Need electrician advice

[nuemes]

How much is a fair rate to pay an electrician to install four separate 2-plug grounded outlets in an unfinnished basement?

And, while you're here, how about rates for lite construction & drywall?

Any advice/horror stories on the subject are welcome as well...

[c7sus]

You're in the Bay Area???

EXPENSIVE.

My guess would be somewhere between $25-40/hour depending on who you use. This is using somebody doing your project as a "side-job." To hire a contractor in your area, well, the price of poker is going up significantly.

Your best bet is to call some small LICENSED contractors out and have them give you a bid or estimate. Without knowing dimensions, how far the basement is from your panel, etc, there's just no way to give an educated response in terms of price or how long a project will take to complete.

As for horror stories...............

Do a search for the guy that owns the studio in So CA and hired some jackass off the street to remodel his entire operation. Months later it was determined the guy never pulled permits nor had engineered drawings prepared for the work he was doing. Of course, when all this came to light the contractor split never to be seen again. Last I heard the owner was looking at having to hire ANOTHER contractor to finish the job, and his business had been out of commission for something like 6 months at that point.

That's about the worst one I've read around here.

[nuemes]

I live in the Bay Area for the next three days - we're about to move to Seattle this week and I'm preparing to set up a studio in the basement in the new place. I have the opportunity to make a full time go of it but am on a tight budget. I'll likely only afford the luxury of having the electrical completed by a pro and will be handling the rest on my own.

[thane1200]

Do it yourself, its cheap and easy if the basement is unfinished. Go to the library and get a home-improvement book with simple wiring instructions. However only do this if there is already a branch in your basement, I would not recommend adding a branch if your not comfortable with it. And remember turn the breaker off BEFORE you touch anything!

[mshilarious]

Originally Posted by thane1200

Do it yourself, its cheap and easy if the basement is unfinished. Go to the library and get a home-improvement book with simple wiring instructions. However only do this if there is already a branch in your basement, I would not recommend adding a branch if your not comfortable with it. And remember turn the breaker off BEFORE you touch anything!

Hmm, it seems safer to add a branch to me, you have to be careful about tapping an existing line for a bunch of new outlets, you could easily overload that circuit.

[nuemes]

There is a branch already in the basement, running to the washer/dryer.

[thane1200]

With only four new outlets I don't really think that would be an issue, especially in an unfinished basement (I was assuming no appliances yet ie. no loads) however mshilarious may be right. My concern was for HIS safety, adding to a panel might be above his level of understanding, especially if he is working with a 240v panel and needs to split off a 120/115v branch.

*edit*

With a washer/dryer you will have to split a 120v branch off the main panel. Those appliances run on 240v. (well at least the dryer does)

[c7sus]

Dryers commonly have a 120v outlet nearby for gas versions.

I would avoid using that circuit. Just because.

Best is to have a dedicated circuit or two that feed only your gear. If you go with two circuits make sure they are the same phase and each have their own neutral back to the panel.

BTW, I'm an IBEW Inside Wireman with 24 years experience.

I'm fairly reticent about giving out too much info. Not knowing people's abilities with their hands or how much "common sense" they possess makes it tricky to give out much more than very general information.

Bottom line is: if you don't know WTF you are doing, hire somebody that does!

[thane1200]

Originally Posted by c7sus

Dryers commonly have a 120v outlet nearby for gas versions.

I would avoid using that circuit. Just because.

Best is to have a dedicated circuit or two that feed only your gear. If you go with two circuits make sure they are the same phase and each have their own neutral back to the panel.

BTW, I'm an IBEW Inside Wireman with 24 years experience.

I'm fairly reticent about giving out too much info. Not knowing people's abilities with their hands or how much "common sense" they possess makes it tricky to give out much more than very general information.

Bottom line is: if you don't know WTF you are doing, hire somebody that does!

Valid points.

[nuemes]

This would be my first time doing electrical wiring; I'm all for doing it myself but am so green behind the ears that I'm more apt to hire someone for the sake of doing it right the first time/not killing myself.

c7sus, if I hire someone to do what you advise (two dedicated circuits, same phase and each have their own neutral back to the panel) in an unfinnished basement, what do you consider to be a fair ballpark to pay for such a job?

[strings012]

If you decide to do it yourself, I would pull permits. I refinished my basement in NJ with a half bath and all. To make a long story short the town found out about my project and I was hit with a very expensive fine. I ended up just paying for the permits, but the inspectors that came out to my house to inspect gave me hell for all sorts of little crap. Read up as much as you can before starting any project.