New shop electric price quote?

[alan speyrer]

Hey guys, anybody care to say what is a good price for electric wiring on a new shop? Currently the best quote I have gotten is $4.50 a sq ft for the electrician to install the 150amp panel, run wire and conduit to all the plugs and lights. I really think I could do it cheaper myself, but never done that before, so I don’t want to burn the shop down.

 

[Bob-J-H]

And you have how many sq. ft. 3 phase or single phase?

 

[Larry Dickman]

if i's a commercial building, it has to be done by a licensed contractor. can't do it yourself no matter what.

 

[alan speyrer]

Shop is 30 by 40, 1200sq ft, it’s a metal building, it’s on my property. Single phase service, I have a rotary phase converter for three phase machinery and have single phase for welder and other equipment

 

[projectnut]

I would seriously consider a larger service. We started out with a 200 amp service in the house and a 100 amp service in the garage. We outgrew the 200 amp service and had to add another 100 amp sub panel. It's not that there are so many large machines drawing on the service, it's just nice to have many different outlet circuits, lighting circuits, and dedicated machine circuits. That way if one machine or something plugged into an outlet in the shop trips a breaker it doesn't affect anything else in the shop or in another room. The machine may stop, but everything else in the shop keeps working and the lights don't go out.

There are currently 38 dedicated circuits in the house and shop. Now that the new sub panel has been installed I'll be adding circuits for a 15 hp rotary converter, and a few more 220V single phase circuits for machines in the shop.

 

[alan speyrer]

The main meter can handle 400amps, so the house has 250 amp panel and the shop will have the other 150. I would have to get a separate meter for more amps, but it could be done easily

 

[Dan from Oakland]

What the heck does the square footage of a building have to do with the cost if wiring it? That's so BS. You need to keep looking for an electrician that will quote it based on what you need.

Not necessarily true regarding the commercial building thing- totally depends on the local jurisdiction. We did all the wiring on our building- 400A 3PH, pulled the permit etc as the owner- no contractor involved, so check that part out. The larger service comment is worth considering- you can never have too big a service.

 

[Red James]

The main meter can handle 400amps, so the house has 250 amp panel and the shop will have the other 150. I would have to get a separate meter for more amps, but it could be done easily

You want separate meters anyway so you can expense your electricity without an argument with the IRS . . . which you will lose.

 

[Aejgx6]

Just look for a guy to bill time and material, or make some blueprints and get a real quote. $/ft^2 is a crap shot.

 

[alan speyrer]

Some really good suggestions! I had one electric quote that was 7,500 for my shop!, on that quote I was paying 750 dollars for each 220 outlet! Crazy I tell you!

 

[oldbikerdude37]

I would wire my own shop for sure. Pay to have the box put in and hooked up to power and do all the little stuff yourself.

150 amp would not be very big, I would get at least 250 and have it on its own meter.

 

[paul39]

Some power companies will not connect power unless there is an electrical inspector's green tag on the breaker box.

If you need to be inspected, ask your inspection dept for a list of approved electricians. You might ask who is good, they are not supposed to show favoritism.

With a magic marker go around your shop and mark where you want lights, switches and outlets, showing how many amps and volts at the outlets.

Get two or more quotes from the approved list and go with the most comfortable.

If you don't need to be inspected, ask around for a competent electrician, just as you wood for a lawyer, doctor, dentist, accountant, machinist. Hopefully there is not a building boom near you and everybody is busy with million dollar projects.

You could ask whoever you get if there is anything you could do to make
things go easier or quicker.

When I opened my photo business in 1967 I got a quote to wire a darkroom in a rented space from a respected electrical contractor, it was about $500. That was about half of my entire saved cash.

I asked around and got a guy who had just gotten his license, he was in and out in an hour for about $60.

I have since wired and plumbed 3 photo studios and several houses.

Paul

 

[Dan from Oakland]

In my experience, all you need to get a new service signed off is 1 outlet installed and 1 light fixture installed. Have the service and main panel installed, get er signed off and move on. In the mean time, go buy yourself a copy of the National Electrical Code and turn it into your bedside reader, everything you need to know is in there.