If it were me I would put in a 60A/2pole breaker in the 200A box and just run two hots and a neutral of appropriate size. Then in your outlet box put in a disconnect and the outlets. A ground rod at the new building. Get direct burial wire and forget the conduit. Just use stubs where it comes out of the ground.
Cost to Install 60A Sub-panel in Garage?
- Thread starter AdmiralYoda
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Exactly, just rough in the cables and any boxes you need, but let the electrician do all the final connects. Have done this before and was happy with the results. I had the ability to do it myself completely but there were time constraints, was rewiring an entire house and I ran out of time to complete the task.
Your out of your mind if you think you'll get someone come out for half a day on a Saturday or after work for $200. I'm a tradesmen myself and I wouldn't even consider doing anything for less than $100/hr for side work.
If you have the knowledge just do it yourself and forget the permit. This is not going to stop a sale of a house down the line.
An electrician that would work for $50 an hour? Maybe 20 years ago.
I agree with the $3k price if you sit on the couch.
If you do it yourself, you're probably looking at $1000-1300.
And "HVAC Guys" aren't doing the electrical work. The HVAC companies, the Plumbing Contractors and Electrical Contractors are all forming into "services" groups that do all the trades at your house. It's a marketing thing.... one of them gets in your house, you mention you need this, that and the other done, the guy or gal that's there says "we can take care of that" and they get a small sales commission and the company sends out that specific tradesperson in the next few days...
If you do it yourself, you're probably looking at $1000-1300.
And "HVAC Guys" aren't doing the electrical work. The HVAC companies, the Plumbing Contractors and Electrical Contractors are all forming into "services" groups that do all the trades at your house. It's a marketing thing.... one of them gets in your house, you mention you need this, that and the other done, the guy or gal that's there says "we can take care of that" and they get a small sales commission and the company sends out that specific tradesperson in the next few days...
Illinois is weird. No electricians license needed. But for major new electrical work or anything needing inspection you must use a 'certified' contractor. Certified by the electric company and who knows who else.
But my Coop says anything after the meter is your responsibility unless you are connecting solar to it. Then the red tape and bills pile up.
But my Coop says anything after the meter is your responsibility unless you are connecting solar to it. Then the red tape and bills pile up.
4 years ago I sent a lady a PM on FB after she repeatedly was posting in a local group about needing some ceiling fans/light fixtures changed out. I'm not a "licensed electrician", but I've wired enough houses and done some 3-phase work... and I've working in an MEP engineering office for 30 years.
I told her I'd change out the ceiling fan, replace two light fixtures and help her hang two strings of LED outdoor string lights for $200. She thought it was kinda high (she is a local CPA and owns an accounting firm in town) but I asked her who else answered her posts and SHOWED UP..... she said I was the only one.
This was 2019, I did it all in 2-1/2 hours after work one evening. I've never heard back from her, but I also doubt she got anyone to show up and do stuff cheaper since...
In MA the inspection process is pretty aggressive. No electrician will let you do some of the work and then finish it themselves...unless you have an electrician buddy, which I don't.
The trench is dug and the conduit is already installed. This is a strict run the wire from the point A to point B, about 75 feet and install the sub-panel and ground electrodes. A couple stub-outs at each end of the conduit and about 40ft of metal conduit in the basement. That's it.
Doing it myself will cost about $600-ish in materials but again in MA buyers and inspectors get pretty grouchy when it comes to un-permitted work. Not sure if it is worth the hassle 5 or 10 or 20 years from now.
The trench is dug and the conduit is already installed. This is a strict run the wire from the point A to point B, about 75 feet and install the sub-panel and ground electrodes. A couple stub-outs at each end of the conduit and about 40ft of metal conduit in the basement. That's it.
Doing it myself will cost about $600-ish in materials but again in MA buyers and inspectors get pretty grouchy when it comes to un-permitted work. Not sure if it is worth the hassle 5 or 10 or 20 years from now.
Update:
Had another electrician over for a quote. He actually recommended aluminum wire in the basement run, at a higher AWG to reduce cost then copper in the trench to the sub-panel with some Al/Cu specific splices at the connection to prevent corrosion.
