Urgent electrical panel replacement

I need urgent replacement for my kitchen breaker panel. It is badly in need of replacement. I saw a blog on selecting breaker panel http://www.theshockdoctors.ca/blog/breaker-panels-2/replace-breaker-panel/ . It says a house which is 25 years old would definitely need a replacement. All suggestions are welcome.

If you do no know an electrician, now is the time to make friends with one. This is not a DIY repair job. Ask around your friends and acquaintances for a good electrician. They will be able to tell you exactly what you need, based on you house’s age, wiring conditions, and your electrical use and requirements.

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As Ken said, this is absolutely not a DIY project. The likelihood of you killing yourself or burning down the house is pretty high.

I agree with the others…electrical must be done by a professional.

Downstream from the breaker box, you can work pretty safely.

Yes we had to do it. It was 1500$. Insurance was asking for it and few once guests burned fuses by plugging in too many devices.

True. I’m not a DIY’er by any means. And I find it very difficult to find handymen of good quality so when it comes time (meaning when I have the moola!) for my electrical to be worked on, I’ll be going with a licensed professional. I’ve had mine checked by a professional, it’s adequate and safe, but an upgrade is definitely something I desire for my piece of mind.

Try googling how electrical building codes have evolved in your area. Here the last big change in electrical building codes was 25 years ago so it would made no sense changing it, as they would be the same.

Now if your electrical panel is obviously dated and has fuses, few circuit breakers or few different lines, it is definitely worth changing it.

As an interior architect it’s very interesting to see how different electrical panels look in Canada vs the ones we have here in Europe, they are completely different (you can’t see and don’t have access to any electrical wire in ours).

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I do all electrical work myself.
Spend hours of researching, and then buy the best materials for the best price. (Not the stuff someone wants to sell me because of the margin he makes on it)

After I am done with my work, I call a licenced electrician to check my work. By this I save loads of money, I am sure it is done correctly, and meanwhile learn al lot about my building.

That’s what my husband does too. BUT, when our house needed an electrical panel replaced, we hired an electrician to do that job. Once you’re to the panel, most of the time the utility company has to be involved in inspections and service shut off, etc. They won’t approve it unless it’s done by a certified electrician.

Our place is 95 years old. We had to bring it fully up to code. If done by an electrician would have cost us probably $20K. But by DIYing 90% of it, having the electrician do the panel and final inspection of my husband’s work it cost us around $4k ($2.5K electrician) and the rest was all materials and high-end fixtures. So yes, YouTube and the internet are amazing at learning how to do things correctly, but some jobs you just shouldn’t do yourself, you may burn your house down!

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We replaced the electrical panel in our previous house, and switched out a number of light fixtures at the same time. It was about $2800, but YMMV. It was a house from the 1970’s with aluminum wiring (which is a major hassle).

One resource I use a lot:

http://www.homeadvisor.com/

You input your question and 3 contractors will get back to you, right away. You can even get an instant call! They use a rating system so you can review previous user’s experiences. I have used this service for electrical, tree removal / landscaping, granite counters, and plumbing. They also show graphs with average prices for your area.

There is no fee to you as a user. The contractors pay to join the site and they are monitored for performance. I even got a random “how are we doing” customer service call from home advisor.

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I have decided to hire some electrical services who might help me in this. But waiting to get reliable info in this regard. I am waiting for a feasible option. Some say 100-150 amps are suitable for general homes. Is that so? There are also others available at 200 and 400 amp units. Any gudance?

contact your local town building department and check to see what their minimum requirements are. In my area, for instance, it is a minimum 200 ams.

Are their any certification standards for the breakers which I need to check for? I would definietly try for some local bulding department for info on minimum requirements. Meanwhile if you know any such local building deaprtment, do keep me updated.