Rental Property DIY Project: Saved $183
March 27th, 2006 by Grant in: Real Estate
My rental property is in need of an 220V electrical outlet for a clothes dryer. It is plumbed for a gas dryer, but I prefer that my tenants use electricity if at all possible. I think it’s a bit safer, and with gas prices as high as they are, much cheaper.
I called a local electrician, and he quoted me $250 to run a new outlet, which would be less than 4 feet from the circuit breaker panel in the basement. I thought this was a bit extreme, as he wouldn’t even have to run wire through walls, as both the washer/dryer hookups and the circuit breaker panel are in the basement.
I started doing some research at Home Depot, Lowes, and online, and found that doing an installation like this is actually a fairly simple do-it-yourself project. I decided to have a friend who has done it before help me, if anything to call 911 if I did anything dumb.
Two hours later, and an extra trip to Home Depot (because I got the wrong style of circuit breaker) we were done. No sparks, no fire, and the voltage in the outlet was even correct! Even so, I’ll have an electrician come in and inspect my work before my tenants move in, just to be sure everything is right.
- Cost of materials: ~$60
- Cost of buying my friend lunch: $7
Total savings: $183
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