Just lost a whole day's pay on a 'simple' panel swap

Got a call for a panel upgrade in a 70s house, quoted it as a one-day job. Opened it up and found a rat's nest of double-tapped neutrals and a dozen unlabeled circuits. Had to spend six hours just mapping everything out before I could even start the swap. Ended up working until 10 PM and ate the extra labor cost myself. How do you guys price jobs when the old wiring is a total mystery box?

2 comments

2 Comments

abby_singh3d ago

Is it really that bad though? I've seen way worse where you open a panel and half the breakers are feeding aluminum branch circuits with melted insulation. At least you could map it out and finish the job.

amy_robinson3d ago

Used to think any panel could be saved if you just traced the wires. Then I saw one where someone used speaker wire for a bathroom heater circuit and wrapped the whole mess in duct tape. That kind of creative problem solving makes mapping it pointless because you can't trust a single connection. It changes your whole view on what's worth fixing.