How to price for whole house audio

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bobbyho

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Location
Central Connecticut
Does anyone have an idea how to price out whole house audio utilizing a Russound ABUS system. I am looking to do 3 rooms with 2 speakers and a family room with surround sound. I plan on running 16/4 speaker wire from speaker locations to volume controller location. From the volume controller location to the head end I will run a 16/4 and a CAT 5. With this stuff there should be a good markup (specialized stuff ya know) but I don't know where to begin as far as pricing goes.
 
Is This A Single Floor Unit(attic And Full Basement)?
What Kind Of Walls (plaster Or Dry Wall)
If This Is A Real High End Unit You Might Want To Consider Monster Calbe For The Speaker Runs. You Can Get It In Most Home Entertainment Centers And Circuit City Has It Too. Stuff Is Really Expensive Though. But When It Comes To Sound Quality It Is Worth It. Id Bid It Just Like Any Other Electrical Job Treat The Speakers Like A Fixture And The Wall Controls Like A Switch.good Luck With Your Project.
 
Nobody said whether this is new work or retro-fitting, by the way.

We do quite a bit of low-voltage work, including AV, networking, etc.

Either way, I recommend charging T&M.
 
For new construction, I charge $75 per volume control, and $75 per speaker to rough in. So each room would be $225 and surround sound room would be 375. I use 14 gauge speaker wire for everything, as it's not worth stocking both 14 and 16 to me. I pull 14/4 and Cat 5 to each volume control, and 14/2 from vol. control to speaker. That way they they are set up for just about anything in terms of equipment. Keypad control or plain old volume control, as well as IR.

For finish I typically supply all equipment, and pricing includes installation and all cables. We usually custom make our RCA cables for a clean install. I don't use Russound, but have heard it's good equipment. For higher end multi-room/ multi source audio, I use Nuvo products for amp/ controller. I use Jamo speakers and Harmon Karden or Yamaha receivers. For lesser budgets we just use a receiver sometimes with an external amp with impedance matching volume controls in each room.

Will you be supplying equipment. If so, I'd price it as a contract price for entire job. If not, I'd price it T & M.

If this is your first A/V job, consider it a learning experience.

If you're interested, my distributer is located in your area. Newington, I think. He doesn't sell Roussound, though if you are sold on that brand.

John
 
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