Moving Fuse Box into top Apartments
I know this is a kind of “how long is a piece of string” question, but how much should it cost to move the fuse boxes for the top 2 rental apartments from the basement into the apartments themselves? …And are there any recomendations as to who would be good to do this? The basic…
I know this is a kind of “how long is a piece of string” question, but how much should it cost to move the fuse boxes for the top 2 rental apartments from the basement into the apartments themselves? …And are there any recomendations as to who would be good to do this? The basic problem is that the fuses blow (typically as a hairdryer is used when other high drain appliances are on) and I would like the tenants to be able to solve this problem without leaving their apartments. I would be grateful for any experiences people are prepared to share.
Our home inspector suggested we put in a second circuit breaker box on the parlor floor of our brownstone, as we only have one in the basement. He estimated the cost of adding it would be $5k. The driver of cost is how far up you go–3 stories is more than 2, is more than 1. What’s good about adding boxes isn’t just the convenience of flipping a switch–it’s also that any future additional wiring capacity you add to those apartments will be cheaper, because they’re stringing shorter line from the outlet to the circuit box.
I don’t have any idea of a price for that kind of job but I strongly recommend Christopher John Electrical 718-389-9898. I had them rewire my older home and they were friendly and extremely clean. They even covered their shoes! I got a price up front so I didn’t have any surprise fees. They had everything they needed right in their truck so they didn’t have to take the extra time to go get supplies. I am going to use them during my whole restoring process!!
Call Ceriello Electric, they did a 3 day rewiring job for me last week. $105/hr
I will echo the posters above: if you’ve really still got fuse boxes, you need to upgrade to circuit breakers. And if you’ve already got breakers, be thankful that they are tripping rather than overheating and bursting into flame. If by chance you have Federal Pacific breakers (common in the 1950s-70s), I’d still suggest talking with your electrician about replacing them. Though opinions differ, many inspectors and electricians will tell you about suits filed against the company for failure to trip even when overloaded. The main point is that your wiring/amperage/fuses are clearly demonstrating that they are insufficient to meet demand no matter where located.
If you still have fuses and they blow when a hair dryer is used you need to upgrade the wiring and intall circuit breakers. Making the blown fuses easier to change solves nothing and may tempt the tennents to rig the fuses.
This is one case where I’ll join the chorus of “don’t be cheap, electricity is dangerous etc etc” you will get.
Obviously the amperage to the apts is too low, and simply moving the “fuse box” (are they really fuses?…you should switch to circuit breakers) is short-sighted.
You should pop for 50-70A circuit-breaker service to each apt. It will be expensive, but worth it. I believe you can run an exterior conduit up the back of the house, but I don’t know the code exactly.
Check archives for electrician recommendations.