Cost to rewire a single outlet?

You have several things occurring, so you need several solutions ... I'll get to the money part soon.

1) There IS something wrong with your audio equipment. If it was working properly, it would not be

shocking you. An electrician can help you figure out which component it is.

2) In order to give you a grounded outlet, wiring needs to be run to your location, from an outlet that

is grounded already. Depending on the layout of your house, you may have to deal with the expense

of wall repair and painting. If you want to help yourself in the future, have the new wiring routed

through an attic space, so you can grow off of the new ground.

3) As far as the money goes, lets ballpark it:

service call (including 1/2 hour labor) $ 80

additional labor (1 1/2 hours) $120

parts $ 45

total $225

Some things to consider ... if you specify that YOU will do all of the cleaning (drywall dust,

etc.) it will shave off of the electrician's time; if you need a permit for the task, add on

$150 to cover it. So you're looking at a heavy, couple hundred dollars. Likely in the $200-

$400 range. This is without looking at your audio stuff.

I do not live in the Detroit area anymore. I would never push a brand at somebody, so I'm

going to be subtle. In Ferndale, across the street from St. James, is the shop you want to

call. They perform that type of work A LOT. They have a very good reputation.

Two more ideas-

First, try reversing the polarity of the power. I'll assume you're using an outlet strip for power, so, pick up an adapter at the hardware store (less than $1), file or trim the larger prong so that it will fit the "wrong way". Just don't use the outlet strip for anything other than audio gear, or you could be put at risk. Polarized plugs, which prevent easy reversal of polarity, were first introduced when someone realized that, while you were replacing a light bulb, a portion of the bulb becomes exposed. If the circuit is live, and that side of the fixture is hot, you could get shocked. So polarized plugs make sure that the exposed side is "neutral".

Second. (If the first doesn't solve the problem.) Run a separate ground wire from a screw on the case of the amp to a cold water pipe. Before you connect it, though, turn on the amp and "tap" the wire against the water pipe. A little, tiny, barely visible spark is what you should get from the relatively safe, but troublesome "phantom power" created by some electronic devices. If you get a big spark, turn off the amp, unplug it and take it to a repair shop. If you don't, connect it with a ground clam, just a few bucks. Oh, and it doesn't have to be a very heavy gauge wire. Bell wire will do just fine.

Inductive power, capacitive reactance, capacitive coupling and other effects occur in band gear, all of them can create a small but troubling "buzz". Sometimes adding a ground fixes it, sometimes reversing polarity, sometimes removing the ground.

A few things here....

First the house was not completely re-wired in the 70's. If it were, you would have grounded wiring. I am quite sure that the upstairs was not re-wired and is still original (probably Knob & Tube).

It is impossible to tell you what the cost would be, sight unseen. There are too many variables and unknowns. It may be possible to extend a circuit from the first floor without a huge amount of work. The bathroom is off-limits though. If it powers the receptacle, it is a code violation to use this circuit for anything other than the bathroom (Same can be said for laundry receptacles and Kitchen Counter receptacles.)

This could also be a real chore. If there is a way to get from the panel to the attic, make sure to have an extra cable or two added for future use. If you have to go through the trouble to get the wire there, only do it once.

Rewire Outlet

I am a handy guy and would do it myself instead of paying for it. BUT I never recommend anyone without electrical background do this. Also it most likely violates some ordinance-law or whatever. As small as the job is It is at least 100$ just to get someone there. That would include 1 hr labor. It might be 50$ parts as you probably need SOME updated wire maybe just a small piece -and of course the outlet. I am guessing 100-150$.

I tell you what I had to do to find an electrician was to go through a local newspaper to find one and even though he was licensed and doing electrical work on the side too, he charged me $60.00 to replace One 20 amp breaker that took less than 10 minutes. They are expensive. But then again, they have the advantage because they know what they are doing. Good luck!

You might replace the circuits by using "Wire Mold"...This is a neat metal or plastic channel to encase elect. wire that is installed on the inside of an existing wall without trying to pull wire inside an old wall....Usually works very well...You can usually use the existing hole iun the wall