Residential rough in time

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nizak

Senior Member
Would like to get some info from anyone who does mainly residential new construction.

Recently one of the builders I work for questioned the amount of time I was taking to do my rough in work.

The homes I am talking about are both ranch and two story. The ranches are 2000/2500 sq ft and the two stories are 2500/3200 sq ft.

When I rough in ,all boxes are spliced, home runs are pulled back, and service and sub panels if installed are in place.

He's got a E/C telling him that he can rough in a 2500 ft house in 2 8 hrs days with a 2 man crew.

I don't see it happening no matter how organized you are.



Anybody here care to share their time roughing a house this size. Thanks.
 

Ponchik

Senior Member
Location
CA
Occupation
Electronologist
another words he will rough in the electrical for less than $1500??
 

James L

Senior Member
Location
Kansas Cty, Mo, USA
Occupation
Electrician
I haven't done new construction full-time in a while, but I can't imagine it's taking a whole lot longer these days. Without knowing what's there for lighting and such, it's hard to judge.

When I did only new construction (up through 2001) my average rough-in time, by myself, was approx. 1 hour for every 100 square feet. That was on houses that were 2500-4500 square feet.

That was what I would call typical houses - 2500 sf 2 story, 4 bed, 3 bath, 20 can lights, 6 paddle fans, 90 devices, etc.

4500 sf story-and-a-half, 5 bed, 5 bath, 35 cans, 8 pf, 120 devices, etc.


About two years ago, I freelanced some retirement duplexes...900 sf 2 bed, 2 bath, all electric with subpanel in garage, all surface mount fixtures, hall bath doubled as tornado vault with double 1/8" steel plate on top of stud walls filled with cinder block and double 3/4" plywood inside and out, backed up to kitchen. That one vault in each unit was an all-day affair for one guy - easily 12 extra hours per duplex. There was me and one other guy, and we were taking 2 and a half days per building.


That 2500 sf house should be a cinch for two guys in two days.
 

peter d

Senior Member
Location
New England
Back in my resi days, a 4 man crew (2 licensed guys and 2 apprentices) could box and pull and entire "McMansion" in one day - 4 bedrooms, bonus room, 3 baths, 3 car garage was typical. It would take a 2 man crew another day to splice everything. We didn't make up the panels on the rough in.
 

J.P.

Senior Member
Location
United States
I'm not the fastest guy in the world. I have done comparable office spaces with data and coax cable and some piping in three days. Everything is M/C and screw on metal boxes with mud rings. The data gets piped to a accessible location. EDIT thats is me and 2 apprentices that know what to do.

Did a big house last year that took a week. Had to get a lift in there for the vaulted ceilings and fan mounting. Pain in the a$$ to get the wire up over the vaulted ceiling.

I know the guys that do nothing but romex and residential pretty much fly through those buildings.

I wouldn't worry about how fast somebody else is doing a job unless you are holding up the general. As long as your jobs are clean and problem free you should be just fine.

Some of those fast guys do some sloppy work and just do the bare minimum on everything. Not really what you want people thinking about you:)
 

TobyD

Senior Member
Would like to get some info from anyone who does mainly residential new construction.

Recently one of the builders I work for questioned the amount of time I was taking to do my rough in work.

The homes I am talking about are both ranch and two story. The ranches are 2000/2500 sq ft and the two stories are 2500/3200 sq ft.

When I rough in ,all boxes are spliced, home runs are pulled back, and service and sub panels if installed are in place.

He's got a E/C telling him that he can rough in a 2500 ft house in 2 8 hrs days with a 2 man crew.

I don't see it happening no matter how organized you are.



Anybody here care to share their time roughing a house this size. Thanks.
If they actually work 2 x8 hour days then I would say that is realistic.If these are code minimum homes then the process is much easier.Two good men should be able to rough in approx. 130 outlets in a day.That includes making up the boxes as well..The 130 outlets is the avg. I see and we leave the shop at 7:00 and return at 4:00 .Actually about 6 total hours working on the job.I'm 51 and my son is 28 and primarily do more custom homes.Typically if the home is roughed in like it should be the the trim out should consist of a little less time..The best I rember us doing is roughing in 19 homes in 24 days.The homes were aprrox 1800- 2500 sq ft.
 

George Stolz

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Windsor, CO NEC: 2017
Occupation
Service Manager
If they actually work 2 x8 hour days then I would say that is realistic.If these are code minimum homes then the process is much easier.Two good men should be able to rough in approx. 130 outlets in a day.That includes making up the boxes as well..The 130 outlets is the avg. I see and we leave the shop at 7:00 and return at 4:00 .Actually about 6 total hours working on the job.I'm 51 and my son is 28 and primarily do more custom homes.Typically if the home is roughed in like it should be the the trim out should consist of a little less time..The best I rember us doing is roughing in 19 homes in 24 days.The homes were aprrox 1800- 2500 sq ft.

