Looking for feedback on residential bid

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sw_ross

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I'm working on a bid for a house and would like some feedback on my #'s.

I don't have anything more than a PDF of the floor plan that was emailed to me from the GC. I've worked with him on another project and "got a feel" that he's fairly particular about his work and probably wants the same out of his subs.

As is typical there is no electrical plan. I basically went through the plan and made educated guesses about lighting (type and layout) and receptacle placement. Then did up an estimate using Turbobid.

I think at this stage the GC wants a general idea of what it would cost, then as things progress the details about particulars would become more concrete.

So, I decided to keep things fairly basic to keep costs down. I'm thinking rather than try to guess where they want dimmers and fan speed controls (and driving up the estimate) I'm going to spec out toggle switches and add an "Options" addendum that specifies the cost of using dimmers and fan speed controls instead of standard toggle switches.

Anyways, on to the numbers...
This is a 2545 sq.ft. House with 3-car garage and a bonus room (not included in house sq. footage) above the garage.
The load Calc calls for a 200-amp service.
It is basically a fairly large 3 bedroom, 3 bath house.
My estimate number is $23,650.
That ends up working out to $9.30/sq.ft.

Oh yeah, it involves trenching ~150' from meter location to house service disco.

Thanks!
 
I would ask the GC to get with the homeowner and either revise the plans to include the electrical or have the plans maker to include them. It's very hard to bid without plans. In my experience, you can figure in all the required receptacles for spacing etc. but no way to guess where else they want them. Same with lighting, dimmers, decora devices. You can tell them what's included and they might agree to that and additional costs for changes. Then get upset when you add the extras.

In short, get some sort of plans, contract with specific language as to what's included and what would be extra.To bid "blind" on this would be a mistake IMO.
 
Little Bill said:
I would ask the GC to get with the homeowner and either revise the plans to include the electrical or have the plans maker to include them. It's very hard to bid without plans. In my experience, you can figure in all the required receptacles for spacing etc. but no way to guess where else they want them. Same with lighting, dimmers, decora devices. You can tell them what's included and they might agree to that and additional costs for changes. Then get upset when you add the extras.

In short, get some sort of plans, contract with specific language as to what's included and what would be extra.To bid "blind" on this would be a mistake IMO.
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Yes...this^^
Give them a price specifically stating that this a BUDGET only, and it includes...... (give as much detail as to what is included).
And then what it specifically excludes).
This should give them something to work with until plans are completed
 
The problem with predicting the positioning of outlets is that furniture doesn't allow cords to neatly line up along the wall-- that 6-foot cord on the lamp really needs to be at least 8 feet!

And where is the bed going to be in the master bedroom? I'd like to see an outlet on each side of the bed-- none of this crawling behind the bed to find that the non-flat plug has been scrunched out of the outlet again! And will the bed stay put when they re-arrange the furniture??

Where will the couch be and the lamps on the endtables??
 
All good points. Nothing will get signed without a walk-through with the GC and HO being involved.
At this time the GC was asking if I could give him a "ballpark idea" of what it would cost.
The house is still in the planning stages and I haven't met the HO.

At this point I was mainly asking if $24k was a fair number for a house of this size.
Again, this also includes trenching ~150', give or take.

If someone asked you for a ballpark idea of how much to wire a 2500 sq.ft. house, 3-bed, 3-bath, w/ 3-car garage and bonus room above how would you respond?
What if they gave you the floor plan?
 
Been a lead EC for about the life of the average oil change but we average about 6.5$ per Square foot for 12k SqFt + custom Lake homes in South Carolina. For what it’s worth, my biggest non labor savings is found in our relationships with vendors. We tend to save enough to get about 30-40 point margin on materials alone and still be competitive. Good luck and I hope you get what you ask for!!!
 
PaulMmn said:
The problem with predicting the positioning of outlets is that furniture doesn't allow cords to neatly line up along the wall-- that 6-foot cord on the lamp really needs to be at least 8 feet!

And where is the bed going to be in the master bedroom? I'd like to see an outlet on each side of the bed-- none of this crawling behind the bed to find that the non-flat plug has been scrunched out of the outlet again! And will the bed stay put when they re-arrange the furniture??

Where will the couch be and the lamps on the endtables??
Click to expand...

A few receptacles isn't going to make or break things at estimating stages. Needing to add them after walls are finished will start to work on it though. Things that matter is are we installing ceiling fans, and where or even simple light in center of a room vs recessed lighting or other specialty lighting, undercabinet lights, inside cabinet lights, above cabinet lights, bathroom heaters, in floor electric heating, will we need any floor outlets, will there be backsplash that owner doesn't want to have receptacles within, Can the main panel be placed so it is somewhat closer to a majority of the main loads or is the kitchen on one end of home and HVAC loads on opposite end and no matter what you have some long home runs for some of the major loads or maybe even a feeder circuit to the other end of the home?
 
ptonsparky said:
The GC will have one shortly.

How close do the plans have to be compared to the finished project. Both meeting code of course.
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Like driving in [city of your choice here]-- traffic signals are only a suggestion!

Or, as the military says, "no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy!"
 
kwired said:
A few receptacles isn't going to make or break things at estimating stages. Needing to add them after walls are finished will start to work on it though. Things that matter is are we installing ceiling fans, and where or even simple light in center of a room vs recessed lighting or other specialty lighting, undercabinet lights, inside cabinet lights, above cabinet lights, bathroom heaters, in floor electric heating, will we need any floor outlets, will there be backsplash that owner doesn't want to have receptacles within, Can the main panel be placed so it is somewhat closer to a majority of the main loads or is the kitchen on one end of home and HVAC loads on opposite end and no matter what you have some long home runs for some of the major loads or maybe even a feeder circuit to the other end of the home?
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And how tall are the ceilings, and any massive light fixtures.
 
I think at this point the GC is just trying to get a feel for the project to create a budget to work with the HO with.

I think if I qualify my estimate as to specifically what I'm basing it on (R. Can #'s, F/L locations and #'s, etc.) he'll have a starting point to work with. Then they can get more specific about whether they want under cab lighting, dimmers, fan speed controls, etc.

I mostly just wanted feedback on whether my estimate number was in line with the project.
Thanks for all feedback.
 
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