Device swap
$150 – $400
Outlet, switch, dimmer or GFCI replaced in an existing box. Cheapest thing we do, and much cheaper per device in batches.
Electrical service · Asheville, NC
Outlet & Switch Installation in Asheville
New outlets and switches, GFCI protection, dimmers, three-way switches, USB and outdoor receptacles — and grounded replacements for the two-prong outlets in older Asheville homes.
★ 4.9 stars · 180+ Google reviews · NCBELC #33298 · Insured · Lifetime workmanship warranty · No minimum job
Nobody calls an electrician because they're excited about outlets. They call because there's one place in the house where the lamp, the laptop and the phone charger are all fighting over a single receptacle behind the couch, and it's been that way for six years.
This is the smallest work we do and some of the most useful. Adding outlets where you actually need them, putting GFCI protection in the rooms that legally require it, swapping in dimmers that don't make your LEDs buzz, and dealing with the two-prong outlets that come with a lot of Asheville's older housing stock.
No minimum job. One outlet is a normal call, and if you have a list of twelve things, that's a better call — they're much cheaper done in one visit.
Older Asheville homes
The two-prong outlet problem.
The most common outlet question we get in a pre-1960 house, and the one with the most bad advice attached to it.
If your outlets have two slots and no round hole, those circuits have no equipment ground. The tempting fix — buy three-prong receptacles and swap them in — is the wrong one. It's a code violation, and worse, it's a lie your house now tells every appliance you plug in. The third prong promises a path to ground that doesn't exist, so a fault that should trip a breaker instead energizes the metal case of whatever you're holding.
There are two honest fixes. The thorough one is running an actual grounding conductor back to the panel, which is the right call if the wiring is due for work anyway or if we're already opening walls. The practical one is a GFCI, which code specifically permits where no ground exists — it has to be labeled "No Equipment Ground," and anything grounding-type fed downstream of it also gets a "GFCI Protected" label. It gives you real shock protection plus a legal three-prong outlet.
Which one is right depends on what's behind the plaster. If it turns out to be knob and tube, that's a bigger conversation and it's our specialty — we'll tell you honestly what you're looking at.
What we install
Outlets, switches, and the things people ask for by name.
New outlets. Added where you need them — behind furniture, in closets, over a workbench, in a kitchen island. Quick when there's a circuit nearby with room; more involved on masonry walls or loaded circuits.
GFCI protection. Required in kitchens, baths, laundry, garages, unfinished basements, crawl spaces, outdoors, and near sinks. One of the cheapest real safety improvements in an older house.
Dimmers. Matched to your bulbs. LED dimming is genuinely fussy and the wrong dimmer flickers or hums — we spec the pair, not just the switch.
Three-way and four-way switches. Both ends of a hallway, top and bottom of stairs, a middle position added to an existing pair.
Smart switches. Most need a neutral in the switch box, which many older Asheville boxes don't have. We check before you buy a boxful.
Fan and light controls. Separating a ceiling fan from its light onto their own controls — see ceiling fan installation.
USB and USB-C receptacles. Straight swap in most cases. Genuinely nice in bedrooms and kitchens.
Outdoor and garage receptacles. Weather-resistant, GFCI-protected, with in-use covers that stay weatherproof while something's plugged in.
20-amp small-appliance circuits. Kitchen counters need them, and a lot of older kitchens are running the microwave, toaster and coffee maker off one tired 15-amp circuit.
Cost in Asheville
What drives the number.
We quote before we start. No minimum job.
Adding an outlet or switch
$250 – $650
New device where none exists. Low end for an open stud bay beside an existing circuit; high end for fishing wire through finished walls or masonry.
New dedicated circuit
$350 – $800
A new 120V circuit run from the panel — kitchen small-appliance, office, workshop. 240V circuits are priced on their own pages.
Typical ranges, not your quote. We price your specific job before we start — no minimum job.
Device work is priced mostly on access and count. A straight swap in an existing box is the cheapest thing we do. Adding a device gets more involved based on what's between the new location and the nearest power — an open stud bay is easy, a finished basement ceiling or an exterior brick wall is not.
The things that move the price: whether we're fishing wire through finished walls, whether the existing circuit has capacity or needs a new one run from the panel, whether the box is too small for what's going in it, and whether there's a ground to work with. Count helps you — six devices in one visit is far cheaper per device than six visits.
Permits: new circuits need a permit; straight device replacement generally doesn't. Which office issues it depends on where you are — the City of Asheville runs its own inspections department, and Buncombe County covers the unincorporated areas. We'll tell you which side of that line your job is on.
Common questions
Outlet and switch questions, answered.
Yes, but not by just swapping the receptacle — that's the shortcut that makes a house less safe, because the round hole promises a ground that isn't there. There are two legitimate fixes. Run a proper grounding conductor back to the panel, which is the real answer and often makes sense if we're already in the walls. Or install a GFCI, which is permitted where no ground exists as long as it's labeled 'No Equipment Ground' (any grounding-type outlets fed downstream from it also get a 'GFCI Protected' label). That gives you shock protection and a three-prong outlet legally. We'll tell you which fits your house.
On your own home, generally yes. State law (G.S. 87-43.1(5a)) exempts a person doing electrical work on their own property for their own benefit, provided the property isn't intended at the time for rent, lease, or sale. Two things people miss. The exemption is personal — it covers you, not a handyman you pay, because paid electrical work requires a licensed contractor. And it exempts you from licensing, not from permitting: new circuits still need a permit and an inspection from whichever office covers your address — the City of Asheville has its own, Buncombe County handles the areas outside it. If it's a rental, the exemption doesn't apply at all.
It's the receptacle spacing rule in the electrical code, and it's easier than it sounds. Any wall space 2 feet or wider needs a receptacle. No point along the floor line of a wall can be more than 6 feet from one. Which works out to receptacles no more than 12 feet apart. It exists so you're not running extension cords across a room, and extension cords used as permanent wiring are a genuine fire cause. If your house predates the rule — and plenty of Asheville's does — you'll feel it as too few outlets in every room.
Kitchens, bathrooms, laundry areas, garages, unfinished basements, crawl spaces, outdoors, and anywhere within six feet of a sink. If you're remodeling, that's when it gets enforced. Older Asheville homes frequently have none of it, and adding GFCI protection is one of the cheapest safety upgrades available.
Yes. How involved it is depends on what's on the other side of the wall and whether there's an existing circuit nearby with capacity to spare. An outlet added to a stud bay next to an existing one is quick. One on an exterior masonry wall, in a finished basement ceiling, or on a circuit that's already loaded takes longer — and sometimes the right answer is a new dedicated circuit rather than extending a tired one.
Yes. Two things to know. Dimmers need to match the bulbs — LED dimming is fussy, and a dimmer sold for incandescent will make LEDs flicker or buzz. And most smart switches need a neutral wire in the switch box, which a lot of older Asheville boxes don't have. We check for one before you buy a boxful of switches that won't work.
Two switches controlling one light — top and bottom of a staircase, both ends of a hallway, kitchen and back door. Four-way adds a third position in the middle. Adding one to an existing single-switch light means running additional conductors between the switch locations, so the cost depends mostly on the path between them.
Yes. Outdoor receptacles need to be weather-resistant, GFCI-protected, and covered by an in-use cover — the bubble style that stays weatherproof with a cord plugged in, not the flip lid. Garages need GFCI protection too. If you're planning to charge a car, that's a different job: see our EV charger work.
No minimum job. A single outlet or one switch is a normal call for us. If you have a list, tell us the whole list when you call — doing six devices in one visit costs a lot less per device than six separate trips.