circuit breaker replacement

[TomR]

I can think of a number of good reasons why you may not want to do this yourself even though you know how to it. So, your decision to call a licensed electrician makes sense to me. Since it is a rental property, it makes sense to me to use extra caution and use a licensed electrician. It is better from a liability standpoint; it clarifies for the tenant that you used a qualified professional to look at, diagnose, and fix whatever the problem is; the cost is a deductible business expense; etc.

In thinking more about your original post, it occurred to me that there may be another reason why 1 or 2 of the breakers (or more) are having a problem. For example, if one of the breakers had a loose connection in the panel, it could cause arcing and heat that in turn can cause the contact in the panel (is it called the bus bar?) to actually melt. If that is going on, an electrician will see that problem and be able to tell you what your options are in terms of safely fixing the problem. I think in that scenario it may be possible for an electrician to move the breakers to a new position in the panel and cover up the old breaker slots, or maybe a whole new panel will be needed -- or some solution in between those two options.

[Stormin Mormon]

Rental property. Tenants tend to sue for any reason, or no reason. The extra couple bucks of having a pro do the job, may reduce your liability. A lot.

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

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I can think of a number of good reasons why you may not want to do this yourself even though you know how to it. So, your decision to call a licensed electrician makes sense to me. Since it is a rental property, it makes sense to me to use extra caution and use a licensed electrician. It is better from a liability standpoint; it clarifies for the tenant that you used a qualified professional to look at, diagnose, and fix whatever the problem is; the cost is a deductible business expense; etc.

In thinking more about your original post, it occurred to me that there may be another reason why 1 or 2 of the breakers (or more) are having a problem. For example, if one of the breakers had a loose connection in the panel, it could cause arcing and heat that in turn can cause the contact in the panel (is it called the bus bar?) to actually melt. If that is going on, an electrician will see that problem and be able to tell you what your options are in terms of safely fixing the problem. I think in that scenario it may be possible for an electrician to move the breakers to a new position in the panel and cover up the old breaker slots, or maybe a whole new panel will be needed -- or some solution in between those two options.

[krw]

Another *GOOD* reason to leave that swamp.

[HeyBub]

Well, I'll tell you about Houston. You don't need a permit to replace the entire load center box!*

The city cares not a fig about anything done within your four walls, nor, evidently, anything attached to the outside of the four walls.

Now if your NG has been off for any length of time (i.e., house is vacant), the gas company won't reconnect without a pressure test, but, again, the city's not involved.

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• My son and I have done this to two: his house and mine. We got rid of that hideous Federal Pacific crap from the '60's, replacing it with Square-D 200A service. Each house took about four hours, including a couple of trips to the box store for funny-looking parts we overlooked. Total out-of-pocket cost for each house was less than 0, compared to 00 quoted by a couple of companies that do this for a living.

For those contemplating a similar project - and who have both reasonable skills and a healthy regard for electricity - be advised that the endeavor is not complicated. Actually, it's pretty straightforward. Just label everything, including the wires, and take plenty of pictures.