[nsporillo]

When I got the exterior siding of my home replaced, we also wanted to have our electrical meter box replaced because it was falling off the side of the house.

The work we originally thought was needed was just a new meter box. Turned out we needed a new wire run from the meter all the way to our water line, a new pipe for the underground wiring, two additional grounding wires.

The utility said it wasnt their problem as the meter itself is their property but the housing, the way it attaches to the house, and the connection to the transformer was our responsibility to pay for.

Nearly $2000 to get a simple meter box replacement. Edit: Because this work was to be done in tandem with the siding replacement to avoid expensive rework, we didn't have much of an option in shopping around as most electricians did not want to deal with coordination with the utility around disconnect and inspection.

[quickthrowman]

> Nearly $2000 to get a simple meter box replacement.

If it’s so simple, why didn’t you do it and save $2,000? Part of that price is uncertainty due to scheduling/coordinating with the siding contractor and utility.

Everything after the meter, including grounding conductors, are premises wiring aka your responsibility.

Having your electrical service properly grounded sure beats being electrocuted.

I manage electricians, and my jobs get charged $110/hr for a journeyman in a service van.

[bluGill]

Because while it is simple, the power is out while I do it. When it is just a single circuit no problem, but if I'm missing one part that means several more hours while I track it down (home depot might or might not have it). A real electrician will have the parts on the van, or at least know where to get the missing one. Not to mention there is probably power to the box, while I can work on live circuits I prefer not to. (or if there is no power, that means there is no power for days because I work on weekends, then the inspector comes on Monday, and only after that does the power company reconnect).

There are some jobs that I can do, but I hire someone else to do anyway.

[nsporillo]

The work was complete within 4 hours, coordination was easy with the siding contractors as I managed it. Called them up and they were here in 20 minutes to put the J-Block in right after the electrical guys removed the old meter box.

Getting the work done properly was important to me. After the replacement, the random occasional 2-3 second power outages went away and it looks great.

My point was mostly to concur with parent that often you do incur unexpected work when updating legacy electrical, and that adds a bit of cost. To a homeowner, a box swap seems simple but can wind up costing thousands more than you expect.

[iso1631]

Clearly it's not simple, but superficially you wouldn't think it was that complex.

Think of the old "I could write twitter in a weekend" adage. Sure it seems simple at first glance, but once you get into it it's far more complex.

A layman would think "It's a plastic box with a couple of wires in, surely it can't cost more than $200" and take more than an hour".

[PaulDavisThe1st]

I think that's a poor analogy.

Most residential wiring really is as simple as it appears at first glance.

The problem is that there are a few cases where it isn't, and the issue is being able to know when that's true. This is where the skills and experience come into play.

In case I need to cite some authority, I've been wiring my own homes (with permits) for > 25 years, and was licensed by New Mexico to install my own 6.7kW solar array a couple of years ago. I'm not an electrician, however.

[dboreham]

Concur. I have an electrical engineering degree, and a copy of the NEC. However, in many situations I end up deciding that it will take me so long to figure out the correct interpretation of the code for my situation that I may as well pay someone who takes one look and says "ok this needs to be done like that...".

[ilyt]

Needing the knowledge to do the "right" steps doesn't mean the steps stop being simple, it just means it's "simple but easy to fuck up".

[brodouevencode]

It's not simple, and most electricians hate doing it unless it's a fresh install because power companies can be a pain to deal with sometimes.

[pjc50]

> If it’s so simple, why didn’t you do it

UK note: under "Part P" rules, it is significantly harder to legally do your own electrical work. https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/find-an-electrician...

[quickthrowman]

Most jurisdictions in the US allow homeowners to self-perform electrical work. Electrical inspectors tend to be a lot more picky and thorough with homeowner performed work since homeowners are notoriously bad electricians.

[greedo]

I did all the wiring in my basement (except connecting to the panel), and the inspector did a cursory inspection, both rough-in and final. He looked at maybe two of the outlets (none of the lighting fixtures), and then on final just used a receptacle checker. Now as a DIYer with OCD and a fear of burning down my house, I had tried to be VERY careful, but it was the first electrical work I had done. Either I'm an electrical prodigy or he was lackadaisical.

[quickthrowman]

Most of the mistakes homeowners make when doing electrical work are related to NM cable strapping (not enough straps typically), pigtails that are too short, junction boxes that arent properly secured, and inaccessible junction boxes.

He probably just checked to make sure you strapped the NM cable within 8-12” of the box (depending on if you have cable clamps or not) and then a strap every 54”. If you get the small details right they won’t be so harsh while inspecting.

If you are careful and follow the rules, it’s pretty straightforward to wire branch circuits in a house. Grounding and bonding a service entrance panelboard to ground rods/natural gas piping/water piping is not as straightforward as it seems.