Finally got an answer on why my little house has four breaker panels

We went through almost the same thing with our 1970s ranch. Came with three panels plus a fused disconnect in the hall closet, which was fun to explain to guests. One of them fed a hot tub the previous owners hauled off years before I ever saw the place, so a whole panel was doing literally nothing except hum and confuse me every time I looked at the labels. When we consolidated, the electrician kept the main and one subpanel for the garage, then pulled the dead circuits off and taped back the leftover wires in the abandoned boxes. He charged by the day, not by the panel, so the whole job was two days of work. The labeling fix alone was worth it. Before, I had a schedule in marker that said 'basement lights' on a breaker that actually ran the dishwasher. One thing I'd mention for your scheduling call is to ask wether they'll also update the schedule inside the panels they're keeping, not just remove the dead ones. Ours redid the directory in pen with clean circuit descriptions and it has made every project since easier, from adding an outdoor outlet to just knowing what to flip before swapping a light fixture. Also ask if the abandoned panel doors get locked or removed. Mine left the empty enclosure on the wall with the door screwed shut, which looked odd until he explained it keeps anyone from using it as a junction point later.

I took the opposite path with my old duplex and just left everything alone. Two boxes in the basement, one feeding the other side of the house, and honestly after I paid an electrician to trace it all out, keeping it was fine. He redrew the schedule himself on fresh cardstock, taped it inside each door, and told me the extra box was doing legit work feeding the kitchen and laundry. My only regret is waiting four years to do it, because in the meantime I kept flipping breakers based on the old crumbling labels and shutting off power to my tenant twice. One tip from that experience: take photos of the actual breakers with your phone and keep your own notes somewhere you will find them. Paper schedules in those doors fade, get water stained, and end up describing a house that no longer exists. Costs nothing and saves a phone call later.

Before our electrician came out for a similar cleanup, I photographed every door schedule with my phone, even the scribbled ones that made no sense. Glad I did. Six months later I was putting in a fence and hit a mystery conduit run, and those photos plus the new map he left me meant I could figure out where it went without paying for a second tracing visit. Ask yours for a copy of the final circuit map on paper, not just the card inside the doors. Mine printed one off and it lives in the utility room drawer now.

Before they close anything up, ask for a load calc on the two panels staying. My old place was barely 1000 sq ft and had the same leftover workshop setup, and when we moved everything onto the main we found it was allready sitting around 80 percent capacity with the garage circuits added back in. He reshuffled a couple of runs onto the surviving sub and it passed inspection no problem. Also confirm they disconnect the dead feeders at the source breaker, not just cap them in the old boxes, so those legs are actualy out of the picture for good.

Not sold on the taping back part of that first reply. Taped wires inside an abandoned box is how you end up with a mystery splice five years from now when somebody opens that door. When we cleaned out my dad's place, the electrician pulled the dead runs all the way back to the source and yanked the wire entirely, then the panel came off the wall too. Cost a bit more than just abandoning it but there was nothing left to wonder about. I'd ask your guy what 'abandon in place' actually means in his quote, becasue that phrase can cover a lot of lazy work.