Electrical work - staggered at the cost!

Just had a quote for some electrical work and was really shocked at how expensive the quote was!

To carry out the following:

Remove existing fuse board, supply and fit new distribution board with miniature circuit breakers and RCD on all circuits - do we need this?

install earth mains bonding to gas and water mains - does this need to be done?

Rewire 2 way switch in hall and landing - old light switches

Replace 4 light pendants

install 40 amp power supply for electric shower

Certify and test all works

£1750 inc VAT!!!
«13

Comments

  • You cant undertake electrical work yourself with the Part P regulations.

    Do you know an electrical apprentice, who can replace the consumer unit, fit the 10mm earth cables, change the 4 pendants, then rewire the 2way switches.

    Then get someone to come in and inspect the house.?
  • ALIBOBSY
    ALIBOBSY Posts: 4,527
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    That sounds crazy, do you really need a new board? I would ring around for a few quotes especially try for a local electrician rather than a bigger company.

    We are lucky in that my Dad does all ours for free and now he is retired he has plenty of free time.

    good luck
    ali x
    "Overthinking every little thing
    Acknowledge the bell you cant unring"

  • I had a quote from another person, £400 for the new distribution board, but he is not NIEC registered and so can't provide a certificate for Part P.

    Could I get him to do the work and then get it tested and certified but another person who is Part P registered?
  • dander
    dander Posts: 1,766
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    You can, but you'll have to pay for the test, so it's worth ringing round and checking what that cost will be.
  • i believe that MCB's are now standard as per 17th edition.

    There is plenty of rules and regulations around electrical work hence the cost. If i were an electrician i would not be happy testing and certifying other peoples work.

    I think the earth main bonding in old houses is important.
  • I am having a full rewire and audio visual package done in my 3 bed semi in Berkshire, and total labour for all that is £1870, so I think your quote is way off the mark. Get some other quotes I would say.
  • That Quote seems fair to me,maybe a bit on the high side i would quote your work at £1200 inc.No good trying to get an unregistered person to do the work as no one will supply you with the certificates as they will know why you want one.
    We get asked everyday and say NO !!
    OH THE JOYS OF BEING SELF-EMPLOYED!! Can Travel,Will Work For Free!
  • I must admit that I had a maximum "ball park" figure of around £1,000 including VAT.

    Seems that Part P certification is a bit of a stitch up for the consumer and a license to print money if your are an electrician.

    Off to get some more quotes!
  • Whoah, that's really odd! We had a fuse problem last week and, having an insurance with Homeserve, we got an electrician to come over. He said that our fuse box was very old fashioned (so much so that he had to go to Homebase to buy some missing part that he didn't have) and suggested we should replace it. He left us a leaflet quoting £599.00 plus to replace the box. We thought that it was crazy and didn't really look at it again (until the electricity works, why change..?), but I will be happy to pass on the details to you and you can ask them to quote you. If I am not back to you with the info within a couple of days, drop me a line to remind me (my head is like an Emmenthal cheese recently...). Later: Here's the info: Mr. Electric, 02089933344, £599+VAT Special Offer MK 12 Way, Split Load Consumer Unit complete with RCD and 10 MCB's including Periodic Test & Inspection, NICEIC Part 'P' Certificate and a 10 Year Guarantee. Existing circuits must be free of faults and conform to the latest edition / amendment of BS7671. Should this not be the case, additional costs may be applicable.
    Let me know if you try it out? After reading some info about other people's electrical problems, I think that I may try this out myself after all...
  • Minerva wrote: »
    Remove existing fuse board, supply and fit new distribution board with miniature circuit breakers and RCD on all circuits - do we need this?
    Yes- the new version of the wiring regs makes this mandatory (for all bathroom circuits and other domestic circuits below 40A)

    install earth mains bonding to gas and water mains - does this need to be done?
    20.8 reg of BS7671 (wiring regs)
    States (I'm paraphrasing here) Check supply is adequate and bonding is ok before you do any work.

    Rewire 2 way switch in hall and landing - old light switches

    Replace 4 light pendants

    install 40 amp power supply for electric shower

    Certify and test all works

    Seems that Part P certification is a bit of a stitch up for the consumer and a license to print money if your are an electrician.

    We don't have Part P in Scotland, but we have a similar scheme. I am in the NICIEC and SELECT.

    It isn't a licence to print money. I am required to be registered to sign off work for building warrants.
    It isn't cheap- I reckon my business costs are £2000 per year. This is made up of direct fees, plus the additional costs of more onerous insurances to comply with these schemes.
    There is also the added cost of having and calibrating test equipment (which shoud be done anyway)

    It isn't a gravy train for us electricians. I go and quote a job (including doing a job corectly and to the standards) only to find it was done with no regard to saftey or current best methods by someone cutting corners.

    In answer to your original question - yes it is a bit dear.
    I would have thought £700- £900 all in. It depends on time (bonding can take 10 minutes or half a day)
    baldly going on...
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