Per foot pricing on new construction.

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I never got this per foot price for bidding.
Lets say for example the house I want to build is 4000 sqft.
Lets say you price this high @ $4 per foot & I'll supply the recessed cans.
Now I am going to load up on cans and put 10 low volt cans in each room with 5 switches. & load up on receptacles & make most of them quads. & only 4 per circuit.
Still bidding at a per foot price?
Or is this per foot price just for cost comparison, & you are actually bidding per device/can?
 
I use sq/ft pricing to give people a ballpark idea of costs; and it is usually a range price anyway. On custom homes it is a range of $4-$8 and possibly more depending on the bells & whistles. When I BID a job I look at the plans & specs, do a unit price takeoff, look at the site (if possible), and consider who I am working for and the other subs & trades. I also consider my current workload; let's face it, when things are slow and it is a buyers market, my pencil gets a bit sharper and when we are slammed with work, well, I can afford to bid a bit higher.

Bob on the left coast.
 
Square foot pricing, came about with production builders, they understood sq ft., the framers, the roofer, the flooring, and all the other construction trades, estimated using a square foot unit, their material was in sq units, plumbers, and electricians estimated these jobs with unit prices, actual estimates of the time, and material required, and then converted these prices, to square foot, to provide the builder with a price unit he was comfortable working with.

We don't buy cable, and other electrical items, by the sq ft, and since wiring is branched, and not a squared installation, why would anyone use sq ft, other then to compare finished job costs?
 
I'm bidding a burn out for a new GC. Apparently their other guy has been bidding by the ft/2, as they did not give me a print or total openings. The house has 4 beds, 2 1/2 baths, 2 car, 2 living areas - 3200 ft/2 They did tell me that it has 22 fixtures, 4 cans, 3 HVL, 2 water heaters, and a cooktop - double oven. Gas heat & 4 ton A/C.

I went to the site, total gut EXCEPT for kitchen and 3 beds (which just have the ceiling removed). Fire started outside on the back porch and got the master bedroom. New roof.

I counted all the openings (as most were still there) and added the ones that I know will be needed. I counted 62 recepts and 43 switches. And it has a pool!

The home was wired pre GFCI. So, upgrades are in orders. The upgrades for this house include, GFCI's, AFCI's, Smokes, and the service. (That is separate money to the insurance company.) Also, the AHJ here has Code amendments that require GFCI protection on all switches within 5' of a tub & shower, and a supplemental ground.

I'm glad that I went. Other wise, had I bid by the foot alone, I would have guessed on the recepts & switches, and not known about the pool. Also, I would have missed the upgrades.

I give them my price Monday morning. I had rather be too high and miss it, than too low and eat it.
 
One more thing about ft/2 pricing.

I have wired new houses based upon a ft/2 price. But only spec houses and i laid out the wiring (nothing on the print) Just the basics.

A few made money.
 
MAking money on new construction?
When I first started out I too did 2 new custom homes. I had been told what the market place was charging or getting per square ft.
So we bid 2 homes on a per device price & compared our price to the ft/2 and we were close.
After we finished the job, paid for materials, & figured out our time, we managed to make money. If you call making an hourly wage of $2 more than we were making working for our ex employers. So is that considered making money? Not for a bizness owner taking a risk it wasn't. But we learned, and learned that to make money in new residential const. we would have to personally stay away from the job, hire the hardest working, lowest paid workers, use the cheapest devices, not care that the prints specify a wall sconce or switch in a bad location, & not show up for warranty. In this case good money can be made. But its not where I want my bizness to grow to.
 
Price per Square Foot

Price per Square Foot

I'm new to the forum, and the price per SF caught my attention due to the current cost of copper. The price of copper has gone thru the roof, i.e. copper conductors.

Question: Does the $4-$8 per SF reflect this copper increase? I was shocked to see the cost of 100ft of 12/2 w/G at $55.00

Scott
 
sarsenault said:
Question: Does the $4-$8 per SF reflect this copper increase? I was shocked to see the cost of 100ft of 12/2 w/G at $55.00

Scott
Click to expand...

Scott, where did you see 12/2 at $55.00 per roll? I think it is still around $85 to $90 here. It was as high as $112.00 per roll at the big box stores.
 
I thought the $55 # was low until I re-read it. He said for 100' which comes to $137.50 for 250', he's getting screwed.

The $4-$8/sf is a guidline for large custom homes. We've done a few in the $12+ range also. In the big houses where the homeowner wants to KISS there is a lot of wasted floor space without much electrical. I've seen 4000sf homes that calc'd out at a 100amp service and that's all the builder put in. These jobs are ripe for an upgrade about a week after escrow closes.

Bob on the left coast.
 
Bob, you are right. It does say per 100ft. And he is paying too much. I thought maybe I found a goldmine to buy some 12/2 romex from. I guess ther old saying still applies, " if it sounds too good to be true, it is probably not true"
 
Personally, I do a Sq. foot CHECK after I bid the homes "per opening" just to see if my prices are staying close to other jobs I have bid. I have worked out the different $ for each different device type and connect associated with wiring a home. If you do this in an Excel spreadsheet, when copper prices increase, all you need to do is upgrade your material cost for each line item on the spreadsheet and your bid will remain accurate. I will giva a customer a "ballpark" Sq. ft price to wire a home but always make sure he understands that I will not be held to that price. It helps GC's to signn jobs that may not even have prints drawn yet to get this ballpark price. On custom residences at least, the owners must arrange financing prior to construction starting. They oftentimes do not spend any money on an architect until they have some ballpark numbers to go to the bank with.
 
Okay, I went out to look at a job for a GC that we do a lot of work with today. Fire in 4 units of a 2 story 24 unit complex. Three will gut, one will need upgrades.

The GC asked, "Just off the cuff, what we looking at?"

I took a square foot price and said, "about 5 - 6 thousand each for the gutted ones, plus some upgrades".

"Okay, put some numbers together for me, we want to start next week." he says.

That is about the only way that I feel comfortable with ft/2 pricing!
 
By me the standard seems to be 2 per SQ. FT. for code minimum. Every thing else (cans, three way sw., ceiling light fixtures, etc) is extra.

I know a GC through a friend that asked me if I wanted to do one of his houses because his regular electrician was away. He said that he had a bid of $1.85 per SQ. FT. and asked if I could beat it.
 
JROD said:
By me the standard seems to be 2 per SQ. FT. for code minimum. Every thing else (cans, three way sw., ceiling light fixtures, etc) is extra.

I know a GC through a friend that asked me if I wanted to do one of his houses because his regular electrician was away. He said that he had a bid of $1.85 per SQ. FT. and asked if I could beat it.
Click to expand...

Sure I can beat it. I may lose money but it can be beat.
 
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