Do you think I am on target?

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Big D 40

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Hi guys,
Just won a bid for a 14 unit 3 story apartment building to completely rewire. The job entails seperate meters and panels for each apartment as well as baseboard heating in each unit and common areas. Of course the standard exit, emergency and smoke detectors to boot. Customer is supplying all the lights. I bid this at $55,200. I expect to have about 4 weeks worth of work with 6 people. What do you think?:confused:

Also, any advise as to whether or not ALL smokes need to be interconnected through out building or can each apartment have seperate inter connected smokes without being tied to common areas?
thanks
 
Big D 40 said:
Also, any advise as to whether or not ALL smokes need to be interconnected through out building or can each apartment have seperate inter connected smokes without being tied to common areas?
thanks
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Big D I can't help you with the bid.

I can tell you that Pierre gave you the best answer for the fire alarm question.

It is worth a call to the local AHJ for this in your area, that may be the fire chief or the building dept they can tell you the codes that apply but it is not in the electrical code.
 
Call the AHJ but IMO & common sense sez, interconnect in individual apartments only.
I don't want my smoke detector going off evertime another tennant burns a batch of Crystal Meth.

If you already won the bid then isn't it too late to be questioning this?
But then I always question every bid I get, wondering how much more could I have got?
 
I say go in there like you do not have a penny to waste. be very frugal with the money. I am not saying to cut corners I am saying do not waste any time or materials. If you go after any project with this attitude it at least gives you the chance of making some profit. If you go after it like there is plenty of money then it seems like there is more waste. At least that is the way some of my projects have gone.

First I would get together a materials quote and send it out to all vendors. Make them all compete. Good luck.
 
Big D 40 said:
Hi guys,
Just won a bid for a 14 unit 3 story apartment building to completely rewire. The job entails seperate meters and panels for each apartment as well as baseboard heating in each unit and common areas. Of course the standard exit, emergency and smoke detectors to boot. Customer is supplying all the lights. I bid this at $55,200. I expect to have about 4 weeks worth of work with 6 people. What do you think?:confused:
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What size service is required?
I think that might gobble up a nice chunk of that 50k.
 
One more piece of advice: don't underestimate the amount of house-panel wiring you'll need to do: common-area lighting, hallway receptacles, heating, emergency/egress pathway, HVAC service receptacles, exterior lighting, etc.
 
Lets do it this way, just for the giggles of it. Let's do a rough budget. Figure 1/3 for Labour, 1/3 for material, and 1/3 for profit and overhead.

$55,200 times 33% = $18,216

Is $18,216 enough for your material? If you pay each of these 6 guys say an average of $15 per hour for 40 hours, 4 weeks = $14,400 But 5 weeks = $18,000 6 weeks = $21,600

How is your overhead? Take the $18,216 and figure 2/3 for all overhead and the remaining 1/3 for profit. $6,011 sounds like a good profit, but if the material, labor, or overhead are more than you budgeted... there goes the profit.
 
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We are using 600 amp services ( 2 meter stacks of 6, then 2 individual metersocket combos for the other 2) I figured roughly a cost of $3.00 per sq ft of each apartment and I figure I will have between $14 and $18,000 in material alone. I figure a average of $12 for all employees as they range in levels of pay scale. We go in every job with a fury not cutting corners but utilizing every minute. My overhead a day is average about $643. Even though I won the bid, it is hard to know for sure if you did the right amount. Who knows the way prices jump. Anyway...thanks for the input
 
Around here, the bid amount would not even cover the direct labor costs for labor hours.
Don
 
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Celtic,
Around there is EMT country...right?
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I am just talking about the labor rates and not the wiring methods, but yes, the bigger towns and cities in my area require EMT for dwelling units. My little town doesn't....yet. The more restirctive building codes seem to follow the movement of people from the big cities out to what is now a rural area.
Don
 
Don,

I was looking at the same thing labor units, not the labor rate, and seems low to me for old work, my competitor just completed a job about the same size, he went in at $70K and lost his shirt, he said it was the electric heat that killed the job, he said his big mistake was, that he tried to bid without an engineering calc, thought he wouls save the $300, at least the building owner was decent, and offered to pay some additional costs.
 
Minuteman said:
I would say, that most of us wonder if we left money on the table, every time we are awarded a significant contract.
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Leaving money on the table is one thing...taking money out of your pocket to ADD to the money on the table is another.
 
Won't start the job till September, and I will let you know how all goes. Granted labor is pretty cheap around here as is the cost of living. But materials can eat you alive...so I will keep on my guard for that.
Thanks for all the replies!
 
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