Adding more lights for existing lighting job

rentalforever

I’ve got an electrician booked next month to install new spotlights and agreed a price for 10 LED lights on two dimmers in a 6+4 configuration. New wiring for both power to the lights+switches, and drilling into the ceiling to position the lights is included. Electrician to supply the light fixtures which come with bulbs, I am supplying the dimmer switches and will take care of the decoration work.

I now want an additional 2 lights in the same areas to make it a 6+6 configuration and the electrician wants £95+VAT extra per light for supply and fit. I expected they would charge something along the lines of supply costs plus a bit extra which might be around £40/light. I’m almost certain that if I had specified a 6+6 configuration from the start, the quote wouldn’t have been an extra £190. Am I being unreasonable?

aoleks

no, the electrician is taking the p**s. once you're up there, the "cost" of two additional spots is negligible, mainly parts. if you're a bit handy with DIY, you can easily wire two additional spots once he's gone, at cost price. it's literally drilling two holes in the right place, connecting a cable to one of the existing spots and connecting it to the new spots.

victor2

rentalforever said:

I’ve got an electrician booked next month to install new spotlights and agreed a price for 10 LED lights on two dimmers in a 6+4 configuration. New wiring for both power to the lights+switches, and drilling into the ceiling to position the lights is included. Electrician to supply the light fixtures which come with bulbs, I am supplying the dimmer switches and will take care of the decoration work.

I now want an additional 2 lights in the same areas to make it a 6+6 configuration and the electrician wants £95+VAT extra per light for supply and fit. I expected they would charge something along the lines of supply costs plus a bit extra which might be around £40/light. I’m almost certain that if I had specified a 6+6 configuration from the start, the quote wouldn’t have been an extra £190. Am I being unreasonable?

How much was the original quote for 6+4?

Presumably the electrician will need to access the area above the light fittings, and has costed that in as well. If it is a room above with floorboards to raise, it could be a lot of work. On the other hand, if there's little extra beyond running more cable across to the extra fittings, and access is easy, maybe it's not a lot of extra work.

rentalforever

victor2 said:

rentalforever said:

I’ve got an electrician booked next month to install new spotlights and agreed a price for 10 LED lights on two dimmers in a 6+4 configuration. New wiring for both power to the lights+switches, and drilling into the ceiling to position the lights is included. Electrician to supply the light fixtures which come with bulbs, I am supplying the dimmer switches and will take care of the decoration work.

I now want an additional 2 lights in the same areas to make it a 6+6 configuration and the electrician wants £95+VAT extra per light for supply and fit. I expected they would charge something along the lines of supply costs plus a bit extra which might be around £40/light. I’m almost certain that if I had specified a 6+6 configuration from the start, the quote wouldn’t have been an extra £190. Am I being unreasonable?

How much was the original quote for 6+4?

Presumably the electrician will need to access the area above the light fittings, and has costed that in as well. If it is a room above with floorboards to raise, it could be a lot of work. On the other hand, if there's little extra beyond running more cable across to the extra fittings, and access is easy, maybe it's not a lot of extra work.

Unfortunately those specific areas aren’t itemised so it’s impossible to tell what he was charging to supply+install each light fixture originally. But the original quote for 6+4 will already have his labour and profit priced in hence the thinking it’s not unreasonable to expect supply costs plus a bit extra on top.

Obviously if I was asking for double the number of lights then it’s a different story but I don’t feel like that’s what I’m doing here.

fenwick458

It seems excessive, sounds like they don't want to do it

Risteard

rentalforever said:

I’ve got an electrician booked next month to install new spotlights and agreed a price for 10 LED lights on two dimmers in a 6+4 configuration. New wiring for both power to the lights+switches, and drilling into the ceiling to position the lights is included. Electrician to supply the light fixtures which come with bulbs, I am supplying the dimmer switches and will take care of the decoration work.

I now want an additional 2 lights in the same areas to make it a 6+6 configuration and the electrician wants £95+VAT extra per light for supply and fit. I expected they would charge something along the lines of supply costs plus a bit extra which might be around £40/light. I’m almost certain that if I had specified a 6+6 configuration from the start, the quote wouldn’t have been an extra £190. Am I being unreasonable?

It doesn't sound unreasonable. The last downlights I did (15 of them) worked out at €80 +VAT each (exclusive of dimmer switch costs; RCBO etc.). I think you don't appreciate the amount of work involved with downlights. I think it's an entirely reasonable price.

I wouldn't have added additional downlights at a lower unit cost, and neither would any other Electrician.

grumbler

Risteard said:

rentalforever said:

I’ve got an electrician booked next month to install new spotlights and agreed a price for 10 LED lights on two dimmers in a 6+4 configuration. New wiring for both power to the lights+switches, and drilling into the ceiling to position the lights is included. Electrician to supply the light fixtures which come with bulbs, I am supplying the dimmer switches and will take care of the decoration work.

I now want an additional 2 lights in the same areas to make it a 6+6 configuration and the electrician wants £95+VAT extra per light for supply and fit. I expected they would charge something along the lines of supply costs plus a bit extra which might be around £40/light. I’m almost certain that if I had specified a 6+6 configuration from the start, the quote wouldn’t have been an extra £190. Am I being unreasonable?

The last downlights I did (15 of them) worked out at €80 +VAT each (exclusive of dimmer switch costs; RCBO etc.).

I think you don't appreciate the amount of work involved with downlights. I think it's an entirely reasonable price.

