Garages, attics and porches...

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rzgeneral

Member
Location
VA
I include the sq footage of these areas when estimating any house over 2500 sq feet as they usually always end up being wired above code or involve more than one light etc; and this is especially true in homes larger than 4500 sq ft.

I do a sq footage double check against a unit cost bid to make sure it doesnt seem too high or low as the builders (competitors) use this method quite often. I also use the sq footage and house details as a "base" to start my "thoughts" on any basic material and labor considerations that may affect the overall job.

I seem to be coming out higher overall compared to competion, Should I not be including these areas in my "unit cost" and "Sq foot check"?

I also know that my price cost difference is more than just the sq footage of these areas, this is just a part of loosing the job to a sq foot cost competitor that is bugging me a little.
 

jmsbrush

Senior Member
Location
Central Florida
If you have a handle on how much each particular assembly cost to bid a house, then that is exactly what you do. You do not purposely leave things out of your bid. The saying goes, ?the better the estimator you become the less jobs you will get." Now of course there are many circumstances why some are awarded bids and others are not but many times the winning bid goes to the guy who missed something or left something out.

If you are doing 100 of the same cookie cutter homes, then historic data would give you an average SQ price. Anything custom, stay away from SQ pricing.
 

cadpoint

Senior Member
Location
Durham, NC
Lets run some numbers…

7 x 70 = 490sq/ft total front porch
10 x 14= 140sg/ft garage
30 x60= 1800sq/ft
So a total of 2430 SQ/18 VA=13.65 Recp.

Now porchs can be big down South here, the garage size could be swapped with the porch. Most houses are simple “A” frames, so there can be real size. So with my math, I would not be considering that add to some house calculations.

Accounting yes, squaring no.

Old MHF chat
 

bullheimer

Senior Member
Location
WA
i asked a contractor to let me bid his houses he builds for some charity group for po'er peoples.

i bid it at $3sf including the garages. the winning bidder bid it at $3/sf NOT counting the garages. although i feel that a garage should be included, after all it gets lights and outlets, and usually all the circuits go thru it as the panel is in the garage, so yes it should count.

on the other hand, if you need the job and others are bidding without them, then you are screwed... i mean then you have to omit them. i know alot of people are seeing an economic recovery, but here, where i felt like we have been lucky and avoided it up until last year, i think it is getting worse.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
i asked a contractor to let me bid his houses he builds for some charity group for po'er peoples.

i bid it at $3sf including the garages. the winning bidder bid it at $3/sf NOT counting the garages. although i feel that a garage should be included, after all it gets lights and outlets, and usually all the circuits go thru it as the panel is in the garage, so yes it should count.

on the other hand, if you need the job and others are bidding without them, then you are screwed... i mean then you have to omit them. i know alot of people are seeing an economic recovery, but here, where i felt like we have been lucky and avoided it up until last year, i think it is getting worse.

Which costs more to install electrical - a 600 square foot garage with minimum required outlets (one lighting outlet and one receptacle outlet) or a 600 square foot living room with minimum required outlets (using the 6 foot/ 12 foot spacing rules)?

The fact your panel may be in the garage means nothing. It could be in a utility room, unfinished basement, or even in the living room. A panel that is farther away from majority of loads served typically involves more cost because of the length of all the home runs. I usually want to consider where kitchen is, where laundry is, and where other major loads are like electric heating, water heating, etc. and hopefully can find a place for the panel that minimizes the length of the majority of these circuits which means less copper used for home runs and less overall cost. Sometimes a feeder instead of multiple long home runs is worth it.
 

Speshulk

Senior Member
Location
NY
Which costs more to install electrical - a 600 square foot garage with minimum required outlets (one lighting outlet and one receptacle outlet) or a 600 square foot living room with minimum required outlets (using the 6 foot/ 12 foot spacing rules)?

The fact your panel may be in the garage means nothing. It could be in a utility room, unfinished basement, or even in the living room. A panel that is farther away from majority of loads served typically involves more cost because of the length of all the home runs. I usually want to consider where kitchen is, where laundry is, and where other major loads are like electric heating, water heating, etc. and hopefully can find a place for the panel that minimizes the length of the majority of these circuits which means less copper used for home runs and less overall cost. Sometimes a feeder instead of multiple long home runs is worth it.


Exactly. I'm always amazed at people that think they can bid electrical jobs by the square foot. We're not flooring installers. A bedroom with 12 recessed lights on a peaked ceiling is a lot more work than the same room with one wall sconce. Square footage is all but irrelevant.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
Exactly. I'm always amazed at people that think they can bid electrical jobs by the square foot. We're not flooring installers. A bedroom with 12 recessed lights on a peaked ceiling is a lot more work than the same room with one wall sconce. Square footage is all but irrelevant.

Always been my feelings about that also. I guess if you are doing tract homes where they are all similar you might be able to use square footage. Most of what I do is different every time.
 
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