Hey, Im bidding a finished basement, need some advice

Status
Not open for further replies.
N

nift21

Member
I just recently started doing work in Pennsylvania, formerly from NY. So i know the economy is a bit different.

The basement is 56 ft long, hung cieling 2x2 cieling tiles
they want 40 hi hats, 20 on one switch 20 on the other, switched from 2 locations, with 3 way dimmers

16 outlets, piped down from the ceiling mounted on the concrete.

Theres room in the panel, so far ive come up with

40 hi hats@ 80 per light = 3200
16 outlets at 50 per outlet=800
wiring the 3 way switches providing the dimmers, running the home runs etc.500
4500

what do you guys think????
 
Re: Hey, Im bidding a finished basement, need some advice

First off, where in PA? There's a big difference if you're working in Philly or 'up in the hills'.
20 recess on a dimmer? can be done but you will not be able to use 65watt bulbs. You would have to use a maximum 50watt with a 1000watt dimmer.
What about your Inspection cost?
 
Re: Hey, Im bidding a finished basement, need some advice

The 20 fixtures per dimmer is a problem waiting to happen. The use of fire in the sentence should help your customer decide to install 4 dimmers.
As far as pricing, here in Westchester,NY the prices are much higher, so someone from PA will have to help you. (here that job with filing fees is about $8000).
What about smoke detectors? How does the building code there affect that situation. I know here that the building department would require the house to have hardwired, interconnected smokes installed with the scope of your project, unless they are already there.

Pierre
 
Re: Hey, Im bidding a finished basement, need some advice

Leviton makes a box mountable 1500 watt dimmer and with the use of a "power extender" (whatever that is?) can handle 2000 watts.

It is 4.25" wide it is 3 way capable but I doubt it can be ganged with other devices.

I am sure it will not be cheap.

Dimmer / Power Extender / Special matched 3 way switch for other end.

If the customer wants to get fancy, a remote dimmer pack with a scene controller is another way to go.

It is called the "Monet" series.
 
Re: Hey, Im bidding a finished basement, need some advice

yeah i agree , i didnt want to put 20 hihats on one dimmer, i was thinkin 10 per dimmer. 4 3-way switches like you guys said.

do you think my 80/per light is fair??

TY were in the hills, but this house is no trailor. Im in the poconos

thanks for all the replies

joe
 
Re: Hey, Im bidding a finished basement, need some advice

i don't care what state your from and where your now bidding---- if you don't know how much difference there could be in a "recessed fixture" you shouldn't be bidding anything. the trim could cost you $80.00 each. whats the fixture and trim? how hard is it to install? whats the lamp wattage? what type of dimmer is expected? whats the distance between switches? whats the ceiling heighth? what wiring method are you gonna use? how far is it to the power source? what type of support are you gonna use?
 
Re: Hey, Im bidding a finished basement, need some advice

it goes both ways- i have seen customers who were dumb enough to allow someone to install whatever they wanted and were not happy.
and i have seen guys install a system that the customer refuses to pay for, and yes, they were not happy niether!!!!!!!!!!!!!

you can immagine the above customer thinking he was getting mr-16 fixtures and his $80.00 price was based on a capri black baffle downlight with a incandecent 60 watt lamp!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Re: Hey, Im bidding a finished basement, need some advice

I would start by picking out the fixture and trim plus bulb, might suggest the new florescent. bulbs maybe on 4 switches to effectively dim the lights.that would cut the wattage and save money.40 x 65 watts is a small heater.
After pricing out the material and adding a small markup,you need to calculate the hours.Half hour a piece should be enough but that depends on the man.With a laiser i can rough in and wire a can in 10 min.add 5 to trim. In ceiling towel you might need to add suport.After you have hours total and material add a little for any unknown problems.If that job was in Tampa FL you would be way high.Our pay scale for green help is about $8 and for res crew leaders it can be hard to get $16 . Most companies here charge about $45 per man hour.I am curious what other states earn,replies welcome.You might want to see if your required to do any thing about that smoke det,might only need bat operated.
 
Re: Hey, Im bidding a finished basement, need some advice

charlie boy-

I know that hi hats are a "recessed fixture"
Im having a conversation here, not a vocabulary contest. And i did price the lights, the owner is going cheap we picked them out from the lowes website, there 20 per "fixture" with the trim.

And it does matter where your bidding, the economy is alot different out here.

as for an update the job is done. =)

have a good one
Joe
 
Re: Hey, Im bidding a finished basement, need some advice

joe,
when you asked the question "what do you think" i thought you might need some advice concerning "bidding". one of the most important issues in the bid process is "the spec". every bid has it even if it isn't in writing! others commented about smoke heads-permiting-dimmer limitations and they are commenting about important items concerning job costs. you mentioned "the job was in" -- i hope you made some money on it, but if you don't understand what people are trying to tell you, you will eventually learn the hard way..........
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top