Estimating rewire

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I need to estimate a whole house rewire. Do u guys use a square foot price or a per hole/opening price? Will that also cover trim material? I am just starting to move into bigger jobs, and I don't wanna lose my ass.
Thanks.

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kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
some do the per hole or per square foot methods. I imagine they get burned on some things but feed off the top on others and it kind of balances out in the long run.

Otherwise the reality is you will find some openings can take a lot more labor or even materials then other openings.

Rewiring entire building you kind of end up with some average to cover them all if you estimate per opening. If only coming to install one outlet, the actual cost can vary quite a bit though. Receptacle that is right next to the main panel is possibly done in minutes and takes longer to bring in tools/equipment and to pick up then the actual install takes. But putting one receptacle on a dedicated circuit all the way to far end of the house could take all day to do depending on the conditions encountered to get it done.
 
I need to estimate a whole house rewire. Do u guys use a square foot price or a per hole/opening price? Will that also cover trim material? I am just starting to move into bigger jobs, and I don't wanna lose my ass.
Thanks.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

If you have to use one or the other, I'd do the per opening.

Square foot price is for people who like to work hard and lose money.
 

luckylerado

Senior Member
I would try to get it on T&M. Remodels are hard to bid unless it is an entire gut job. If you end up quoting it I would make sure to include a detailed clear scope so if you find unforeseen issues, you can get a change order for it.
 

growler

Senior Member
Location
Atlanta,GA
I need to estimate a whole house rewire. Do u guys use a square foot price or a per hole/opening price? Will that also cover trim material? I am just starting to move into bigger jobs, and I don't wanna lose my ass.
Thanks.


There is no magic formula for a rewire. You normally depend a lot on past experience to get a realistic idea of what you need to charge and getting that experience can be expensive if you are not carefull.

The first thing to figure out are expenses. Materials list and other associated expenses ( fuel, permits and overhead). This comes right out of your pocket and there is nothing you can do about it.

When it comes to labor a fully gutted house is much easier than one where you will need to fish everything. In many home there will be parts that are gutted and others that need to be fished. If you can come up with a realistic labor cost then you won't loose your shirt.

Warning the real labor cost will seem a bit high to you but it's probably not.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
I estimate high, my estimate clearly states it is an estimate and not a contract. Often times final bill is lower then the estimate. Customers like that much more then adding all sorts of things that were "not included". Now if customer adds things not originally estimated that is another story.
 

gadfly56

Senior Member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Professional Engineer, Fire & Life Safety
I estimate high, my estimate clearly states it is an estimate and not a contract. Often times final bill is lower then the estimate. Customers like that much more then adding all sorts of things that were "not included". Now if customer adds things not originally estimated that is another story.

It is a rock solid truth that you can't lose money on a job you didn't get. You can't let sympathy or the urge to be well thought of lead you to estimate the job on the low side. Let someone else learn the hard way.
 

keith gigabyte

Senior Member
Estimate high. Wait did I tell u to estimate high. My work is almost exclusive rewires/gut jobs. One thing to keep in mind. Is there crap in the way.. Couch. Bed tables etc. if gutted will other trades unknowingly screw you? Drywall guy had all Board delivered before u started and its sitting in middle of living room you are to install 12 recess cans in. Most forget stuff like this I bid high get 8 out of 10. Maybe I need to bid higher. Lol
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
Estimate high. Wait did I tell u to estimate high. My work is almost exclusive rewires/gut jobs. One thing to keep in mind. Is there crap in the way.. Couch. Bed tables etc. if gutted will other trades unknowingly screw you? Drywall guy had all Board delivered before u started and its sitting in middle of living room you are to install 12 recess cans in. Most forget stuff like this I bid high get 8 out of 10. Maybe I need to bid higher. Lol
Exactly some of the problems you have with a lived in house - owners have stuff. Then for remodels/additions they sometimes have bought insulation, drywall, doors, cabinets, furniture.... and have that in there before you come to do your work. Can be worse then working around stuff in the finished portions of the house sometimes.
 

GerryB

Senior Member
Jobs like that make you wish you were a plumber. I just did some recess lighting in a 3 floor condo that was re plumbed. They took out the sheet rock on the first floor kitchen and living room, then various sections going up.
Two guys re plumbed it in two days. (Took me almost as long for recess lights and dimmers in the kitchen and living room:))
 

keith gigabyte

Senior Member
Experience will be your guide on this on. Been doing rewires for couple of years now. Was terrible at estimating first few go rounds. Now I can hit numbers within a couple hundred and hours within 4 on a 1800 sq ft rewire
 

Strathead

Senior Member
Location
Ocala, Florida, USA
Occupation
Electrician/Estimator/Project Manager/Superintendent
Experience will be your guide on this on. Been doing rewires for couple of years now. Was terrible at estimating first few go rounds. Now I can hit numbers within a couple hundred and hours within 4 on a 1800 sq ft rewire

I think this is the best thing to keep in mind. It sounds like you are a solo act. If so, let's be frank, if you miss on your the first bid you get, it is just your time that you lose. (not talking stupid low here) That said, definitely don't use a square foot method. If you want to get in to this and stay in it, take the time. Think about every aspect of rewiring a component that can be repeated, getting the tools and material to the location, cutting rock, removing insulation, securing the power, demolishing the wire, running new, cleaning up, hauling debris off, patching walls and holes, and on and on. Assign a labor to it, and get actual material prices. Do this for say, one receptacle or one switch, and then multiply by the number of locations. Do this for each unique item especially at first, as in, GFI, switch, 3 way switch, duplex, light outlet. After you do this a couple times, then start taking short cuts, like counting all outlets and just adding $10 per GFI, etc. If you do this, you will miss your mark on some things, but the law of averages will balance the pluses with the minuses as long as you don't think too much and you trust your instinct and experience.

And, as other advice, if you don't get the job, try to find out who did and what for. Go back see if you can get to that number. If not, don't worry about it, try the next one.
 

Ravenvalor

Senior Member
Use broad strokes when estimating rewires. Those jobs can go slow at times. Explain to the customer that you are interested in doing a quality job and do not want to be tempted to reduce quality trying to be the low bidder.
 
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