Depends on the access. If it's a loft with easy access, then 1 day max on the lights alone.

Martin_the_Unjust

Without supplying all the details you are basically asking ‘how long is a piece of string’

The only reasonable answer anyone can give is ‘it might be or it might not be’

The major problem for the sparky (or any trades) is that when the customer asks for extras just before the job starts he knows he is going to potentially upset the next customer down the line who he will be late getting to

Risteard

grumbler said:

Risteard said:

rentalforever said:

I’ve got an electrician booked next month to install new spotlights and agreed a price for 10 LED lights on two dimmers in a 6+4 configuration. New wiring for both power to the lights+switches, and drilling into the ceiling to position the lights is included. Electrician to supply the light fixtures which come with bulbs, I am supplying the dimmer switches and will take care of the decoration work.

I now want an additional 2 lights in the same areas to make it a 6+6 configuration and the electrician wants £95+VAT extra per light for supply and fit. I expected they would charge something along the lines of supply costs plus a bit extra which might be around £40/light. I’m almost certain that if I had specified a 6+6 configuration from the start, the quote wouldn’t have been an extra £190. Am I being unreasonable?

The last downlights I did (15 of them) worked out at €80 +VAT each (exclusive of dimmer switch costs; RCBO etc.).

I think you don't appreciate the amount of work involved with downlights. I think it's an entirely reasonable price.

Depends on the access. If it's a loft with easy access, then 1 day max on the lights alone.

Access plays a part, but regardless of how easy it is you're still going to have a basic per point price which in my opinion the quoted figure is not a world away from. Electrical work isn't cheap - nothing is these days. Materials are dear, Diesel is dear - everything is dear. That's life. If you think any self-respecting electrical contractor wants to mess about with downlights for a pittance then you have another thing coming. Even just measuring the spacing between them (and trying to avoid joists etc.) is horrendously time consuming and little fun.

grumbler

Risteard said:

grumbler said:

Risteard said:

rentalforever said:

I’ve got an electrician booked next month to install new spotlights and agreed a price for 10 LED lights on two dimmers in a 6+4 configuration. New wiring for both power to the lights+switches, and drilling into the ceiling to position the lights is included. Electrician to supply the light fixtures which come with bulbs, I am supplying the dimmer switches and will take care of the decoration work.

I now want an additional 2 lights in the same areas to make it a 6+6 configuration and the electrician wants £95+VAT extra per light for supply and fit. I expected they would charge something along the lines of supply costs plus a bit extra which might be around £40/light. I’m almost certain that if I had specified a 6+6 configuration from the start, the quote wouldn’t have been an extra £190. Am I being unreasonable?

The last downlights I did (15 of them) worked out at €80 +VAT each (exclusive of dimmer switch costs; RCBO etc.).

I think you don't appreciate the amount of work involved with downlights. I think it's an entirely reasonable price.

Depends on the access. If it's a loft with easy access, then 1 day max on the lights alone.

Access plays a part, but regardless of how easy it is you're still going to have a basic per point price which in my opinion the quoted figure is not a world away from. Electrical work isn't cheap - nothing is these days. Materials are dear, Diesel is dear - everything is dear. That's life. If you think any self-respecting electrical contractor wants to mess about with downlights for a pittance then you have another thing coming. Even just measuring the spacing between them (and trying to avoid joists etc.) is horrendously time consuming and little fun.

For easy access the quoted figure IS far away. And so is yours c. £1K for a one-day job (excluding materials). If it's just for all your qualifications, then they aren't needed for this simple job.

Doing this for a ground floor room without access from the first floor is another story.

Risteard

grumbler said:

Risteard said:

grumbler said:

Risteard said:

rentalforever said:

I’ve got an electrician booked next month to install new spotlights and agreed a price for 10 LED lights on two dimmers in a 6+4 configuration. New wiring for both power to the lights+switches, and drilling into the ceiling to position the lights is included. Electrician to supply the light fixtures which come with bulbs, I am supplying the dimmer switches and will take care of the decoration work.

I now want an additional 2 lights in the same areas to make it a 6+6 configuration and the electrician wants £95+VAT extra per light for supply and fit. I expected they would charge something along the lines of supply costs plus a bit extra which might be around £40/light. I’m almost certain that if I had specified a 6+6 configuration from the start, the quote wouldn’t have been an extra £190. Am I being unreasonable?

The last downlights I did (15 of them) worked out at €80 +VAT each (exclusive of dimmer switch costs; RCBO etc.).

I think you don't appreciate the amount of work involved with downlights. I think it's an entirely reasonable price.

Depends on the access. If it's a loft with easy access, then 1 day max on the lights alone.

Access plays a part, but regardless of how easy it is you're still going to have a basic per point price which in my opinion the quoted figure is not a world away from. Electrical work isn't cheap - nothing is these days. Materials are dear, Diesel is dear - everything is dear. That's life. If you think any self-respecting electrical contractor wants to mess about with downlights for a pittance then you have another thing coming. Even just measuring the spacing between them (and trying to avoid joists etc.) is horrendously time consuming and little fun.

For easy access the quoted figure IS far away. And so is yours c. £1K for a one-day job (excluding materials). If it's just for all your qualifications, then they aren't needed for this simple job.

Doing this for a ground floor room without access from the first floor is another story.

Sorry but you're not living in the real world.

Incidentally the one I did was ground floor without access from above.