Much Does It Cost To Rewire A House-How To Choose The Right Contractor
Choosing the right contractor is very important. Firstly there are a lot of “backyard” electricians that will tell you they can do the job. When the show up in an old beat up truck, open the door and all their tools fall out then that should tell you something about them. Always ask for their certifications. Ask to see their electrical license. Check to see if they have workers compensation and most importantly check to see if they have operating or liability insurance. There is no shame in asking, it’s an industry standard these days.
Do I Need A Permit When I Rewire a House?
Well yes of course you need a permit to rewire your house. The electrician should be able to pull that for you. The permit is filed with the local inspection authority. It usually comes with a number of inspections by your local inspector. If you do not pull a permit chances are it will come back to bite you someday like for example when you try to sell the house.
How Long Does The Rewiring Take To Complete?
Depending on the size of the home it can take up to a couple of weeks to complete all the wiring. The electrician usually will start with pulling new power feeds to the attic from the panel box. If your walls are finished then they can usually fish the plugs down the upstairs outside walls. The light circuit can be done via the attic.
The first floor outlets can be fish from the basement but the first floor lights are always trickier. In most cases there will be some small holes in the ceiling where the wire has to go into the switch. The first floor is usually the lengthiest part of the job. Some helpful hints to speed the process up is to move everything from the outside walls to the center of the room for the outlet portion and then move everything back again the walls for the lighting portion. After all you don’t want to be paying your electrician to move furniture around.
Does The Cost Change Year To Year?
Yes it does. The code changed and is updated every 4 years. These code changes often add to the requirements in which to wire a home. For example, we used to wire one smoke detector which was hardwired.
Now you will need one on every floor and on a new house every bedroom as well. With every new code release comes new rules to pass inspection. Currently you need to have arc fault breakers added to every new outlet circuit in the house. A regular breaker costs about 10 bucks as an arc fault costs about 80 bucks. So you can see the price of the project will go up over time.
Do I Need To Notify My Insurance?
Yes it is a very good idea to notify your insurance company that you are have the work done. Most homeowners policies require this. You might be very surprised that you now qualify for a reduction on your policy premium. This usually happens buy removing the old ungrounded wiring, fuse panel and adding heard wired smoke detectors.
5 Reasons To Rewire Your House
- Added power loads
- Insurance request updated wiring
- Adding a new heating source
- Resale value
- Adding a hot tub
Added Power Loads
Over time more added electrical loads to a home cause problems. Especially the larger loads. Did you know that 70 percent of your home’s power sage comes from heat and hot water. They are the largest single consumers on your power bill. That being said there are a number of tips you can do to save money on your power bill but that’s another article.
Insurance Request For Updated Wiring
In some cases you home owners insurance may request some updating to meet their policy requirements. They may ask to have a certified Electrician provide a report or even ask to have some code upgrades completed to continue obtaining a policy with them. Even worse if you have an accident with the home related to electrical and the company finds out you have old outdated wiring they may not cover the incident.
Adding A New Heat Source
Installing a new heating system in your home is the most single largest power consumer of your electrical load. A mini split heat pump actually draws a minimum load however the full size central units are the power hogs.
Not in the sense that the heat pump itself draws a lot of power but the electrical back up source in the main central unit can draw 100 amps itself. Now this may never turn on or be used but must be part of the electrical load calculation the the house. This usually causes the home owner to upgrade to a 200 amp service which adds cost to the rewire.
Resale Value
Although the cost to rewire your house can be pricey, you will be pretty much guaranteed to get dollar for dollar back out of the resale. Most home buyers look for updated wiring in the home inspection. If the wiring is already completed then the buyer can not use the old bad wiring as a bargaining chip to get the sale cheaper. We see it all the time in our trade.
Its recommended that you install at least a 200 amp service or larger. This tells the potential buyer they can add load or even build a garage or shop. It make the home much more marketable.
Adding A Hot Tub
Adding a hot tub to your property makes it marketable, however most larger size hot tubs can draw power of 50 to 60 amps. This will definitely place you in a situation to do some rewiring. A 100 amp power service is simply just not enough power in which case you would need to go up to a 200 amp service. This can be costly, however if you can afford the hot tub well…chances are you should invest some money in the rewire as well.
How Long Does A House Rewire Take?
On average a house rewire can take 6 to 14 business days. This widely depends on the size of the home, how much access the electrician have. It also depends on how much damage to the home you are willing to except. Generally this does not mean electricians are going to come in and destroy things. However the better access you can give them the better. This will keep the time and cost to a minimum.
If you can move things out of the way, or section off a part of your home at a time while they are working. It can help greatly improve the ease of messy construction in your home.
Conclusion
In this article we talked about the basic costs to rewire a house. We also talked about the added expenses that can increase the price. In closing thought, do your homework, choose the right company and make sure you get a clear quote or contract from the chosen electrical company.
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