30 minutes a hole is average. 20 minutes a hole is proficient. 12 minutes a hole is only attainable when you do nothing but the same three floorplans day after day that you can do in your sleep, and if you fib on your time card a little to suck up to the boss. Your claimed "average" is faster than 12 minutes a hole. :)
 

Fulthrotl

~Autocorrect is My Worst Enema.~
He's got a E/C telling him that he can rough in a 2500 ft house in 2 8 hrs days with a 2 man crew.
Anybody here care to share their time roughing a house this size. Thanks.

when i was doing housing as a muppet, shortly after the dawn of time,
there was another fellow in my apprenticeship class who was insanely
fast. i've never seen faster.

on a bet, he did three 2,500 sq ft two stories, box, drill, lasso, make up, done....
one per 8 hour day, monday, tues., wed., so, that's 8 hours a house to rough.

if i'd not have seen it, i would not have believed it, but i saw it. however.
honest and no lie. he was also 24 years old at the time. not sustainable.

two story house, today... a day to box and drill, a day to lasso, a day to make up.
that's 24 hours. seems reasonable, assuming you do mostly housing, and are
familiar with it.

the drilling is the deal, however. if you have a good driller, you'll
make money, and if you don't, the whole thing will suck.

i'm not getting why this other contractor is blowing his horn over doing a house
in 32 hours labor..... if you're doing a track, you have one guy doing layout, a
muppet boxing behind him, a driller, two guys lassoing, and a make up/ring out guy.
1.5 to 2 houses a day is reasonable with a crew like that. comes out to about 30 hours
a house, iirc, and that is from the late 1970's.
 

James L

Senior Member
Location
Kansas Cty, Mo, USA
Occupation
Electrician
30 minutes a hole is average. 20 minutes a hole is proficient. 12 minutes a hole is only attainable when you do nothing but the same three floorplans day after day that you can do in your sleep, and if you fib on your time card a little to suck up to the boss. Your claimed "average" is faster than 12 minutes a hole. :)
When i was roughing in every day, i would wire a 2300 sf house in 3 days ...... 24 hours

That was 75-80 devices, 20 can lights, 8 smoke detectors, 15 fans/fixtures, 10 phone/catv, 8 outside lights/receps, service, everything made up including home runs in panel.

The first two days would be wiring the house itself, the third was service, cutting in outside stuff and running phones/catv

So the wiring part was roughly 120-130 openings in 16 hours.....or about 8 minutes per opening.

20 mpo is hardly proficient. That's grounds for firing in my book. And at 30mpo rate, that guy would be out before noon.
 

nizak

Senior Member
Would that include such things as closet lights, under cabinet 120v kitchen lighting, 10 ft ceilings, 2 door openers,low voltage garage door sensors, 6 garage receps,3 and 4 way switching at 10 or so locations,penetrations filled,240V range, dryer, AC.etc.

I find the extras seem to burn up a lot of time.
 

Ponchik

Senior Member
Location
CA
Occupation
Electronologist
holly nuts. You guys work like lightning.
8 minutes per opening?????
roughed in 19 home in 24 days????
 

macmikeman

Senior Member
I won't even consider to sit down in the same room as the type of so called general contractor who is referred to in this thread. Nowhere in the game plan is any consideration to the people who will eventually purchase and occupy the dwelling.
 

James L

Senior Member
Location
Kansas Cty, Mo, USA
Occupation
Electrician
Would that include such things as closet lights, under cabinet 120v kitchen lighting, 10 ft ceilings, 2 door openers,low voltage garage door sensors, 6 garage receps,3 and 4 way switching at 10 or so locations,penetrations filled,240V range, dryer, AC.etc.

I find the extras seem to burn up a lot of time.



that all depends on whether they were added after you start. If so, they take much longer.



if they were marked out along with the house, no difference
 

GerryB

Senior Member
holly nuts. You guys work like lightning.
8 minutes per opening?????
roughed in 19 home in 24 days????
:lol:Exactly. This is like the guys who like to say they change a service in 4 hours. I did one 4 hour service in 20 years with my guy years ago. 60 amp to 100, 6 fuses in the box, 10' straight up SEU cable. I just roughed a 3 season room it took all day, 4 cans, one fan, 7 outlets half of them switched, tails for 3 outdoor receptacles, 3 coach lights, 2 floods, pull a circuit and cable from the basement panel, all spliced up. I agree with the OP and don't see how it could be done in 2 days unless "rough" means just get out of the walls and it's very basic. I will say my prices on a complete house are not as competetive with the romex slingers but on additions like I just mentioned I'm right there.
 

JFletcher

Senior Member
Location
Williamsburg, VA
Some things burn time... like lights in 18-20' ceilings. Get the ladder off the truck (2 people), get it in the house, wire up light or two (or 12), get it back out, put back on truck (Sprinter w/o ladder assist). Cocked box requires f-clip, go back out to truck, dig one out, come back. UC lighting... those connectors are touchy and break pretty easy. Plating, find a switch or two put in upside down, fix that. etc.

As someone new to the electrical side (did comm work before), my boss and I are on the same page: get it RIGHT, the speed will come.
 

nizak

Senior Member
I guess a lot of depends on what guys/ gals put on a circuit. Here in Michigan arc fault is only required in bedrooms. A lot of contractors will pull 2 15A circuits for 4 large bedrooms, this will include bedroom receps, lighting in the bedrooms, receps in adjacent halls, and bath lighting.

Code allows it, but I can't see doing it.
 
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