Old home rewire. what would you have done?

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khixxx

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I got a call to give a free estimate on a 1930 about 2400sq ft home for a wiring upgrade.When i went to the home i was handed a letter for a bid. One chandelar was about 15 feet in the air and it was not working i say it would weigh about 30lbs.About 15 mins in the basment and seeing that half the wire was new and half was the older wire i told the home owner this would have to be a time and material job. My question is "what would you have done?" I felt that T&M would be a better offer for my company to give rather than looking around for about 2 hours of crawling though the attic basment looking for wires in poorly lit areas, then going home and guesstimateing a price knowing that there are atleast 4 other contractors bidding, and maybe more to come. let me know what you think.This is what was on the letter.AC unit is forced air.

Electrical work for bid.
1)Replace knob-and-tube wiring,some of this has already been replaced, some has been removed and not replaced. Please include rewiring the lights in the exterior basement(ie, the areas under the front porch and side room;to see this area exit the double doors in the basment and turn right)
2)Replace old push-button style light switches in the basment (there are two of these and they are connected to knob-and-rube wiring)
3)Fix AC Unit;it trips the circuit breaker whenever it comes on
4)install a doorbell
5)Make sure all fixtures,fans,lights,appliances,etc.are properly wired (ie,correct load and resistance for each circuit and/or group of circuits that are on the same breaker)
 
Re: Old home rewire. what would you have done?

Ball park price with work billed time and material. Too many variables that can sink you big time. If they don't agree let some other guy loose his shirt.
 
Re: Old home rewire. what would you have done?

I'd have bid this T&M, or MAYBE T&M with a "not to exceed" price.

That a/c unit would likely need a compressor or a replacement. That alone could kill your profit if you bid it outright.

If you otherwise don't need this work, bid a high price that your sure will cover anything and everything that could happen. I do this sometimes, and sometimes I get the job. When your busy and bid way high, and you win a PITA job like this, you'll get paid good.
 
Re: Old home rewire. what would you have done?

I agree with Scott, except for the part about how he's not a contractor. :D

Lately I've been thinking about going to T&M for everything except service upgrades and full-gut remodels. I've just been getting burned by too many unseen snags that have eaten up a lot of time, for which I haven't gotten extra compensation.
 
Re: Old home rewire. what would you have done?

you really need to provide two type bids to satisfy the customer.... t&m is one of them, but then like you said " you don't want to spend alot of time figuring whats been done etc! figure this part as though nothing's been retro fitted - actually -- even though it's been changed -- doesn't mean it's correct??? count the outlets and figure a full change out from knob & tube to a full upgrade! and then give them a price on this work and then give them a price on t&m. forget "not to exceed"!
 
Re: Old home rewire. what would you have done?

I'm curious as to how you
...give them a price on t&m. forget "not to exceed"!
Click to expand...
Would you state your hourly rate(s) and go from there?

Norb

[ November 11, 2005, 10:45 AM: Message edited by: 1793 ]
 
Re: Old home rewire. what would you have done?

I think T&M will be best for the AC unit and replaceing the Old wire in the home.I'm going to offer a price peroutlet for checking the connections of the devices,and lights(most of the devices have new wire upgrade already) i'm now just wondering what i should charge for checking the devices for correct wiring. i never done this so if you guys have an idea please let me know. i have no clue on how many outlets in the home. thanks for everyones reply.
 
Re: Old home rewire. what would you have done?

T&M T&M T&M :eek:

Your going to give a price per receptacle. You have no idea how many receptacles are there.

Are you just "Checking " the receptacles or are you checking and repairing or rewiring?

You might pull down a fixture and have a handfull of old insulation. You might find no box.
What then?
 
Re: Old home rewire. what would you have done?

I would immediately say T&M. I tell them there is no way to determine an exact figure, unless I go extremely high with maybe a small credit if the job doesn't exceed a certain amount of labor hours. You can only try to assure them you will be fair, and offer references from other similar jobs.
Dave
 
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