He suggested a few other things that would reduce cost also. I will get that quote in a few days and post it here.
Last update is that I've taken this electricians advice and updated my bill of materials should I choose to do this myself. With every single piece of this project down to the screws and straps it will cost $800 including tax to do this myself. That includes a tool rental to drive the grounding electrodes into the earth.
Will update in a few days.
Had another electrician over for a quote. He actually recommended aluminum wire in the basement run, at a higher AWG to reduce cost then copper in the trench to the sub-panel with some Al/Cu specific splices at the connection to prevent corrosion.
He suggested a few other things that would reduce cost also. I will get that quote in a few days and post it here.
Last update is that I've taken this electricians advice and updated my bill of materials should I choose to do this myself. With every single piece of this project down to the screws and straps it will cost $800 including tax to do this myself. That includes a tool rental to drive the grounding electrodes into the earth.
Will update in a few days.
Aluminum is a good idea, but why not aluminum all the way through? Cheaper and no unnecessary junction boxes and splices.
Maybe the laborers milling around a Home Depot parking lot are cheaper and her property might burn down due to poor wiring job.
Fire Marshal / Investigator finds the faulty wiring installation and insurance company refuses to pay claim.
Latest Update:
Got the latest quote. $3,400. I think I'm just going to have to do this myself or become friends with an electrician who will let me do the work and just sign off on it for some beer and BBQ. As I said...my cost to do it is about $725 in materials. And that is the big box store price with off the shelf parts, nothing special order. I'd like to think an electrician buying tons of supplies regularly gets even better prices through their suppliers.
@dlundblad In an underground trench I'm told the copper is more corrosion resistant than aluminum if water gets in it. I'm going to look into this, not exactly sure if it is true or if it is required.
@Dave Hess Are you sure that is true? I know insurance doesn't cover fraud, i.e. you try and burn your house down...but I'm pretty sure they cover stupidity. My house was built in 1870 and I can probably guarantee that 99% of the electrical, plumbing, framing, etc is not up to code. The rules were different back in the day and people just did what they wanted to.
At what point is it just grandfathered in? Would insurance deny a claim if the owner of the house, four owners and 70 years ago did a bad job wiring? Would I have to sue his descendants for retribution? Obviously if the work was done very recently that is a different story but I still wonder how insurance handles that.
Got the latest quote. $3,400. I think I'm just going to have to do this myself or become friends with an electrician who will let me do the work and just sign off on it for some beer and BBQ. As I said...my cost to do it is about $725 in materials. And that is the big box store price with off the shelf parts, nothing special order. I'd like to think an electrician buying tons of supplies regularly gets even better prices through their suppliers.
@dlundblad In an underground trench I'm told the copper is more corrosion resistant than aluminum if water gets in it. I'm going to look into this, not exactly sure if it is true or if it is required.
@Dave Hess Are you sure that is true? I know insurance doesn't cover fraud, i.e. you try and burn your house down...but I'm pretty sure they cover stupidity. My house was built in 1870 and I can probably guarantee that 99% of the electrical, plumbing, framing, etc is not up to code. The rules were different back in the day and people just did what they wanted to.
At what point is it just grandfathered in? Would insurance deny a claim if the owner of the house, four owners and 70 years ago did a bad job wiring? Would I have to sue his descendants for retribution? Obviously if the work was done very recently that is a different story but I still wonder how insurance handles that.
The jacket on the wire would prevent any corrosion.
I wouldn’t direct bury a bare aluminum wire if that is what you’re thinking
. Even a conduit in a trench will fill with water.
Trench is already dug, PVC conduit in place and trench filled in. I did that part on my own when we had solar installed two years ago. I put the PVC conduit in the same trench they used to connect the garage solar to the house.
I'll be looking into aluminum for this part also. It is about 30ft total from the side of the house through the trench to where the panel will be.
EDIT:
A quick check shows that 2AWG XHHW aluminum wire is $1.02 less per foot than 4AWG XHHW Copper. That's about a $115 savings. XHHW has an insulation that is more water resistant than THHN, i.e. better for trenches.
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