colonial estimate

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starsandstripes

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I have a 3000 sq ft four bedroom colonial to bid on. Full basement, three car garage, 125 openings, 50 amp range, 30 amp ac. The service has already ben done(200 amp). Could anyone offer some ballpark numbers; I'm new to estimating. Is there a formula to tell how much cable will be needed when you know square footage and number of openings?
 
Not nearly enough detail for an accurate estimate. If you want to cause some excitement around here try asking about how much per sq ft the job is worth; that will wake up some of us! ($4-$7/sqft basic job)

About 1' of rope per sq ft of house (various sizes)
 
Bob's right. Ceiling heights? Is is broke up with bunches of walls, or is the living/dining area open as a "great room"? How much counter space? How many bedrooms? Are the bedrooms large or small?
 
The master bedroom is large with a cathedral ceiling and the liv/dining area is a great room. The $/sq.ft and 1ft rope/sq. ft is just what I was looking for to give me a general idea. Thanks fellas.
 
one thing that we have started to see more of here in new germany (I mean New Jersey) is more and more microlams (sp?) since you can't drill through these, sometimes a 5' run between lighting fixtures actually becomes a 30' run in order to go around these microlams.

other than that, if you are bidding off the cuff, you will get one of two scenerios: you either will be too high and not get the job, or you'll get the job and lose your shirt.

I would seriously take all the time you need and get a full material list together. If you are working off blue prints, this is quite simple.

Price all your material and add a little for misc. items.

then use your experience for how long each task should take (if you have been in the industry long enough to get a license, you should know how long it takes to install a receptacle and related wiring)

add up all your time, multiply by your hourly rate (which hopefully you determined already based on your costs of being in business)

add in your material

add in your markup and profit

Now, you have a price that if you win the job, you have a shot of making money at.

Any other way, you might as well use 007's number, because his guess is as good as yours.
 
Using the price my last job came out at (4.9 sq.ft.) I get 14,700. But those are always different. Most for me seem to stay between 4 and 5 dollars a square foot, and that does not include light fixtures, got tired of returning the damn things.
 
I'd ballpark it at $12,000. Same as '77401. As mentioned, there are so many variables. If you give a complete take-off, I could offer a lot more info.
 
OK - I was just looking back through some old threads - searching for posts that dealt with residential bids - and talked to price per sq. ft.

The comment about 1' of rope per sq. ft. has me puzzled - all right I'm admitting I'm clueless - what is this supposed to mean?

Thanks

Brett
 
Bump - I'm really interested in finding out what this comment about "1' of rope per sq. ft." means, as it has me puzzled - all right I'm admitting I'm clueless.

What is this supposed to mean?

Also in the square foot method, does this include the service. I've never used this method - but I am looking at a 2900 sq. ft new home. That does not include the attached garage. Nothing fancy - 2-1/2 baths, kitchen with island, living room, family room, three (3) bedrooms and a small laundry room on the first floor.

Another question I have, as I haven't done much new residential - is how you come up with the amount of Romex needed - and now I'm starting to think that this may be the rope reference. I do feel dumb, but hey, that's why this site is so great - I'm smarter every time I log off from it.
 
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bjp_ne_elec said:
Bump - I'm really interested in finding out what this comment about "1' of rope per sq. ft."
Click to expand...

I take it to mean a 1000' sq ft home would use about 1000' of NM.

A 3,000 sq ft home would use about 3000' of NM.
 
Iwire - thanks. Do you agree with that analysis? Again, I'm new to doing a new house - generally my work experience was commercial/industrial. Once in a while we'd do some residential to stay busy - but never got in to wiring whole houses.

I'm not sure why this post is in "Electrical Calculations/Engineering" - as it seems more aligned with "Electrical Contracting and Estimating". Is there a Moderator out there that is willing to move this thread?

Thanks,

Brett
 
bjp_ne_elec said:
Again, I'm new to doing a new house - generally my work experience was commercial/industrial.
Click to expand...
I am not sure where or when the concept of sq. ft pricing came about but it appears to me that it starting when one did trac housing. Minimum number of lights,recep. etc. and every house was the same. If a contractor is use to a certain type of home they may be able to come up with a sq. ft price that fits what they do but to give a blanket sq. ft price is absurd. I do not mean any malice by that statement to anyone. I am merely saying that I can do a 3000 sq. ft house and it may be 7-8 dollars a sq.ft while you can do it for 4-5 dollars a sq.ft The difference is not only related to geographics but also to what actually goes into the home. I know I am going to have all copper wiring in the house with undercabinet lights, all electric heat instead of gas, septic pumps, 2 or 3 heat pumps, hydromassage tubs, 4-5 switches for different grouping of lights in certain rooms, etc. You can't compare apples and oranges. If this is a custom home it will more likely cost more than a spec home. I usually do a take off by the outlets. Recep and switches are one price while 3 way and 4 ways are another. I will have each appliance, heating system, etc. figured separately as well as the service. Fans take a lot longer to hang then most lights and some lights are a nightmare. I have spent 3 hours hanging a chandelier that came in pieces and was mounted at 25 foot high ceiling. Just a few thoughts.

If you price the job by break down then the 1' per sq. ft sounds close. Then questimate the larger runs.
 
Without looking at any other answers I come up with approx. $12,500. Now I'll read the rest and see what others came up with.. This is a ballbark estimate without knowing anything about the job other than the sq footage.
 
What I'm looking at, is whether the "per sq. ft." method something that I could just use to do a quick "ball park". I'm looking for something that is bare bones/meets minimum requirement of code (correct amount of receptacles - 6' from any point along wall, etc). Not looking to do a final estimate this way.

It's going to eventually come down to what the quality of lights are, underground service vs. SE cable up the side of the house, etc. - so again, just trying to get an approach where I can "swag it" - and come up with an approximate number of opening, approx total foot of Romex (we know how the price varies - my quotes are now saying they are only good for that day).

electricmanscott - with your price, what did you assume for service (underground vs. surface), electrical appliances (electric dryer vs. gas), etc.?

Thanks,

Dave
 
what i do for a basic bare bones estimate on a 3000 sq home is
3000' 14-2
1500' 14-3
1250' 12-2
get accurate measurements for a/c units, elec range ect...
this methood works for me, on a basic home, recessed lights, and non essential ckts, will require more material. i also figure on a $1 per foot for material cost. hope this helps
 
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