wire cost
- Thread starter ASK_EDDIE
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Philip Barr
Member
- Location
- Minneola Florida
I usually account for +5% of current prices then put some wording that if the price exceeds such and such at time of purchase then a CO will be issued. CO's generated by subs are tough though, its easier to get paid for them when its the customer bringing it to the table.
You need to mark up your price for wire:grin:
jaylectricity
Senior Member
- Location
- Massachusetts
- Occupation
- licensed journeyman electrician
My advice: Ask Eddie
works great if you know exact feeder lengths and permit has already been issued so there are not any revised one lines!
You can always load up on 12, 10, 8, 6, 4........ the small stuff you'll use a ton of.
true, I have done this, sometimes it works, I have bought when everyone was crying the price was going to jump just for it to come down. Either way it is a crap shoot!
As a GC we will not accept the paragraph which states that wire prices fluctuate. The Owner will not accept it from us so we cannot accept it from the sub-contractor. If we are bidding we will call you and ask you to remove it or go to the next bidder.
There are a couple of issues:
1.) If wire prices go down will you give a credit back to the GC/Owner
2.) Will you provide your entire estimate along with quotes so that we can verify your bid day vs. purchase price of all commodities.
Most subs will not do either of these items and as a GC we cannot take the additional risk.
-Ed
There are a couple of issues:
1.) If wire prices go down will you give a credit back to the GC/Owner
2.) Will you provide your entire estimate along with quotes so that we can verify your bid day vs. purchase price of all commodities.
Most subs will not do either of these items and as a GC we cannot take the additional risk.
-Ed
If faced with this, I simply add 200% to current wire prices into the bid to CMA.
petersonra
Senior Member
- Location
- Northern illinois
- Occupation
- engineer
I don't think any of our customers would accept the idea of an open ended deal where whatever price we claimed went up they would eat.
Business is not done that way for the most part.
I think you have to find ways to deal with the fluctuating prices of wire that do not involve the end user having to pony up extra money.
I don't know what supply company you are dealing with that will only guarantee their wire prices for 24 hours though.
One approach you might take is to state in your bid that fluctuating commodity prices will require a review of any accepted bid prior to acceptance of the P.O. That's pretty common. And if between the time you make a bid and the time it is accepted the cost basis of your bid is so far out of line that you can't accept it, just don't accept the P.O. It's possible a customer might not want to accept that kind of bid, and might even throw out such a bid as being non-responsive to the RFQ.
It's somewhat of a balancing act between protecting yourself and your customer protecting himself.
Business is not done that way for the most part.
I think you have to find ways to deal with the fluctuating prices of wire that do not involve the end user having to pony up extra money.
I don't know what supply company you are dealing with that will only guarantee their wire prices for 24 hours though.
One approach you might take is to state in your bid that fluctuating commodity prices will require a review of any accepted bid prior to acceptance of the P.O. That's pretty common. And if between the time you make a bid and the time it is accepted the cost basis of your bid is so far out of line that you can't accept it, just don't accept the P.O. It's possible a customer might not want to accept that kind of bid, and might even throw out such a bid as being non-responsive to the RFQ.
It's somewhat of a balancing act between protecting yourself and your customer protecting himself.
dbuckley
Senior Member
- Location
- Canterbury, New Zealand
I just thought I'd throw a UK comparison of practice in here.
In the UK there is an organisation called BEAMA - The British Electro-technical and Allied Manufacturers Association - which has been round about a century. Things they do include publishing a bunch of standard contracts [Example manufacturing contract]; These standard contracts have been around since 1914 in one form or another, though there have been revisions over the years.
Pretty much every installation job done in the UK is on a contract based on the BEAMA terms.
They also an index every month of the relative change in pricing of electrical stuff and labour.
Such contracts include stuff like:
For the adventurous there is an example of a calculation in Excel [here].
This stuff has been around so long it is just accepted as normal.
Interesting how its so different in different countries.
when adding a clause about copper increases, its not that we're expecting the customer believe us when we say "oh material went up you owe us another 10K) wire pricing is tied to the comex copper price. Look at the wire pricing you have for the bid and ask them what copper price that is based on. Then you can come up with a multiplier for any increase, and the customer can independantly see it for themselves by looking at the comex copper price.
It is actually much simpler then this. The suppliers and manufactures will let you lock in based on weight. When you get a project you just hand them a PO for 40,000 lbs of wire. Keep the wire price sheet from the day the PO is issued and order it when you have a better idea on lengths.
what supplier are you using?, they will not hold prices here longer than thier next buy, if I have a design build proposal out that I bid and june and am now in the middle of engineering that won'y be ready for me until november I am S.O.L. with out my qualification. we merely want our cost increase reimbursed with out additional profit.
teco
Senior Member
- Location
- Mass north shore
As the GC would you provide the same open book estimate to your customer? If your lumber tripled in cost for any reason, and you are framing 50 homes or an office building are you fine with charging a bid price that didn't include the increase? I don't think so. If you can't absorb the risk why do you think we can?
To answer the question, I write in my bids that our copper price is subject to change as the market changes. I have not had any major complaints.
they wait for lumber to come down and copper to go up before starting the job!:roll:
And then the EC goes out of business because the GC wanted them to 'take the risk' and he lost.
So now the GC can go find another EC to run out of business.
hardworkingstiff
Senior Member
- Location
- Wilmington, NC
And that's why I WON'T work for those type of GCs or owners.
I'm good enough that you must meet my terms as well as me meeting yours if you want me to work for you. If all the ECs would think this way, we would have the plumbers saying "I wish I made as much as an EC". :grin:
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