Cost to upgrade to 200A in LA?

$3.5K–$6.5K typical. $8K+ if mast or meter relocates.

EV charger install cost?

$1,200–$2,500 with permit. Tesla Wall Connector + 60A breaker.

200A upgrade cost in the Bay?

$5K–$9K. PG&E coordination adds 4–12 weeks.

Cost to rewire a 1920 SF home?

$20K–$35K depending on access and wall finish.

California Electrical & Panel Upgrades.

LA electrical — 200A panel upgrades for ADUs + EV, full home rewires, sub-panels, Tesla Wall Connectors. LADBS permit + LADWP coordination.

Bay electrical — older knob-and-tube + cloth-wire homes need full rewires. PG&E coordination, panel upgrades, EV chargers, solar interconnect.

Los Angeles

$3.5K – $25K

EV charger bottom; full rewire + panel top.

Timeline — 1 day EV charger; 1–2 weeks full rewire.

Los Angeles Electrical & Panel Upgrades →

San Francisco Bay Area

$4.5K – $35K

PG&E coordination and SF rewire complexity lift cost.

Timeline — 1–2 days EV; 2–3 weeks full rewire (older homes).

San Francisco Bay Area Electrical & Panel Upgrades →

Scope — what we deliver.

Load calc
Permit
Panel + service install
Branch circuits
Inspection + utility tie-in

Permits look different in LA vs the Bay.

Los Angeles — permit notes

LADBS permit + LADWP service.
Load calc per CEC.
EV charger separate permit.
Inspection before energization.

Bay Area — permit notes

City permit + PG&E.
Load calc per CEC.
Solar + battery interconnect separate.
PG&E lead time 4–12 weeks.

How we think about electrical & panel upgrades.

Structural work is the most expensive thing you can do badly and the cheapest thing you can do right. A correctly engineered shear wall, hold-down, or beam costs a few hundred dollars more than the wrong one and protects the building for its remaining life. We refuse to deviate from a stamped engineer's calc — the engineer's stamp is what protects the homeowner in a claim, not the contractor's experience.

California's seismic code has changed dramatically since 2010 and again since 2020 — most homes built before 1980 carry latent risk we can correct in a single retrofit pass. We treat foundation, framing, and shear as one system, never as separate trades.

The schedule, written out.

Week 0
Engineering site visit
Licensed structural engineer reviews existing, soils, slope, snake-camera at foundation cracks.
Week 1–4
Engineering + plans
Stamped calcs, framing plan, hold-down + shear schedule, foundation detail.
Week 4–8
Permit
City structural review — usually faster than full ADU plan check.
Week 8–10
Foundation + shear access
Selective demo, crawlspace prep, excavation if underpinning.
Week 10–14
Install
Anchor bolts, hold-downs, shear panels, cripple-wall bracing, structural framing, beam install.
Week 14–15
Inspection
Inspector verifies every hold-down and shear-nail pattern — common rejection point if subs cut corners.

Materials & assemblies.

Component	Default spec	Why
Anchor bolts	5/8" Simpson Titen HD or equivalent epoxy-set, 7" embed minimum	Old square-washer ½" bolts are not enough; full retrofit upsizes them.
Hold-downs	Simpson HDU or PHD with stamped placement at all shear-wall ends	Placement is the failure mode — wrong stud or wrong end = no hold-down at all.
Shear panels	15/32" structural-1 sheathing, 8d common nails @ 4"/12" or per calc	Air nails at the wrong PSI under-drive — every nail must be flush, not over.
Beams (LVL / PSL)	Engineered lumber per calc, with stamped connection hardware	Field-fabricated steel saddles are a frequent failure point — only use stamped connectors.
Foundation repair	Helical piles, push piers, or wide footings depending on soil + load	Choice is geotech-driven, not contractor-preference.

Hidden costs we flag up front.

Line item	Range	When it hits
Soils / geotech report	$4K–$12K	hillside, expansive clay, or new addition load
Excavation + shoring	$8K–$40K	underpinning a settled foundation
Plumbing + electrical re-route	$2K–$10K	foundation work cuts through existing services
Temporary support	$2K–$8K	interior shoring for beam install

cheaper alternatives

What we'd consider — and what we wouldn't.

Brace-only retrofit (no bolt-down)
Half the cost but only addresses cripple-wall, not sill movement — incomplete protection.
Carbon-fiber wall repair
Works for crack stabilization but doesn't add capacity for new load.
Owner-permit structural work
Not legal in most CA jurisdictions for residential — requires licensed contractor + engineer.

pitfalls — takeover-job patterns

Mistakes to avoid.

Pulling a permit without an engineer's stamp — almost every city now requires it for shear / beam / foundation
Cutting a notch in a joist or beam to fit plumbing — single most common code failure on rough inspection
Skipping the cripple-wall bracing on a pre-1980 raised foundation — biggest cost-to-benefit retrofit available
Believing 'the inspector will catch it' — the inspector verifies what's exposed, not what's already buried

Electrical & Panel Upgrades — Los Angeles.

Electrical & Panel Upgrades — Bay Area.

In short.

Cost to upgrade to 200A in LA?: $3.5K–$6.5K typical. $8K+ if mast or meter relocates.
EV charger install cost?: $1,200–$2,500 with permit. Tesla Wall Connector + 60A breaker.
200A upgrade cost in the Bay?: $5K–$9K. PG&E coordination adds 4–12 weeks.
Cost to rewire a 1920 SF home?: $20K–$35K depending on access and wall finish.

More we build.

Got a electrical & panel upgrades project in mind?

Send us the address. We'll pull local zoning, setbacks, and electrical & panel upgrades feasibility before you spend on drawings.

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