Bathrooms, kitchens, garages, and outdoors all require GFCI protection—calculate the full cost by outlet count, location type, wiring condition, and whether you're adding new circuits so your quote covers every device and labor hour.
A GFCI outlet has LINE (incoming power) and LOAD (outgoing to downstream outlets) terminals. A single GFCI device at the first outlet in a bathroom circuit protects every outlet wired after it on that circuit. This is code-compliant and saves material cost when you're doing a multi-outlet bathroom or kitchen. The tradeoff: if the first GFCI trips, everything downstream goes dark. Most homeowners don't know this until they're standing there pressing the reset button in the dark. Brief them on the location of the first device before you leave.
NEC allows GFCI protection on 2-wire (no ground) circuits as a code-compliant alternative to rewiring. You install the GFCI device, it provides fault protection even without a ground wire, and you attach the "No Equipment Ground" label that comes in the GFCI package. This is the correct and legal way to handle old wiring in bathrooms and kitchens without tearing walls open. Homeowners and inexperienced contractors assume the whole circuit needs rewiring — that's a $2,000 job. The GFCI approach is $150. Know the code; bill the right solution.
Homes built from the mid-1960s through the mid-1970s may have aluminum branch circuit wiring. Standard copper-rated GFCI devices installed on aluminum wiring create a fire risk at the connection point due to differential expansion. The fix is CO/ALR (copper-aluminum) rated devices — these are available from major manufacturers and are the only listed devices permitted on aluminum branch circuits. Failure to specify CO/ALR on an aluminum circuit is both a code violation and a liability. Check before you quote; the device costs slightly more but the exposure difference is enormous.
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Get the Electrician's Kit →GFCI outlet installation pricing should account for location (garage, kitchen, bath, exterior), whether the circuit is accessible, and how many outlets are on the circuit. This calculator builds your price from labor time, parts markup, and any panel work required — so you're not undercharging on tricky installations. It also accounts for multi-outlet GFCI protection where one device protects several outlets downstream.