Sanity check on a sub-panel quote

[Don Jarvie]

You just hit the nail on the head, it will be done in one day so the price is reasonable. Take the day off and ask him to give you some tips on laying out the shop, wiring so you can do it all yourself.

I would recommend putting in a full panel instead of a sub. 12 slots fills up pretty quick especially if you have a few machines on 220. I put a full panel in with 40 slots and used 30 of them so the more the merrier.

Don

[Jerome Hanby]

If this were my "permanent" shop, I'd definitely put in a full panel. As things stand, I'll be here about three more years. So I'm willing to spend the $650 so I can quit working myself to death trying to drag equipment around and make do with two extension cords while I dust off my 240 volt equipment every few months while thinking how great it would be to actually be able to use it. I'm thinking two 240 volt circuits, 4 120 volt circuits with a pair running around the left side and a pair running around the right to power several dual outlets (one circuit on al the tops, other on all the bottoms), and one 120 volt circuit for the shop lights. That should eat 9 slots and leave me 3 for future needs. Right this second the only 240 volt device I have ready to use is a dust collector. Once I get my Unisaw refurbed, I'll wire it for 240. If I fall into a big Powermatic planer, I'll have room in the box for it's circuit.

[Todd Hoppe]

For what it is worth, when I built a new house earlier this year, the garage subpanel cost an extra $350. This included your exact same setup (100A, 12 bay subpanel) but about 75' of aluminum wire, and 1 hour of labor. If this is really as close as you are indicating, it is probably a project you could do yourself easily in a few hours. Also, keep in mind that your electrician (and you) have to factor in the cost of an electrical permit. That can vary widely based on your local government fees.

[George Bregar]

I'm with Todd. If you are going to wire all the branch circuits yourself why not do the sub-panel. Easy job in a few hours...if that.

[Jerome Hanby]

I definitely considered that, but i really didn't want to touch the existing panel. It's an old house and so much of the rest of it has been slapped together, I was frankly a little afraid of what I'd find when i opened up the existing panel.

The guys that did my sub panel did a great job, finished in about three hours, I'd definitely recommend Dixieland Electric to anyone in the Birmingham area. The owner happened to live in Trussville (same place that I live) so he got to me quickly and with no problems finding the house.

I'm with Todd. If you are going to wire all the branch circuits yourself why not do the sub-panel. Easy job in a few hours...if that.

[Joe Mindell]

I just did a 60A subpanel and it cost me $450. However, I did the mechanical part of running the wire from the main to the sub and bought the wire myself (over $100 for ~30 feet!), so $650 for the whole job seems reasonable. I also ran all the circuits myself so I could have the electrician check my work, since I'm a rank amateur at this. All he had to do was connect the sub to the wires and hook the whole thing into the main.

[George wilmore]

I installed a separate 200amp service in my garage. The meter box is only 6' from the utility pole, that was lucky for me. I only needed 30' of entrance cable.