Project: Main panel upgrade + new kitchen circuits · Bid total: $7,200 · Area: St. Louis
The price is reasonable. The bid doesn't say what you're buying.
At $7,200 it sits inside the typical $3,200–$11,511 range we see for comparable panel-and-circuit jobs, so you're not being gouged on the number. But the bid never states the one spec that defines a panel upgrade, the service amperage (100A vs 200A), and it leans on "bring the home up to code" without saying what that includes.
Before you sign: get the amperage, the permit, and a definition of "up to code" in writing. Those three answers tell you whether $7,200 is a complete bid or a placeholder that grows.
Grade: C
It identifies the job, which keeps it out of the bottom, but it leaves out nearly every spec that makes a panel bid comparable, and it parks $600 in an unexplained "misc. materials and labor" line.
Missing from the bid:
- Service amperage and panel details: no amperage, no panel brand, no circuit count. The single most important missing item.
- Grounding and bonding: a service change should include a new ground rod, clamp, and water-pipe bond. It's code, and it's the line most often left off.
- What "up to code" covers: which circuits get GFCI protection (kitchen, baths, exterior, laundry) and which get AFCI (bedrooms, living areas)?
- Wire size on the new kitchen circuits: lower priority, but it's how you confirm the wiring matches the breakers.
What's fine: the scope is identifiable and the total is in range.
$7,200 fits the scope
Comparable panel jobs in our St. Louis data run $3,200–$11,511, with a median around $5,690. If this is a full 200A service change with a new meter, $7,200 is fair to good. If it's a like-for-like 100A swap, it's on the high side. The missing amperage is what makes that unclear.
The best-graded electrical bids in our data all state the amperage and list the permit as its own line. This one does neither yet.
Three things to push on
- Permit not addressed. The bid doesn't say whether the permit and inspections are included. You can't compare two bids if one includes the permit and the other doesn't.
- "Bring home up to code" is undefined. It sounds reassuring but isn't a line item. It can mean anything or nothing.
- $600 "misc. materials and labor" with no breakdown. Small, but ask what it covers.
Send these back to the contractor
- What amperage is the new service, 100A or 200A? What panel brand, and how many circuit spaces?
- Does the price include the permit and the rough and final inspections?
- Does "up to code" include new GFCI protection in the kitchen, baths, and exterior, and AFCI in the bedrooms? Which circuits specifically?
- Is a new ground rod, clamp, and water-pipe bond included?
- Is $7,200 a fixed price, or can the "misc. materials and labor" grow? What's covered in that $600?
SecondEye is independent. We don't sell leads or take referral fees. Reviews are based on real bids and paid invoices plus trade-scope standards, and are not a substitute for a licensed inspection or engineering opinion.
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