Common Home Electrical Repairs

Electrical repairs range from quick, easy options like switching out an old outlet to extensive, time-consuming projects like completely rewiring your house. These differences affect how much you'll likely spend when you need an electrical repair in your home.

Hourly rates for electricians typically range from $40 to $120, plus the cost of supplies for the project. Some electricians charge a service fee to come to your home, as well as additional labor charges for completing the work. If you have a quick minor repair, like installing a new outlet or light switch, you can expect to pay a minimum charge, even if the work only takes a few minutes to complete. The following guide gives you an idea of how much specific electric repair projects cost.

Outlet Repairs

Having an electrician work on your outlets is typically one of the cheapest electrical repairs you can have done. If you only need one or two outlets replaced, you might have difficulty finding an electrician to do the work, and they'll likely charge you a minimum fee to make it worth their time. Expect to pay $100 to $150 to replace outlets.

More complex outlet situations can cost a little more. For example, if you want to replace a regular outlet with a GFCI outlet, which is common in kitchens and bathrooms, you'll pay that base outlet replacement price, but you could end up paying $200 to $250 if the repair requires extra work, such as running new wiring. To turn two-slot outlets into three-slot grounded outlets, plan to pay $150 to $200. You'll pay more if the main panel doesn't have grounding.

Some appliances, such as clothes dryers, require a 220/240-volt outlet. If you don't already have an outlet in the area where you plan to put the appliance, you can expect to pay around $300 to have an electrician add the new outlet. They often have to make changes to your electric panel to accommodate the new higher-voltage outlet.

Electric Panel Work

Sometimes, the issue is in your electrical panel, which houses your breakers. This takes a little more work, but the cost depends on what you need to have done to the panel. Over time, you might need to have a circuit breaker replaced if it wears out and stops working correctly. You can expect to pay $150 to $200 to have one breaker replaced, with the cost increasing for multiple breakers.

If you live in an older home, you might need to have your electrical panel upgraded to a higher amp service. You generally need at least 100-amp service to handle your modern electrical usage, but 200-amp service is more practical for many families. The upgrade to 100-amp service can run you between $1,200 and $2,500. If you decide to go with 200-amp service, budget $2,000 to $3,500.

Whole-House Rewiring

Rewiring your entire house is usually one of the most expensive electric repairs you can have done. It's an extensive repair that involves removing all of your outdated or damaged wiring and installing new wires to replace them. In some cases, the electrician has to cut into the drywall to do the wiring work, which adds to the cost due to the additional work.

Larger homes require more outlets, light switches and other wiring, which requires more supplies and longer to perform the work. For a small two-bedroom home, you can expect to pay anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000 for rewiring. The average cost increases to $5,000 to $13,500 for a mid-size home with three or four bedrooms. The more square footage, the more wiring there is. Therefore, the overall cost comes down to how large your home is.

While rewiring is an expensive project, it's sometimes necessary to keep your home safe. It's most common in an old home where the wiring no longer meets current building codes, or you're having issues with the electrical system. Replacing the wiring helps your home handle the electrical load and increases the safety of the wiring.