Residential Estimate

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delectric123

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South Dakota
in a 2005 post somebody said $1 per square foot for cost of materials is a pretty close figure. what would it be nowadays? and i mean without all the network, TV etc. wiring.
 
Pricing by the square foot is a sure way to loose your shirt off of your back. There are just too many variables that go into the equation. Take fart fans for example. Builders grade or quiet fans ? There is easily a $100 difference in the purchase price.

If you are doing code minimum & you have done a certain floor plan several times, keep track of materials and time then you can build a historical data base. Then with this knowledge a WAG may be possible on similar jobs.
 
delectric123 said:
You're kidding, right? then what do YOU think is a good figure?
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NO, NO BODY IS KIDDING. There are just too many variables that go in to pricing electrical work. In your original post you ask about
the cost of materials. Look at the house where you live. Kitchen, living room, bath room & bed rooms. Imagine in your head the route the wire takes from switch to fixture. Measure it & record results. Repeat , repeat, repeat. Look at every thing, smoke detectors can lights, fart fans, etc etc. What is the cost of romex 14-2, 14-3, 14-2-2, 12-2, 12-3, etc etc. Last add a generous fudge factor.
 
My cost estimate of materials for 2014 sq ft main floor with unfinished basement of same area, but framed for future rooms, plus the attached 2 1/2 car garage.

$4581.33

Now I will let you guess the details:

Fixtures included?
Recessed cans?
Option of LED, CFL, none?
Ceiling Fan openings?
All Electric or Gas.
Heat Pump?
Air to Air or Pump & Dump
How many AFCIs
How many GFCI,s
Number of Bathrooms

High ceilings, or 9'?
How many 3 ways, 4 ways?
 
ptonsparky said:
My cost estimate of materials for 2014 sq ft main floor with unfinished basement of same area, but framed for future rooms, plus the attached 2 1/2 car garage.

$4581.33

Now I will let you guess the details:

Fixtures included?
Recessed cans?
Option of LED, CFL, none?
Ceiling Fan openings?
All Electric or Gas.
Heat Pump?
Air to Air or Pump & Dump
How many AFCIs
How many GFCI,s
Number of Bathrooms

High ceilings, or 9'?
How many 3 ways, 4 ways?
Click to expand...



Now I will let you guess the details:

Fixtures included? NO
Recessed cans? NO
Option of LED, CFL, none? NONE
Ceiling Fan openings? NONE
All Electric or Gas. GAS
Heat Pump?
Air to Air or Pump & Dump NO
How many AFCIs 2
How many GFCI,s 2
Number of Bathrooms 1

High ceilings, or 9'? 9' or lower
How many 3 ways, 4 ways? 1 set

I hope this isn't like a whole house ranch that has a kitchen and needs a service. If so, have fun at that price!
 
frankft2000 said:
Now I will let you guess the details:

Fixtures included? NO
Recessed cans? NO
Option of LED, CFL, none? NONE
Ceiling Fan openings? NONE
All Electric or Gas. GAS
Heat Pump?
Air to Air or Pump & Dump NO
How many AFCIs 2
How many GFCI,s 2
Number of Bathrooms 1

High ceilings, or 9'? 9' or lower
How many 3 ways, 4 ways? 1 set

I hope this isn't like a whole house ranch that has a kitchen and needs a service. If so, have fun at that price!
Click to expand...

The Service is extra.
 
IMHO, I can't see how sq. ft. pricing could work to your advantage if you're bidding on custom built homes. As has been mentioned, there are too many variables. If you're working for a track builder where all the homes are the exact same and he wants cheap and dirty pricing, sq. ft. pricing may work out. The problem with sq. ft. pricing is that once you give your price your customers (be it homeowner or GC) they think EVERYTHING is included. They have no problem insisting on 25 recessed light fixtures, a double wall oven, 3-ton AC unit, etc. thinking that it's all included in your price, irrespective of whether or not it was shown on the drawings.
 
delectric123 said:
i really don't want to use this figure for bidding, its more for getting a rough figure of what home wiring costs nowadays, with no frills included.
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If all homes were the same with no extras, the same # of rooms, no hallways, no ceiling fans, etc, then my material cost is accurate for the way I wire a home, which of course, is exactly the way you wire a home. Right?

A price per sq ft is just not an accurate way to guestimate your costs using my data from an unseen blueprint.
 
goldstar said:
IMHO, I can't see how sq. ft. pricing could work to your advantage if you're bidding on custom built homes. As has been mentioned, there are too many variables. If you're working for a track builder where all the homes are the exact same and he wants cheap and dirty pricing, sq. ft. pricing may work out. The problem with sq. ft. pricing is that once you give your price your customers (be it homeowner or GC) they think EVERYTHING is included. They have no problem insisting on 25 recessed light fixtures, a double wall oven, 3-ton AC unit, etc. thinking that it's all included in your price, irrespective of whether or not it was shown on the drawings.
Click to expand...

Once you start pricing like a wood butcher, building tract housing, you close the door on any chance of operating for profit, the drum beat will be. I need a better price, until you are paying them for the jobs, It is just something you have to go thru, to learn, some never learn. until the business is so far under they give up.
 
satcom said:
Once you start pricing like a wood butcher, building tract housing, you close the door on any chance of operating for profit, the drum beat will be. I need a better price, until you are paying them for the jobs, It is just something you have to go thru, to learn, some never learn. until the business is so far under they give up.
Click to expand...
I couldn't have said it better. You have to pay for your education.:happyyes:
 
goldstar said:
I couldn't have said it better. You have to pay for your education.:happyyes:
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Used to pull my hair out bidding against other HVAC contractors, who priced by s.f., how could they do that vs. doing heat loss/gain calcs. I'll never know. But, I had a lot of work straightening out their builder-grade systems...
 
Resi SQFT Estimates

Resi SQFT Estimates

About the only thing a sqft estimate is good for is comparison of similar project YOU have done. When I was estimating
I always had a sqft price for my estimates. I never used sqft as an estimate but rather used it as a tool in dealing with
customers and General contractors who were looking for budget figures for specific types of projects. If you want to know
the estimated cost for a project I suggest you learn the most efficient was to do actual estimates.
 
You need to make an excel document. I made one. You put a unit price down which includes labor and material. Switch-$40 outlet-$35. Then you put in quantities and it adds them up.
 
Back when we did houses by the square foot method we were not even allowed to run the phone lines and cable TV was just in a few larger citys. A code basic house was a regular house. Square foot pricing is something that makes sense to the GC as this is what he deals with. I always though you should bid by the cubic foot.
 
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