Electrical work - staggered at the cost!

sparky883

Me too i'm thinking of putting our prices up,Must be doing something wrong??
Some firms just put in high prices they were probly the company that did the Electrical Report for the Mortgage.

reginald_2

You might get your quote down if you offer to do some of the donkey work yourself. Like lifting floor boards , chanelling walls even routing the cables. Then let you electrician come and connect it up. Also try paying for labour only and obtaining your own cable etc. Some electricians are happy to do this.

sparky883

Well i would not,How does the customer know what to buy unless we tell them,I for one do not work like this its just more complicated.
Trade Services are there to be used and paid for not just the bits you want to pay for.

baldelectrician

reginald wrote: »

You might get your quote down if you offer to do some of the donkey work yourself. Like lifting floor boards , chanelling walls even routing the cables. Then let you electrician come and connect it up. Also try paying for labour only and obtaining your own cable etc. Some electricians are happy to do this.

This is a good idea in practise. What if a lower price is agreed on the basis of certain works being done, and the work done by client is wrong and it takes even longer to do the job.

Or what if they notch joists (after not understanding certain advice) and weaken the structure of the building? Who pays to fix that

What if they buy the wrong materials?
What if the materials are faulty- who pays for the extra time to go and get the correct stuff?

I ensure the client knows where I will need access and has the area clear. This and putting the kettle on helps the price

spark1

Minerva wrote: »

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!!!

What you talking 3 days work for 1 spark ? or 1 day for 2 sparks ?

Get a couple more quotes in writing and when you get one around the £950 mark, have the spark write a description of what your going to get for your money and make sure the spark is registered with a scheme. Greedy tradesmen ruin it for the genuine ones.

nicfatbelly

Minerva,

Thats about 3 or 4 days work at around £250 per day + £400 for parts, but without a full on site survey its impossible to be accurate.
Does'nt sound too wide of the mark.
The specification sounds correct for current regs.
Check for membership of a part P scheme, one of the ollowing:

http://www.esc.org.uk/find-an-electrician/search/england-and-wales.html

If they are not registered, dont touch them.

daveredding

I would agree, the initial quote is way off the mark. Get some more quotes.

But remember.

You cant see it - You cant Smell it - And it KILLS

EliteHeat

One reason why the quote is high, is that perhaps he doesn't actually want the job.