How to Quote Electrical Rewiring

Walk every room and count receptacles, switches, hardwired lights, smoke and CO alarms, GFCI locations (bathrooms, kitchen, outdoor, garage, basement, laundry), and AFCI locations (bedrooms and most living areas under current NEC). A typical 1,800 square foot single-family home has 70 to 110 devices total and 14 to 22 branch circuits. The device count drives most of the labor estimate. Count once carefully rather than estimating a per-room average that misses larger spaces and outdoor circuits.

Map each branch circuit from the panel location to its furthest device. Use a typical home depth of 30 to 45 feet plus vertical runs through plate lines for one and two story homes. 14 AWG handles 15 amp lighting and receptacle circuits in most jurisdictions; 12 AWG handles 20 amp kitchen, bath, and dedicated circuits; 10 AWG runs dryer, water heater, range hood; 6 AWG and 4 AWG handle dryer, range, and large appliance feeds. Conduit or NM-B (Romex) choice depends on jurisdiction. Romex pulls faster but jurisdictions like Chicago require conduit.

Most residential rewires pair with a panel upgrade. Verify the incoming service (typically 100 or 200 amp), check meter base condition, count existing circuits, and decide whether the new panel needs to handle 30 to 40 breaker positions for current code (AFCI, GFCI, dedicated circuit additions). A 200 amp Square D QO panel upgrade with new meter base runs $2,200 to $4,800 installed in 2026, before permit. The rewire scope should call out whether the panel upgrade is included or quoted separately, because that line drives confusion in 30 percent of contested bids.

• Verify service size: 100, 200, or 400 amp.
• Count required AFCI and GFCI breakers for current NEC.
• Plan for surge protection, generator-ready transfer slot, EV charger circuit.
• Confirm permit and inspection scope before quoting.

Wire: 14/2 NM-B around $0.42 per foot in 2026, 12/2 NM-B around $0.58, 10/3 NM-B around $1.15, 6/3 NM-B around $3.20. Devices: 15 amp duplex tamper-resistant around $1.40, 20 amp around $2.10, decora switch around $2.40, dimmer around $24, GFCI around $14, AFCI breaker around $48. Panel kit: 200 amp Square D QO around $385. Boxes, fasteners, wire nuts, smoke and CO alarms add roughly 8 to 12 percent of base material cost. A complete material list for an 1,800 sf rewire lands at $2,400 to $4,200.

Device install averages 0.6 to 0.9 hours per device (rough plus trim) on accessible new construction or open-wall rewire. Closed-wall rewire (fishing through finished walls and ceilings) doubles that to 1.2 to 1.8 hours per device, sometimes more. For a typical 1,800 sf closed-wall rewire with 90 devices, labor lands at 110 to 160 hours. At fully burdened electrician rate of $75 to $115 per hour in 2026, labor runs $8,250 to $18,400. Add panel upgrade labor: 8 to 12 hours plus utility coordination and inspection.

Residential rewire markup typically runs 22 to 35 percent on direct material and labor. Lower-volume shops with higher overhead often need 30 to 40 percent. The exact figure depends on overhead allocation, target net profit, and local market competition. Show markup as a single combined-margin line on the bid PDF, not split into hidden per-device or per-foot inflation. The homeowner is comparing total install price; an honest markup line with a strong scope description wins more bids than the lowest number.