Residential prices

[fisherelectric]

7000 sq foot house. Has 400 amp service, supply 45 recessed lights, ~100 recepts, 42 single poles, 26 3-ways, 6 4-ways. Oven, microwave, hood, sub-zero, standard appliances, washer and dryer, Heat pump w/10 kw back-up heat, gas furnace & AC unit, wet bar in basement w/ disp & ref, 9' ceilings in basement, 10' first floor, 8' 2nd floor. No under cab lights, no dimmers, no whirlpool, no cathedral ceilings, no phone, data, or TV. Gas Fireplace w/ blower, sump pump, recpts for security panel, low voltage panel, 2 humidifiers. GC has 5 like this here in town. Gave him a price of $16,000. He told me I'm "not even in the ballpark." I'm curious what you all's take on this is. Is that price way to high? Maybe I can't afford to wire houses any more.

 

[Loffgren]

I came up with 14k just in labor......

 

[laketime]

I am at about 22k and you didn't even talk about smoke detectors, and bathroom fans. Maybe by not even in the ballpark he meant you are way to low.

 

[fisherelectric]

Yeah, I figure it could take up to 10 days from putting the first box up to screwing in the last bulb w/ 2 guys at min of $1000.00 per day (recession pricing). At 16K that doesn't leave much room for materials etc and profit. It makes me wonder just where I'd have to be to be "in the ball park". In the poor house? I used to get em all. Kind of depressing.

 

[fisherelectric]

He'll supply the 8 smokes and the bath fans. I get the feeling he's had several bids already that are "in his ballpark". This guy is b----ing about his current electrictian showing up at 10:00....not centering lights...leaving out feeds...etc. What does he expect. We usually end up telling these builders everything they're screwing up ...."hey, your kitchen layout doesn't match your framing...Hey...your medicine cabinets aren't framed right...Hey...your door swing is wrong...Hey.... you can't put 10 lbs of...er...sweet feed...in a 5 lb bag." You get what you pay for. Hire us and it'll make your life easier. Whatever. Rant over. Moving on.

 

[mikeames]

Maybe by not even in the ballpark he meant you are way to low.

Thats what it is. You are no where close on the low end. Just off the top of my head I would guess $40-50k on a 7000 sqft house.

 

[LarryFine]

This guy is b----ing about his current electrictian showing up at 10:00....not centering lights...leaving out feeds...etc.

Tell him you couldn't even perform as well as his current guy for any less.

 

[growler]

This guy is b----ing about his current electrictian showing up at 10:00....not centering lights...leaving out feeds...etc. What does he expect.

When you have to drive around town all night stealing your materials it's hard to get enough sleep so you show up late and make mistakes.

 

[fisherelectric]

I'm sorry...my bad. This place is not 7000sq ft. It's more like 4700 counting the garage. Being too low is not what he meant. This is a typical house around here. Nothing fancy. He'll sell it for ~1.2 mil. No bells and whistles. Half the top floor is the master suite...big bath..big closets. Big rooms. He'll find someone to wire this place for 10grand...I guess. I'll probably talk to him this evening about where exactly his "ballpark" is. I could of made (some) money at 16k and kept my guys busy this winter if I were to get the whole project (six) with all our other stuff. Plus then there are always owner extras.

 

[laketime]

i am doing a 4500 sq ft house right now, cedar log home so a little extra labor and with 2 kitchens but I got it for 20k

 

[dduffee260]

Man actually that sounds like a price that is in the ballpark. I know you are not supposed so sq ft one but lets say $3.50 which is actually a bargain. 4200 sq ft at $3.50 is $14,700. The say about $600 for a 500 sq ft garage would put you are $15,200. I think I would tell this builder that I don't like his ballpark. I like the ballpark that the successful ball players play in. He needs to go find a cheap team to play. Just my thoughts, Good Luck !!

 

[VoltzElectric]

I think that in this economy that everyone is telling you that you are way out of the ballpark just to see how much you will come down. Your bid sounds like its in the ballpark for licenced electricians!:grin: If this other guy is that bad, it will only cost him more in the long run.

 

[wireguru]

When you have to drive around town all night stealing your materials it's hard to get enough sleep so you show up late and make mistakes.

you mean they dont pre cut that romex at the shop?

 

[hurk27]

I would say "Sorry, I'm not a car sales man, I don't deal"

 

[peter d]

Moving on.

Yeah, that sounds like what you should do from this guy.

 

[peter d]

At least they're still building $1.2 mil, 4,700 sq foot houses even in this economy. Any idea how about average time on the market before they sell?

 

[hurk27]

At least they're still building $1.2 mil, 4,700 sq foot houses even in this economy. Any idea how about average time on the market before they sell?

It's not the rich being hurt by the economy, it's US

 

[fisherelectric]

He's building 6 that I know of and the first two are sold. I don't know about the rest. I used to wire a lot of houses around here, so far this year I've only done 2 spec houses for one of my steady GCs. This is the first new house action I've had since last year. Things are starting to move around here finally. I'm really tired of chasing down every lead trying to keep the guys working with all these small jobs. I've never been so busy trying to stay busy.

 

[Teaspoon]

I'm sorry...my bad. This place is not 7000sq ft. It's more like 4700 counting the garage. Being too low is not what he meant. This is a typical house around here. Nothing fancy. He'll sell it for ~1.2 mil. No bells and whistles. Half the top floor is the master suite...big bath..big closets. Big rooms. He'll find someone to wire this place for 10grand...I guess. I'll probably talk to him this evening about where exactly his "ballpark" is. I could of made (some) money at 16k and kept my guys busy this winter if I were to get the whole project (six) with all our other stuff. Plus then there are always owner extras.

You are most definately in the ball park $16K is bad economy priceing.
He must want starvation pricing.

 

[480sparky]

He's building 6 that I know of and the first two are sold. .............

Lemme guess......... "You give me a low price, and you get to wire the rest of 'em!" I got a dollar that's what he said to everyone. And someone took him up on his supposed promise of future work.