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I’m posting this again in hopes of getting more information than I did last time. I have tried to be more clear to make sure I get more helpfull answers.

I’m looking to switch out my breaker panel (possibly moving it) and bring more power to my apartment. I will not be running any apartment wiring at this time. I simply want the new service and box and the old lines tied to it with a junction box. Over time I will replace the lines one by one.

Right now I have a Federated Pacific panel with 40A/120V coming up and 4 breakers splitting it out (no room for more breakers). I am on the 4th floor of a 45 unit coop that was built in 1924. The electric was last done in the 60′s. An electrical engineer inspected our building and determined that everyone could upgrade to 60A service without changing the amount of power coming from the street, but since not everyone is upgrading I can do more than 60.

Question is…do I really need to file this job with the city?

Licensed vs unlicensed electrician?

I got in an unlicensed guy who said he’ll do it on an hourly rate, and he thinks it will cost me around $700. I brought in a licensed guy and he said $3500-$4000. I had another licensed guy come in and quote me $3000-$5000. Both of these seemed like “screw you I don’t want this job” quotes. I had this quoted out a few years ago from another licensed guy and was told $2000. That was when the economy was stronger and the price of copper was higher.

I don’t want to spend more than $2000, but it would be great to spend less than that…

Any recommendations?

I want to bring up somewhere from 60A-100A. Not sure yet. I have 3 A/C’s, a washer, an electric dryer, a microwave, two computers, two printers, two plasma TV’s, a dishwasher, a coffee maker, and a hair dryer.

Some other notes:
1. Already have board approval.
2. I know the concerns about Federal Pacific breakers. They’ve lasted 40+ years, and I’m not going to panic if it takes one or two more.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading.

Mike