Total rewire of large stone house - does this quote seem ok?

Isabell

Hi All

I hope someone can set my mind at rest!
We're totally renovating a large derelict house and the electrician is starting the first fix on Monday, I'm just having a few wobbles about how much he has quoted. He was the cheaper of the two quotes we got.

Its a large, sprawling 3 double bedroom house on three floors. As well as the bedrooms there are 2 large bathrooms, small dressing room, library, kitchen, dining room, sitting room, utilty, pantry, downstairs toilet and study. It is stone built and around 300 years old. Its a total rewire job including wired in smoke detectors, all light fittings and stitches, 4 double sockets in most rooms, internet and T.V points in at least 5 rooms and a few outside lights and 1 outside socket. We're also having a multi-rom audio system installed with network cable running to 5 rooms as well as in-ceiling speakers in those rooms.

We've been quoted £7,500 excluding the parts needed and told it will take 8 weeks for both first and second fix (one man on his own).

Anyone got any ideas if this price seems ok? Although we could do much of the work ourselves we just don't have the time.

Thanks

I

baldelectrician

My rewires start at £1800, and for a house this size it would be around the £3000 mark.

Extras such as networking will be extra, but not £4000

I suggest you give more information

Where are you, as the building regs differ across the UK?

justjohn

8 weeks and 7.5k price is high...and at 8 weeks thats alota tea....(at 8 weeks i would be charging rent)


you are look at 3k ish and 1-3 weeks (inc parts)...just for electrics. Unsure on the extras.(but if just rj45 should be cheap)

Building trade is full of capatalists and there work is drying up. Shop around.

Isabell

Thanks both for the reply.

It does seem rather steep and even a novice like me can't see where 8 weeks is going to go...

He hasn't started work yet, I think were going to agree to pay by the hour instead and keep a close eye on how things are going!

I

fluffpot

8 weeks works out at £187.5 per day for 5 day week. How does this compare with other daily rates in the area? For London for example this is very cheap (I'm £300)

baldelectrician

Don't agree to pay by the hour

Insist on a fixed price (for a fixed amount of work) and a price for extras

I would suggest £35 per extra point- that way they can't hit you with a cheap price to get the job and then charge you £300 to fit a cooker circuit (for example)

I sometimes wished I would work down south, but I prefer my local area (<15 miles radius) and word of mouth work

I always break down each room by room on a job like this - then it's easy to see if you have missed something when you have a final walk around

DVardysShadow

Isabell wrote: »

Thanks both for the reply.

It does seem rather steep and even a novice like me can't see where 8 weeks is going to go...

He hasn't started work yet, I think were going to agree to pay by the hour instead and keep a close eye on how things are going!

I

I think this is a disaster in the making. The replies you have indicate that the price is OTT. So my guess is that you have someone with less experience who is trying to cut in a lot of slack to cover anything unexpected arising from his experience.

My suggestion is to get more quotes.

fluffpot

But this WAS the cheaper of the 2 quotes - we can't see the house can we, so are only guessing at what's involved. Mind you I think even I could rewire a large house on my own in 8 weeks and I'm a bird!

Fluff

DVardysShadow

fluffpot wrote: »

But this WAS the cheaper of the 2 quotes

There is only £4000 in it between those quotes and the view from the professionals here. Perhaps it is not worth the bother? Although OP has given the man his orders, so it is too late now.

Isabell

We're in Wales - so day rate would be cheaper than London prices.

He's started work and has agreed to reduce the price in relation to the amount of time it takes. He seems pretty reasonable....famous last words....
He's an established electrician in the area and has done a rewire recently for someone we know (a similar house) who is pleased with his work. So we're not concerned about the standard of the work.
We should have got a third quote to set our minds at rest - a lesson learned!

I can't see it taking 8 weeks either -so we'll see.. It is a big place though with loads of little rooms added on over the years. My BF thinks people walk in and see the mess and the scale of the place and think it'll be a much bigger job than it is.

One other question. He's asked that we drill all the holes into the stone walls for the cabelling to go through (he'll do the stud walls) - is that normally the electrician's responsibility or the project manager/builder?

Thanks

I

PHILIP1193

Isabell wrote: »

One other question. He's asked that we drill all the holes into the stone walls for the cabelling to go through (he'll do the stud walls) - is that normally the electrician's responsibility or the project manager/builder?

Thanks

I

I work with a lot of different electricians in my job, and in 95% of all cases where i require them to do cabling on behalf of my company they do all drilling them selves, the only time they wont do it, is if it require big structural changes to walls get the cables through in which case thats down to the builder to sort out. Smaller holes though, they do them selves, after all you are clairvoyant and know where he would want them :rotfl:

Phil