normbac said:
I am trying to bid a rewire of a home that is knob and spool and am cluless to the time it might take to do the job. Lath and plaster is staying up except where needed to be broken for new electrical installations. All wiring to be rewired to 05 codes, basic older home. House is single story on a raised foundation and attic has blown insulation.
Single floor, access from underneath and overhead? Sounds like a straightforward old-work rewire to me, nothing terribly complicated other than the insulation you'll be rolling in when you put in the new ceiling boxes. No demo necessary.
The old wiring's pretty much irrelevent, this is bypass surgery -- disconnect it all, remove what you can and tag/deadend the rest. Then it's straightforward fishing. Do everything vertically, if you absolutely have to go horizontal within a wallspace, do it behind the baseboards. Don't fight the house, work with it. Etc.
I know a lot of folks bid these T&M, but old work's pretty much all I do and I do it by the hole. I expect things to average out in my favor over a whole house rewire -- for every tough outlet, you're going to have a few easy ones. I find it's a lot more profitable that way, and customers are able to budget for the work better. You just tell 'em what an outlet's going to cost, and every time they want to make a change, they know what to expect.
Only you can determine what that per-hole cost should be, it has to match your circumstances and experience, but don't sell it short. You're charging for the run, the hole, the fishing, that mouth full of insulation or crawlspace dust, etc. A good guestimate would be take your standard fee for an outlet in new construction, add $50-$70 to that, and you're in the right ballpark.
Good luck, sounds like fun!