New consumer unit and tails upgrade - Sevenoaks area

waterbubble

Hi everyone,

I am getting quotes for the following:
1. consolidate two adjacent consumer units into a single brand new one: 19-way/21-way, 8 circuits, 2x AFDDs (socket rings), 6x RCBOs, 1x SPD
This new consumer unit would be over the existing one that has 6 circuits, and the 2 circuits on the second one would be re-routed to the new one.
2. Upgrade the tails from 16mm2 to 25mm2
3. Remove a third unused/disconnected consumer unit

I am getting quotes from £1000 to £2000 (most are £1000 - £1400).
I am finding this quite expensive, because:
1. Materials would be £100 (CU) + £300 (breakers) + £40 (meter tails) = £440
2. Labour is then ~£600

That seems quite expensive labour for a half day job, according to these rates:
https://www.mybuilder.com/electrical/price-guides/hourly-rate-electricians

Is it because there is a premium for a consumer unit job, or maybe I am looking at expensive electricians?
Any tips on how to reduce the costs would be appreciated.

Woodstok2000

I always find mybuilder.com and similar sites underestimate rates. I dont know where youd find a decent electrician for £45 an hour! That type of job probably does attract higher end tradesmen. Theres also the possibility its an unattractive job and do they are pricing themselves out of it deliberately.

Rodders53

That sounds like a nearly full day for two people (electrician and his mate/apprentice). Each and every circuit needs tested / checked and a EICR filled out. Then there's producing the documentation, invoicing, and registering with Council Building Regs that takes additional time. Plus travel time and expenses (insurance, accreditation, training etc.,.).

What brand CU and breakers (BTW I'd recommend all RCBOs are double pole switched for easy proper isolation of circuits (added £5 a way on my installation). Some makes are a more premium price than others.

AFDDs (arc suppression and RCBO in one unit) are horrendously expensive https://www.cef.co.uk/catalogue/categories/switchgear-distribution/arc-fault-detection-afdds

Plus your meter tails cost estimate will barely cover a one metre length of the three cores needed,

waterbubble

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82148782#Comment_82148782

Hi, many thanks for all this information! It is really helpful.
Could you explain a little bit more about the advantage of double pole RCBOs? They are generally double pole and bidirectional I have seen.
About your remarks:

1. The meter tails price I considered are TLC CA 25FTP3 = £38.40 (3 meters) VAT included
2. Most of the quotes are for FuseBox. Besides FuseBox, I have one quote for BG, one quote for Live and one quote for Contactum.
3. The price difference between single pole and double pole FuseBox RCBOs seems to be around £5 per circuit as you mentioned.
4. Yes, I know AFDDs are around £100 each. So 2*105.12 (FuseBox AFDDs) + 6*15.72 (FuseBox RCBOs single pole) = £305 from TLC. I guess I will ask for the electrician I go with to upgrade the RCBOs to double pole, as you suggested.
5. One electrician mentioned AFDDs can cause spurious trips, and he doesn't recommend adding them if it is not required by BS 7671 (HMO, care home, etc). Does this have any truth to it?
6. Would it be interesting to add FuseBox Heat-activated Aerosol Fire Extinguisher for Distribution Boards for £10 (TLC FB HA20D), or is it a waste of money?

Anthony147

Surprised no one has mentioned it yet.

Odds are there’s a markup in the calculations on the supplies used so although retail price is x, it’s priced at retail plus (despite trade price often being considerably lower than retail).

The argument given is that it covers the guarantee and rectification of issues as they supplied it - How clearly the scale of the markup when incorporated is disclosed is a separate argument.

In practical terms - the only ways to reduce costs is timing and making the job more attractive to them - can it be arranged as in fill job (pre / post working day, live close by etc), Is there someone whose recently qualified and wants job pictures for social media / jobsites?
Essentially something to make the job convenient to them as in a sellers market, they’ll pick and choose the jobs that have high margin, low effort and little chance of comeback.

On another note - Unfortunately the job sites are often way off the mark compared to what prices are really quoted so not a good guide.