Is $850 too much for a dryer GFCI and checking wire sizes?

That $850 quote is definitly on the high side for what sounds like maybe an hour of actual physical work. A 2-pole 30A GFCI breaker for a dryer ussually runs between $100 and $130 at a supply house, and a standard GFCI receptacle for the washer is maybe $20. Even if you factor in a healthy markup for the parts and the overhead of the truck, you're looking at maybe $200 in materials. Charging $650 for the labor to swap a breaker and one outlet is steep, even in today's market. As for checking the wire sizes on the oven and AC, that takes about thirty seconds once the panel cover is already off for the breaker swap. He just has to look at the wire gauge and compare it to the breaker rating. The fact that he's charging a premium and still including a disclaimer that any 'extra work' will cost more makes it sound like he's fishing for a bigger project. It's a common tactic to get in the door with a high-margin service call and then 'find' issues with the rest of the house to drive the bill up.

You shoud also double-check if you even need these upgrades right now. If you're just doing maintenance in an older home, you aren't always required to bring every circuit up to the latest **NEC 2020 or 2023** standards unless you're doing a permitted renovation. If your current outlets and breakers are working fine, you might be paying for a 'safety' upgrade that isn't legally mandated yet for your specific situation.

One thing to watch out for if you do go thru with the dryer GFCI: older dryers often have a **bonding jumper** connecting the neutral and the ground. If he swaps in a GFCI breaker without checking the dryer wiring, that breaker is going to trip the second you turn it on. If he didn't mention checking the appliance side too, he might end up charging you even more to 'troubleshoot' a problem he created. I'd definitely get a second or third quote from a smaller local outfit before signing off on this.

That point about the dryer tripping the breaker is scary. If I have one of those old 3-prong plugs, whould I need to pay for a new 4-prong cable and a diffrent wall outlet to make the GFCI work? That seems like it would add even more to the bill.

Does the location make a difference? My laundry is in a basement that gets a bit damp. Does that change the type of parts he has to use? $850 still feels high, but I’m trying to figure out if there's some hidden complexity I'm missing.

That "extra work" clause is a red flag. Any decent sparky shoud just tell you the wire gauge while they have the panel open as a courtesy. If he finds a 10 AWG wire on a 50A breaker for your oven, he’s going to charge you a premium to "fix" it on the spot. Also, check if your city acutally adopted the NEC 2020/2023 sections for 240V GFCI yet. Many counties skipped it becuase of nuisance tripping issues with older appliances. If you aren't doing a permitted remodel, you're likely grandfathered in. I’d pass; it sounds like he's using "inspections" as a way to pad the bill.

Honestly, it sounds like you're paying for his travel time and a massive "hassle tax." alot of the bigger companies won't even send a truck out for less than $400 these days, so they pad these small jobs to make them profitable. Ask him if that quote includes a permit and inspection. If he's doing it "on the side" without a permit, that price is even more insane. If he’s pulling a permit, at least $150-$200 of that might be going to the city, but it still feels like he’s trying to see how much you’ll swallow before you push back. Get another quote from a one-man shop.